The Rat Pack was what everybody called a bunch of show biz buddies who like to combine getting together for fun, with putting on a show. The core of the Rat Pack was Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Junior and Frank Sinatra. On New Year’s Eve 2023, Sidekick Theater collaborated with the Minnesota Jazz Chamber Orchestra to recreate the Rat Pack style of show business. Phil Nusbaum got together with Brian Pierce of the Sidekick Theater and Craig Thrane of the Minnesota Jazz Chamber Orchestra. Listen to Brian sing a Frank song, a snippet of the Orchestra with vocalist Courtney Burton, and hear why everyone loves the Rat Pack. Click here to listen to the interview.

Interview Transcript

Brian Pierce  0:11  
My favorite thing about the Rat Pack was not just watching them sing. The best part of those shows was not the songs, it was the space between the songs, where they're just a group of guys having fun with each other. And that's exactly what we're trying to create here with our Rat Pack. With our singers, and with Courtney Burton from the Minnesota Jazz Chamber Orchestra out front singing Ella Fitzgerald, we're gonna have a blast out there. It's gonna be a lot of fun.

Phil Nusbaum  0:36  
Brian, what are the songs you might be singing? Is a Sinatra song called Walking in the Sunshine. What is there about the song that you really like?

Brian Pierce  0:46  
My favorite thing about that song is it's actually from Sinatra's early catalog on Columbia Records. It came out shortly after I think he left the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. And I'm a young guy, I'm in my 30s so it's fun to sing Frank Sinatra songs from when he was that age. Walking in the Sunshine is not quite a Christmas song, but it's a winter song. That's why we can sing it on on New Year's Eve. Some of the lyrics in it are a lot of fun, you know?

"And below zero man, I'm a hero. I never wear a muffler or a glove. While all the world's got frosty noses. I'm knee deep and roses. Walk into the sunshine of your love.

Phil Nusbaum  1:29  
Tell you why Brian, we've got a copy of that song with musical accompaniment and sung by you, Walking in the Sunshine. Let's put it on. Brian appears Sidekick Theatre singing a little Frank Sinatra there and Sidekick Theatre teams up with the Minnesota Jazz Chamber Orchestra to put on a Rat Pack New Year's Eve December 31, 2023. Part of the time, Brian, you're going to be singing with Courtney Burton. And what's the pleasure of trading off song lines with another singer? It can't be exactly like just singing by yourself.

Brian Pierce  4:33  
In 1967, Frank actually performed in a TV special he put together a number of TV specials during that time and this was I believe his third one. And that's where he partnered up with Ella Fitzgerald. They sang a number of duets and a couple of them Courtney and I are going to recreate on stage and my favorite I think is probably "I've Got my Love to Keep me Warm". Very similar lyrics to actually "Walk into the Sunshine of Your Love". You know, "The snow is snow and the wind is blowing but I can weather the storm. What do I care, how much it may storm, I've got my love to keep me warm.

Phil Nusbaum  5:20  
Brian Pierce right there and I'm loving this off the cuff singing. When you're singing with another person, are you following their pitches so you can come up with just the right pitches to follow what's just been sung?

Brian Pierce  5:36  
Absolutely. There's a saying in improvisational comedy that actually applies to jazz music which is we always say "yes, and" you say something and I say, "yes, and" I take it and run with it. And that's the cool part of singing a jazz duet is, Courtney will do something and then I'll, "Ooh, that was cool, I can play off of that," and I'll sing something different to sort of match her sort of call and response kind of thing.

Phil Nusbaum  6:00  
Craig Thrane of the Minnesota Jazz Chamber Orchestra is here too, and you've done New Year's Eve before, but never with the focus on the Rat Pack. And you're looking at this as a logical next step for the Minnesota Jazz Chamber Orchestra.

Craig Thrane  6:16  
And that's exactly why we're doing it now that we're doing the Jazz Chamber Orchestra, we get to go to that net logical next step. And Brian has a sense of spontaneity that we can combine with Courtney, that we're just going to create this on the spot and it's going to be wonderful.

Phil Nusbaum  6:30  
What are the members of the Minnesota Jazz Chamber Orchestra, saying about this opportunity?

Craig Thrane  6:35  
Oh, they absolutely love it! It is like climbing a hill, and then looking for where's our next peak that we're going to go to? And with Brian Pierce and Courtney Burton, that's our next peak.

Phil Nusbaum  6:46  
One of the reasons to play music, and I think most players would agree with this, there's always another hill to climb, and you want to climb that hill. Just before we go, we've got a little space here for some singing by Courtney Burton. Let's put on some.

Brian Pierce with Sidekick Theater and Courtney Burton with the Minnesota Jazz Chamber Orchestra team up for a Rat Pack New Year's Eve, December 31st (2023) at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center in Bloomington. Information at sidekicktheatre.com/nye. This program is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Phil Nusbaum speaking.