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Health & Fitness

From the Archives: Sinatra at Fort Lee's Riviera Live!

 

 

 

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Last week our archives piece centered on the Riviera Nightclub of Fort Lee.  The Fort Lee Museum exhibit “A Night at the Riviera Nightclub” opened last week and will run through February 2nd, 2014 – the museum located at 1588 Palisade Avenue is open weekends noon to 4PM and Wednesday evenings 7 PM to 9 PM.  We also open during the week for groups by appointment and admission is free.

 

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Among the many Riviera centric events planned in the upcoming months there is one that stands out – our Fort Lee Historical Society fundraiser on New Year’s Eve – this “Night at the Riviera” will be held December 31st from 8 PM to 12: 30 AM in the second floor party room of In Napoli Restaurant at 116 Main Street in Fort Lee.  This night is the exact 60th anniversary of the last night Bill Miller’s Riviera Nightclub was open, New Year’s Eve 1953.  In honor of this anniversary this New Year’s Eve party will feature the exact same menu served at the Riviera that night 60 years ago as created by In Napoli Chef Sam Gnasso.  We will have special guests that include legendary TV / movie comedian Larry Storch who performed at the Riviera and boxing legend Jake LaMotta.  The Fort Lee Film Commission will screen a special 10-minute documentary on the Riviera to open the evening.  There will be period music (Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr.) as well as dancing.

 

One element that just fell into place will make this special event really special in a swinging Sinatra type of way.  During Sinatra’s September 1-15, 1953 “comeback” engagement at Bill Miller’s Riviera Nightclub and on the heels of the smash opening of his film “From Here to Eternity”, Sinatra was clearly looking for a new sound opposite that of his Columbia recording sessions.  1953 saw Sinatra on a new record label, Capitol, and here he made some of his greatest music, for my money it was his greatest period.  When Sinatra came to Fort Lee’s Riviera in September of 1953 for his two week gig he brought a smaller band than his previous performances both at the Riviera and other club settings, and in addition to his long time arranger Axel Stordahl, he brought in a new arranger who would help redefine the Sinatra sound during those Capitol years, Nelson Riddle.  So in a real sense not only was this gig in Fort Lee a comeback but it was in reality a rebirth of a singing career that would hit new heights with this new sound.


Speaking of sound, apparently Sinatra himself wanted to record the last performance of his engagement at the Riviera on September 15th, 1953.  He wanted to get a hold of this new sound he was aiming for and which bloomed in the nine years he recorded for Capitol Records.  While researching for the Fort Lee Museum exhibit on the Riviera, I found a Variety review of Sinatra’s performance at the Riviera.  This led me to find that there is an audio of Sinatra’s 1953 performance at the Riviera which includes his own comments on Riviera owner Bill Miller, references to the nearby  George Washington Bridge, wonderful sounds from the one thousand Riviera diners who witnessed a spectacular show and of course Sinatra’s wonderful interaction with both his musicians and the audience.  Sinatra himself mentions the presence of Nelson Riddle at this engagement and you can feel that presence in the phrasing and quality of Sinatra’s performance via the musical arrangements.  We hope to play excerpts from this wonderful session during our New Year’s Eve Night at the Rivera fundraiser for the Fort Lee Historical Society in the party room of In Napoli Restaurant – tickets are limited to the first 100 and cost $100 each which includes dinner & dancing – dancing to the strains of Frank Sinatra singing at the Riviera live in 1953 and for us, for this very special moment when history comes alive, Sinatra will sing live once again on New Year’s Eve in Fort Lee but a few blocks from the site of Bill Miller’s  Riviera Nightclub.

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