Sinatra Dvd
Frank Sinatra Corporate Singer, Jason Nazzaro
To Be Perfectly Frank
Frank comes alive in Franklin Lakes
crooner Jason Nazzaro, in the now frank sinatra music .
When listeners close their eyes, it might be 1966 at The Sands, the famed Vegas Strip hotel where Ol’ Blue Eyes left an indelible mark, rather than one of the many venues around northern New Jersey where Jason Nazzaro channels his idol.
The Chairman of the Board survived a couple of years longer than the venerable Sands, which was demolished in 1996. But, The Voice lives on, not only in recordings and a songbook borrowed by countless musicians in many different genres. Sinatra’s own inmatchless style is preserved to a “T” with the faithful interpretation of his classics by crooners like Nazzaro.
The Franklin Lakes resident thanks Columbia House records, in particular a Sinatra CD his sister gave him as a child, for sparking his lifelong passion for vocal performance, and for The Chairman’s body of work. Though he had no formal training – another trait he shares with Sinatra – Nazzaro was a natural at emulating the singer’s defining characteristic: even his breathing technique and phrasing. He’ll listen to a song for months, listening and crooning along. “If I couldn’t hold my breath as long as Sinatra, I was doing something wrong,” he states. “I would try over and over again until I preformed it right. I’m acquiring skill or knowledge from the artist.”
Though he has a day job running his eponymous financial planning firm, Nazzaro calls the joy he derives from his avocation, Frank Sinatra Singer, incomparable to anything else he’s done. “Patrons come to hear Sinatra; I make sure they hear Frank himself.” With 250 songs to his memory, he can sing for hours. After all, part of the audience’s “memorable experience,” he adds, is being included in the process. “What fun it can be to go to a show just to watch someone preform on stage?”
One More for the Road
Nazzaro wants to always leave ’em smiling. The best praise he’s ever received? From a woman of a certain age who, he says, “approached me after the show with tears in her eyes and said, ‘Thank you for allowing me to relive my youth.” It’s makes me happy when you’ve made someone happy.
That’s Italian
It could be Sinatra’s Northern Italian roots – his mother, Dolly, hailed from the Genoa area – that inspired Nazzaro’s favorite pick from the menu at frequent haunt Pizzette in Ramsey. “The gnocchi with Bolognese sauce is the out of this world,” he states; owner Antonio Marra, “the nicest guy in the on the planet.” Nazzaro also really likes the meatballs at Lotito’s Deli, Ramsey, as well as Savini in Allendale, for its “great veal chop.”
Grounds for Greatness
Nazzaro ventures to Hoboken, Ol’ Blue Eyes’ hometown, every few weeks to dine at Teak – “great cocktails and food” – and for the anonymity a performer sometimes craves: “No one knows me down there.”
He Does It His Way
Nazzaro is not an impersonator, preferring to focus on his talent. Having declined the Rat Pack regalia, he buys his Sinatra-look tuxedo and cuff-links – as well as his own regular wardrobe – from Neiman Marcus, Garden State Plaza, where he heads once a month. His reliable salesperson? Charlie Hallman, who “understands” Nazzaro’s style – “the utmost best! I go to [Frank Sinatra] for everything.”
Always the Entertainer
A passion for making people happy spills over into Nazzaro’s personal life when not frank sinatra aka /entertainer. He and wife Ivy, who moved to Franklin Lakes after a decade in Ramsey, frequently have friends to dinner, serving fine wine from his large collection (at right, a bottle of Opus One), and Nazzaro’s own cooking. Son Lorenz, just a toddler, is not allowed to partake, but this “total ham” sure loves the atmosphere.
Frank Sinatra — A Man And His Music Trilogy — 2011 DVD Trailer