SINATRA – MY WAY WITH ANDREW WALESCH & HIS ORCHESTRA

Like a good many before him, singer and pianist Andrew Walesch manages to encapsulate the sophistication of a cosmopolite and the self-effacing charm of a country boy. Leading his all-star big band, showman Andrew Walesch kidnaps the Blue Eyes tradition and makes it his own in his jazz-bent Sinatra revue. With this 10-piece band, Walesch is a traditionalist and an iconoclast rolled into one.

Whether composing and arranging or appearing in settings ranging from solo artist to big band, this St. Cloud, MN native is as respectful of his predecessors as he is ready to take a leap into the unknown and chart a new course. Andrew routinely jams venues all over the Midwest and beyond with a uniquely cross-generational audience. Walesch’s fans include jazz enthusiasts of a certain age, as well as a younger crowd compelled by his down-home insouciance. All are drawn in by the knowing irreverence of a tried-and-true American nightclub entertainer.

“Although they are my idols, I don’t attempt to imitate the great pop and jazz artists of the 50s and ’60s,” says Andrew, “but I go for broke when we do our shows – vocally and musically – which is what they all did best and why they were in a class of their own.”

His vocal and piano chops, along with his keen sensibility to find and interpret a great lyric, have led to some great opportunities for Walesch. He has appeared on the nationally syndicated NPR broadcast Mountain Stage and more recently, an invitation to perform at the 33rd Annual Cabaret Convention in the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.

Walesch resides in Phoenix, AZ, where he has been elected as the new Artistic Director for the world-famous Musical Instrument Museum.