[ WEEKEND ]
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jimmy Borges, left, and Matt Catingub at the piano in Atherton Performing Arts Studio.
Borges shifts
musical gears
Sometimes the beauty of each piece gets lost in the puzzle. Hawaii is beautiful, but how often do we take for granted the components of the place -- the turquoise ocean, blazing sunsets, tradewinds rustling palm leaves -- that all create a paradise.
So it is to a degree with Hawaii singer Jimmy Borges who, for more than four decades, has been singing songs from pop to jazz to the great contemporary composers and, most recently, tributes to the music of Frank Sinatra.
All that jazz
John Pizzarelli and guest Jimmy Borges with conductor Matt Catingub and the Honolulu SymphonyWhere: Blaisdell Concert Hall
When: 8 p.m. today and tomorrow
Tickets: $20, $30, $40, $50 and $65.
Call: 792-2000
Borges, who is in his late 60s, remains a fixture on the local music scene. His silky smooth voice, seamless transitions, clever phrasings and modest persona have become so expected of him that the singer may not have risen to the celebrity status he deserves.
But you won't hear any whining from Borges, who performs tonight and tomorrow night with the Honolulu Symphony Pops and special guest jazz guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli.
"I have no regrets about my career at all," says Borges through his trademark smile. "I am so far ahead of the game.
"I've had a wonderful life and, to me, I'm the greatest and luckiest performer who's ever lived ... a wonderful life.
"I did what I wanted to do and I made a life out of it. There's nothing better than that."
But there is change in the breeze for Borges and he's nervous even talking about it.
RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Jimmy Borges, left, and Matt Catingub talk with Don Gordon on his radio show on KIPO-FM radio.
Borges wants to stop being synonymous to legendary crooner Frank Sinatra, for whom he has done dozens of tribute concerts since 1991.
With Sinatra's own blessing, Borges was allowed to select from his musical library of more than 2,000 arrangements, the ones he wanted to use in concerts. He chose 68 of them, which Borges estimates are worth about $750,000. (Borges is reportedly the only singer ever allowed complete access to Sinatra's legendary musical arrangements.)
IN 1991, Borges produced his personal salute to Sinatra in concert with the Honolulu Symphony. The concert was voted "Best Concert of the Year" by readers of Honolulu magazine. In 1993, he produced "Salute to Sinatra II" with the symphony and conductor Matt Catingub.
In both instances, Borges never tried to ape Sinatra's vocal style.
"I sang the music the way it's written; I'm faithful to his music," he said.
The media and fan attention was tremendous but after nearly 13 years, Borges says he's been pigeonholed as a Sinatra devotee. And now, Borges says, "I want to return as me."
"I got locked into being a Sinatra delineator," he says. "And that's a nice place to be, but I started singing in 1955, so I have a lot of years before I did Sinatra music. I didn't intend to base my musical life on his work."
In his upcoming symphony performances, a sort of "Will the Real Jimmy Borges Please Sing," he's going to let the audience know "I was a singer with a career before my Sinatra tributes."
Borges kept his plan quiet until conductor Catingub approached him about five months ago to do the concert dates.
"I think I mentioned which Sinatra charts he wanted and Matt said 'No, no, let's get away from that.' Matt knew me from before when I used to sing with his mom.
"I didn't know how to broach it because my gigs with the symphony had always been connected to Sinatra. When Matt said he wanted to do charts for me, it brought tears to my eyes."
The program will fit nicely with Borges being the keeper of the flame in his musical appreciation to composers Gershwin, Porter, Kern, Mercer, Arlen, and Rodgers and Hart. He'll sing classic pop and jazz songs spanning the decades, including "Skylark," "Laura," "Beware My Foolish Heart," "Bobbles, Bangles and Beads," "Love for Sale" and "Please Be Kind."
On some tunes, Borges is up to his old tricks in changing a bit of the lyrics to fit Hawaii.
"Reinventing myself is a bit scary because it's all new arrangements and it has to be the old Jimmy Borges," he said. "I don't have the cushion of Sinatra to ride on."
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