Feinstein, Michael

by William Ruhlmann
Michael Feinstein was born in Columbus, OH, and developed an interest in the piano and in show music at an early age. After moving with his family to Los Angeles in 1976, he met Oscar Levant's widow, who in turn introduced him to Ira Gershwin. He was hired by Gershwin in 1977 to help organize the Gershwin archives, and continued to work with the lyricist until Gershwin's death in 1983.
In 1984, Feinstein launched a career as a pianist and singer devoted to the music of the '30s and '40s, playing at private parties in the Los Angeles area. He had a seven-month residence at the Mondrian Hotel, during which Liza Minnelli threw a party in his honor (February 1985) that got his name around. In January 1986 he opened at the Algonquin Hotel in New York, where a six-week engagement stretched to 16 weeks.
Feinstein's debut album, Live at the Algonquin, mixed the songs of Irving Berlin and Oscar Levant with more current material by Stephen Sondheim and Gretchen Cryer. By 1988 he had been signed to Elektra Records, for whom he has recorded a series of albums spotlighting the work of specific composers, among them 1998's Michael & George: Feinstein Sings Gershwin, as well as a children's album. In 2002, Feinstein released The Michael Feinstein Anthology, a collection that spanned his work from 1987-1996, and participated in an episode of the PBS show Great Performances. The following year, he earned a Grammy nomination for Michael Feinstein with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Feinstein released Sings the Jule Styne Songbook on Rhino Encore in 2008.