Sinatra 'reincarnation' brings joy to the assembled ladies
Karen Stingemore and M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
With a voice reminiscent of classic Italian and American singers from the 1950s and 60s -- the likes of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Tom Jones -- Patrizio Buanne had all the women in the packed auditorium captivated and the men equally enthralled by his rich baritone voice.
His onstage presence was larger than life as he crooned, swayed and swung his arms with an almost perfect sense of timing; he doesn't quite have it to a T like Frank Sinatra, but that takes years to perfect.
His appearance was fashionable and immaculate, with a pin- striped suit, polished shoes, sleek hairdo and, to top it all off, a red flower in his lapel.
To augment the ambience of romanticism, dozens of candles were lit before Buanne took the stage; they continued to burn during the show's duration, which clocked in at 30 minutes.
The energy and passion he said he had for life, love and Italy seemed to resonate in his voice, keeping the audience transfixed and, in many cases, transporting them to locations such as the streets of Naples.
His voice, demeanor and style are all very Italian, a distinctive feature he has laboriously honed in what he said was today's Americanized world.
"In the midst of a hip-hop culture, I want to bring back something that has been lost from music: people's respect for it. In the 1950s people dressed up before they went to a concert and music was taken as something that mattered," Buanne said before launching his rendition of Amore Scusami, a song he took from his debut album, aptly titled The Italian.
Buanne's voice complimented the instrumental accompaniment well and it is easy to see how it would be complemented by an orchestral backing, as was the case in The Italian, recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
The lush instrumentation that backed Buanne's singing during the show, however, sounded too grand for the backing band, consisting of a solo guitarist and a five-woman string section.
Concertgoers could have been forgiven if they thought that the backing band was merely an accessory to liven up Buanne's show and a music "machine" was performing behind a curtain. The aural magic multiplied with the good acoustic provided by the newly opened Balai Kartini concert hall.
Il mondo (My world) was the most warmly received song of his showcase; he almost lifted the roof with raucous applause upon reaching and holding the big notes.
The song had also launched the singing career of Buanne, as it was this that popularized his name in some parts of Europe.
Singing this song had allowed him to travel the world and present his music to different nationalities, he said.
The theme song from the classic movie, The Godfather, Parla Piu Piano, was also well-received and as he sang his voice radiated with all of the emotion for which Italians are justly famous.
His lively sound and charm look set to bring back to life the classic sound and personality of the crooners of the 1950s and 60s, while adding just enough modern Italian spunk and romanticism to appeal to people of all ages.
After the show, female fans had every opportunity for close contact with their new idol when Buanne and his record label Universal Music held a CD-signing session; the fans got more than they might otherwise have hoped for.