The New York Tenors November 11, 2012

The New York Tenors Sing to Cerritos: How Ya Doin?

                            By Glen Creason

     Just because a show has three and the word tenors in the title does not ensure that it will be good. When I took my place in the rather mature looking audience the other night at the Performing Arts Center I was not sure what I would get from these New York Tenors. I suspected the show might have traditional leanings with the choice of “America the Beautiful” for openers and the strong response from the crowd signified more of the standard stuff ahead. Now, many of the songs sung on this night could most certainly be heard at the Elks Lodge talent show or at Parish halls across America. Many on the evening’s set-list I would guess I have heard at least a hundred times. The three tenors from the Big Apple made no apologies for singing the familiar tunes while waving the red, white and blue on Veterans Day and let no opportunity pass in lauding the spirit of NYC and its stout-hearted citizens. To really put an exclamation on the NY in this show one of the tenors was even the famed “singing cop” Daniel Rodriguez who gave millions of Americans lumps in their throats when he sang “God Bless America” at the World Series just days after the devastation of 9/11. They also had a superb full band with all the trimmings and musical director Aaron Gandy at the piano.

     With the weariness of the contentious elections just a couple of days behind us you might have thought the house not quite ready for this patriotic extravaganza but if the standing ovations, the hankies daubed at eyes and the wild applause meant what I think it did this show worked pretty well. The essential part of this winning evening was that these guys can really sing and I mean every one of them and every song. The songs are proven gems and the voices did them justice without a single sour note on the night.  Even an old student protester from the 1960’s like myself found the goose bumps rising and the red blood pumping at the spectacular conclusions to these old beauties. Each man had a different approach to the tenor voice; Andy Cooney was the classic crooner with the gift of gab, Daniel Rodriquez had the operatic voice with deep and rich tones and Michael Amante had a Broadway musical cannon of a voice that could reach every note and parts of south Orange County to boot.

     They each had terrific moments in their solos and together with a tenor times three that made you lean back in your seat. Cooney was fine on “The Fields of Athenry,” “My Grandfather’s Immigrant Eyes” and the ultimate evergreen “Danny Boy” that was flawless. Rodriguez opened eyes and ears with “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables, a spicy “Granada” and he HAD to sing “God Bless America” just about as well as it can be sung. Amante, full of Italian charm and huge pipes gave stirring readings of “Music of the Night,” “Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” and “God and God Alone” that made some folks to my right utter “My God!” The trio also joined powerfully for Leonard Cohen’s gorgeous “Hallelujah,” a tribute to first responders called “I Won’t Turn My Back on You” and the grandly operatic “Nessun Dorma” sung with English lyrics translated to “Dance With Time.” Like much of the show you kind of knew what was coming for an encore and “New York, New York” sounded much better than when I have been forced to hear it at the conclusion of Yankee wins.