South Philadelphia singer unearths and records Frank Sinatra's "lost" arrangements
PENNSAUKEN, N.J. (CBS) — A singer from South Philadelphia is paying homage to Frank Sinatra by breathing new life into some big band arrangements Sinatra performed live with the Count Basie Orchestra in the 1960s.
While perusing the Library of Congress, Brandon Tomasello discovered original scores arranged by the late Billy Byers that Sinatra never recorded. Now, with permission from Byers' estate, Tomasello is recording an album that will be titled "Brandon Tomasello: The Lost Sinatra - Basie Arrangements with The City Rhythm Orchestra." The recording sessions are taking place at SoundPlex Studios in Pennsauken, New Jersey, and will mark the first time these arrangements are formally recorded.
Tomasello grew up with his grandparents and said that's where his love for Sinatra originated. He then began studying the recordings of jazz greats diligently, and as a student at the Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School, he further honed his musical talents.
"From the beginning, I always wanted a band," Tomasello said. "I knew you had to have charts, and I had transcriptions written, and it just grew."
That led him to search the web one day and find the arrangements Byers wrote for Sinatra and Count Basie that hadn't been heard in decades. The arrangements were written in 1965, during Sinatra's tour with the Basie Orchestra. Many of Byers' arrangements ended up on the album Sinatra at the Sands, published in 1966.
"[Byers] was writing these [songs] like crazy. And that summer tour was used to road test all those charts," Tomasello said.
However, some songs never made the cut. Tomasello wanted to change that, so he made several phone calls and got permission from Bryant Byers, the son of arranger Billy Byers. Bryant Byers flew in from Oregon to play trombone on the recording.
"A lot of times, I get asked to do things like this and oftentimes, I turn them down," Bryant Byers said. "But I know that Brandon has such a passion for the music and the arrangements, which are obviously very close to me."
Tomasello's grandfather, Frank Fortino, can attest to his grandson's appreciation of the music.
"The amount of study, the amount of effort, the amount of time and work he put into this … it's unbelievable," Fortino said. "He absorbed that, and now it's a part of him."
Tomasello says this project is an unbelievable honor for him.
"The least I can do to someone who brought me and my grandparents so much joy is to try to keep his name going and the music going and those arrangers," he said.
