If you're old enough to remember The Love Boat, then you're familiar with the show's catchy theme song: "Love, exciting and new/Come aboard, we're expecting you." The golden pipes belting that tune belong to Jack Jones, a balladeer in the classic mold, once hailed by no less a standard bearer than Frank Sinatra. Jones belongs to that stable of classy crooners populated by the likes of Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme and Sammy Davis, Jr. Jones brings his "Love Songs & More" concert to the Bay area and is joined by The Florida Orchestra as he sings a repertoire that includes some of his biggest hits, like "Impossible Dream," "Lollipops and Roses" and "Wives and Lovers." In 2005, Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote "[Jones] is arguably the most technically accomplished male pop singer of a vanishing ilk." You have three opportunities to catch the consummate performer at three different venues this weekend; don't miss him. Thurs., Feb. 1, 8 p.m., Ruth Eckerd Hall, 1111 N. McMullen Booth Road, Clearwater, 727-791-7400; Fri., Feb. 2, 8 p.m., Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa, 813-229-STAR; and Sat., Feb. 3, 8 p.m., Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S., St. Petersburg, 727-898-2100; tickets are $17-$52.
This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 6, 2007.
