Michael Feinstein on the Songbook, Sinatra, the Gershwins, and his own place in history

WAMC's Ian Pickus speaks with Michael Feinstein, an accomplished pianist and singer who has long championed the likes of the Gershwins — he got his start as Ira’s assistant — Frank Sinatra, Irving Berlin, Hugh Martin, Burton Lane, Frank Loesser, Jerome Kern, Duke Ellington, and many others. He is also a composer and arranger of original material.

Feinstein has sold millions of records and performed across the globe, earning two Emmy and five Grammy nominations. The founder of the Great American Songbook Initiative, Feinstein’s television show of the same name is seen on PBS. And this fall, he’ll publish his latest book,The Gershwins And Me: A Personal History.

Feinstein will join the Boston Pops and Tony winners Christine Ebersole and Betty Buckley on Sunday, September 2 at Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts for the American Songbook.