Florida Orchestra pays tribute to Ol' Blue Eyes

Crooners in the 1940s and '50s put the C in cool. And no one was cooler than Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra.

For one thing, the man wore a fedora with effortless style and without hat head. For another, he puffed on cigarettes in a way that made you forget they cause cancer. The man was also a crackerjack actor. But the number one cool factor about Sinatra was his voice.

The Florida Orchestra will pay tribute to the classic crooner this weekend with "The One and Only Frank Sinatra," incorporating the big band sounds of Tommy Dorsey. Guest conductor and arranger Jeff Tyzik and vocalist Steve Lippia will join the orchestra in renditions of signature hits, including "Come Fly with Me," "The Best is Yet to Come," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "Fly Me to the Moon" and "New York, New York."

As a child in Connecticut, Lippia didn't limit his music library to rock 'n' roll. He listened to Sinatra, Perry Como, Bobby Darin and Tony Bennett.

"I always thought crooner music was very cool. My parents were into it. I wasn't one of those kids who said if my parents like it, it must not be good. I was an independent thinker. I was in between two generations and cultures musically," Lippia said.

While it's one thing to appreciate crooner tunes, it's another to actually sound like a member of the Rat Pack. Lippia does. He's a dead ringer for Sinatra and always has been, though he is emphatically not a Sinatra impersonator. Lippia has a singular talent that happens to put him in the same category as legendary crooners.

"This was the music my voice was more suited for. (Crooner music) was more sophisticated. Not that I was trying to be, but there's something appealing about the nuance of this great music," Lippia said.

Tyzik said that kind of appeal is what makes the music thrive, while crossover albums and collaborations help as well.

"I think a lot of audience members coming to the concert grew up in that era. But it goes across the demographics. Sinatra did duets albums, like with Bono. People who liked U2 found out about Sinatra. He's a rare icon that spans generations," Tyzik said.