Sultan of
S C A T

Mel Torme's career has been rejuvenated with appearances in unlikely places - like MTV

By Tim Ryan
Star-Bulletin

formerly known as The Velvet Fog has always been rhythm.

Mel Torme, who performs at the Hawaii Theatre next Thursday, was once saddled with the unfortunate appellation The Velvet Fog for the smoothness of his timbre.

Perhaps, Machine-Gun Mel would be just as apt, since it describes the rat-a-tat precision of scat singing that treats improvisations as vocalized drumbeats. Torme is the unquestioned high lord of scat-swingers, which has added mastery of tone to his near-supernatural rhythmic sense. Put another way: Torme's Sarah Vaughan side has broadened to enhance his Ella Fitzgerald side.

"Scat singing has universal appeal," Torme said in a telephone interview from his Beverly Hills home. "It's improvisational singing and people respond to that, involving taking any given song that you know well and improvising around the chord sequences and melody."

Torme is enjoying a remarkable surge in popularity among trend conscious younger people.

He's one of the hottest figures on the "alternative" scene that has swept the rock ranks the last couple years. He's appeared on "Seinfeld" and with veejay Kennedy on MTV's "Beach House;" he's starred in a Mountain Dew commercial and performed at the Seattle Bumber Shoot rally. Oh, and don't forget his 13 episodes of "Night Court."

But Torme admits being "very skeptical" when his manager told him of the Seattle gig with the likes of The Ramones and Mud Honey where he would be the only jazz artist on the rock venue.

"I ... told him that when the concert was over I was coming to his office with a .45 automatic," Torme joked.

There was no reason for concern. When he finished performing, the audience demanded two encores.

"Absolutely sensational," he said. "The reaction was, gosh, so wonderful. I sang my own repertoire, no rock 'n' roll. And they liked what I did."

Pretty full circle for a guy who got his start at age 6 as "Jimmy the Newsboy" on the NBC radio soap opera "Song of the City." Heck, at 3 Torme started singing in public; at 15, he published his first composition, an instrumental.

After playing drums and singing in Chico Marx's band in 1942 and '43, Torme formed a vocal ensemble, the Mel-Tones, which performed with Artie Shaw's band. From the late 1940s on, Torme pursued a career with consistent success as a solo singer. He also acted in films and on television and wrote songs such as "The Christmas Song" (To date the 50-year-old song has been recorded 1,730 times!)

Torme also published a novel, a reminiscence of Judy Garland, an autobiography, and a biography of his friend and frequent coworker, Buddy Rich. Now comes this popularity with the so-called Generation Xers.

"The MTV thing, Mountain Dew commercial, and 'Night Court' all contributed enormously to the young people marching to my drum," he said. "But, yeah, I'm a little surprised."

Now he's considering performing at more rock events. Last week the group "The Presidents of the United States" asked him to do a cut on their new album.

"Right now 17- and 18-year olds are looking for something a little more challenging to the mind than three-chord rock 'n' roll," Torme said. "They're wondering what else is out there and are finding it in my kind of music.

"This is also a time where there's renewed appreciation in the country's musical heritage and standards, sort of a musical revolution."

Torme sometimes seems too smooth to be fully appreciated.

He has always been able to balance his exuberant swing with insightful ballads. His combination of savvy and sweetness is what made and is remaking Torme a household word. He wears these gifts so well that the inattentive may think he's coasting.

Torme's voice remains an astonishing consistent and accurate instrument, and his upper range - always a special feature of his style - remains intact. He has few peers as an interpreter of the great American songbooks.

"Velvet and Brass," his latest album, covers classic American popular songs by the likes of Porter, the Gershwins and other great composers, and almost seems designed as a primer on music.

Next week Rhino records will release a four CD career retrospective box set - "The Mel Torme Collection 1944-85" - containing 93 tracks. And next month Torme begins work on a tribute album to Ella Fitzgerald that will include several cuts with her voice added.

He also sings the title song for the MTV-Warner Brothers feature "Joe's Apartment" - costarring Don Ho - to be released this summer. Torme makes an appearance next week on the Fox TV show "Sliders," created and produced by his son Tracy.

How does he do all of it?

"I use time rather than squander it," he said, explaining that he works from early morning to about 4 p.m. at his home office either at the computer or piano. "There's a whale of amount of time to do things before you put your jammies on and go to bed."

What's left? Broadway, he answers quickly.

"It's the only venue I haven't done. I probably will give that a try."

Mention retirement and Torme brushes any suggestion aside saying "If you rest you rust."

Who: Mel Torme with the Honolulu Symphony
When: 7:30 p.m. June 6
Where: Hawaii Theatre, 1130 Bethel Street
Cost: $40 and $50
Call: 528-0506