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A seasoned Babbaro returns with Sinatra stylings
The Voice of Sinatra
Video Set
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
Angelo Babbaro will give a rare hometown performance when he appears at Stambaugh Auditorium on Valentine’s Day.
The Canfield singer with the Sinatra voice had his only other appearance at the venue in 2008.
For Friday’s show, Babbaro will be backed by the Rick Brunetto Big Band, a 16-piece orchestra with a brassy Las Vegas sound. The outfit is based in Columbus.
“I hooked up with them at a show I did down there, but they do travel,” said Babbaro. “They know the [Sinatra] material inside and out, and they’ve been playing these songs for 30 years before they even met me.”
Babbaro’s 2008 appearance at Stambaugh was one of his first performances. In the ensuing five years, he has logged more than a hundred gigs in several states.
“I’m much more experienced,” he said. “I’m expecting a lot of energy.”
Those who attend can expect the seasoned Babbaro to express the Sinatra songbook in the same unique style as the Chairman of the Board.
Like Sinatra, Babbaro is a baritone, and he has added some of the legendary singer’s biggest songs to his repertoire. These include “New York New York,” “Come Fly With Me,” “Luck, Be a Lady” and “The Lady Is a Tramp.”
Babbaro said he’s just giving people what they want.
“Audience members would come up to me after shows and say, ‘How come you didn’t do these songs?’” he said. “I always shied away from them because everyone else was doing them. I was sticking with songs like ‘Cheek to Cheek’ and ‘Just In Time,’ which are great songs but never got the airplay.”
Pleasing fans, said Babbaro, also means improving the overall concert experience.
“They know I can sing, but when you buy a ticket, you want to be entertained,” he said. “There’s some art to it. My goal is to get the audience to say, ‘That was fun ... we had a good time.’”