BIOGRAPHY
Zack Alexander is a Jazz vocalist who specializes in the style of Frank Sinatra and The Rat Pack. As the winner of the 2016 ‘Sinatra Idol’ competition in Hoboken, he is dedicated to bringing the Great American Songbook to life for current and future generations.
Zack’s entertaining performances are heard at a wide variety of venues--ranging from concert halls to restaurants--and for a multitude of special events. He is currently accepting engagements for weddings, private parties, and corporate events.
Equally comfortable swinging an up tempo toe-tapper or crooning a heartfelt ballad, Zack also performs throughout the Tri-State Area with the 20-piece Swingtime Big Band, which Newsday hailed as “Long Island's leading professional big band...dedicated to the Great American Songbook.”
Below is Zack’s story of how he fell in love with The Great American Songbook:
* Story featured on The Rat Pack Music Alliance *
“I’ll never forget the first time I heard Frank Sinatra’s voice. I was 6 years old at my grandmother’s house. She took out her Victrola record player and played a Sinatra 45. The Summer Wind single was the first Sinatra tune I ever heard and that began my addiction to the immortal icon known as Frank Sinatra. Growing up in New Jersey with Italian heritage, it isn’t shocking that I was exposed to The Rat Pack at such a young age. Which, ultimately lead to my obsession with the Great American Songbook and other musical talents in the genre.
I was born in October 1995. Dean Martin passed that Christmas and Sinatra passed a few years after that. If I could travel back in time to witness these giants perform I would do it in a heartbeat. Fortunately, I was able to see the great Tony Bennett twice in concert and being able to witness that was a highlight in my young adult life. Frank Sinatra’s voice filled the theatre to introduce Tony and you can’t get much of a better intro than that. It was magic.
It took me years to realize that I too could croon the songbook. About a decade later, at age 16, I started to really study the style and swagger of Sinatra and The Rat Pack. Their charisma and charm truly captivated audiences. I consumed as much media as possible including taped concerts, television shows, movies, and recorded music. I began to sing along to Sinatra vinyls in front of a mirror, hidden in my bedroom. I also belted out private concerts in the shower!
Eventually, I found the confidence to publicly sing at 18. My family was throwing a 1970s themed summer party and I decided to sing “The Love Boat” theme song recorded by Jack Jones. My family was stunned and told me to audition for the upcoming Sinatra Tribute Gala at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey. Lo and Behold, my first public performance was with The Red Bank Jazz Orchestra for Frank Sinatra’s Birthday.
Since then I took it upon myself as someone of my generation to preserve the legacy of The Rat Pack and The Great American Songbook because it is exactly that, great American music. I have performed with the Red Bank Jazz Orchestra on a few occasions, once with Deana Martin (Dean Martin’s daughter). I am the regular male vocalist with Swingtime Big Band, a 17-piece big band, paying tribute to the greatest music in existence. I am also the 2016 winner of Hoboken’s Sinatra Idol contest.
Frank Sinatra has had such an influence on my life that I was able to turn my passion into a career and I take great pride in that. I can only hope and pray that people of my generation and younger folks keep this iconography and music alive, for there will only be one Frank Sinatra. The man may be gone, but the music lives on and it’s an honor to pay tribute to such a legend. God Bless.”
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