Steve March-Tormé

Steve March-Tormé
Born (1953-01-29) January 29, 1953
Origin New York City
Genres Jazz, pop
Occupation(s) Musician, actor, radio host
Instruments Singer, piano, guitar
Years active 1966 – present
Labels Go Daddy, MGM, United Artists, Planet, Frozen Rope, BluJazz
Website www.stevemarchtorme.com

Steve March-Tormé (born January 29, 1953) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the son of the singer Mel Tormé and actress Candy Toxton. They later divorced and Toxton married actor/comedian Hal March who became Steve's stepfather.

Apart from his father, March-Tormé's early musical influences include The Four Seasons, Nat King Cole, The Temptations, Ricky Nelson, and Gene Pitney. Later influences include Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Todd Rundgren, Steely Dan, and especially The Beatles.[1]

Biography

Early life

Steve Tormé was born on January 29, 1953 in New York City to Mel Tormé and the former model, Candy Toxton. His parents divorced in 1956. He has a half-sister, Daisy, an actress/singer, and a half-brother, James, a singer through Mel Tormé's marriage to British actress Janette Scott. In 1956, Toxton married actor/comedian Hal March, who was the host of The $64,000 Question game show, and subsequently starred in Neil Simon's Come Blow Your Horn on Broadway. Hal March became stepfather to Steve and Melissa who adapted their surname to Tormé-March; Hal March went on to have three more children with Toxton — Peter, Jeffrey, and Victoria.

Steve March-Tormé spent much of his childhood listening to New York Yankees games on the radio. After games he would turn to Top 40 music stations and find himself singing along with such artists as The Four Seasons, Nat King Cole, The Temptations, Ricky Nelson, Gene Pitney, and The Beatles. This accidental discovery for music led to March-Tormé fronting his first band in 1966 at age 13.[1]

After March and Toxton moved to Beverly Hills, March-Tormé formed friendships with other second generation "show biz kids" like Desi Arnaz Jr., Dean Martin Jr., Miguel Ferrer, Carrie Fisher, and Liza Minnelli while attending high school. During this time, he continued to develop as a musician and his influences grew to include Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Todd Rundgren and Steely Dan, all of whom March-Tormé pays homage to on his 2009 CD Inside/Out.[1]

After his stepfather's death in 1970, March-Tormé rekindled his relationship with his father Mel Tormé, who occasionally recorded and appeared with March-Tormé in concert until his death in 1999.

The 1970s

In the late 1970s, March-Tormé recorded his first LP, Lucky, for United Artists Records, supporting it with a well received 20 city, national concert tour. The album featured several noted musicians including Arthur Adams, Wilton Felder and Wayne Henderson of the Jazz Crusaders, Fred Tackett and Paul Barrere of Little Feat, Jimmy Gordon from Derek and the Dominos, the L.A. Express's, Max Bennett, Chuck Findley, Victor Feldman, Plas Johnson, and Pete Christlieb . Upon returning to California, he produced and sang on Liza Minnelli's Columbia Records release Tropical Nights, which became a favorite of New York dance clubs.

March-Tormé was the lead male singer on the syndicated game show The $100,000 Name That Tune from 1978 to 1981.[2] His audition consisted of singing Elton John's "Daniel" and Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amor" for the producers, who hired March-Tormé the next day. The new version of the show was more of a game show/variety musical hybrid, with two full bands playing the notes and/or songs the contestants would have to guess. One was a big band, led by Stan Worth and the second was the "rock" band, fronted by March-Tormé and dubbed "Dan Sawyer and the Sound System". The bass player in the Sound System was Kerry Hatch, who joined the alternative rock band Oingo Boingo after leaving Name That Tune. The show was hosted by Tom Kennedy and March-Tormé stayed with the show through 1981.

The 1980s

March-Tormé hosted the Los Angeles TV show "Cinemattractions" in 1989, which became "Box Office America" in 1990. He also hosted the MTV based "Video 22" from 1985–1986, interviewing various recording acts including Go West, Nik Kershaw, Fishbone, Spinal Tap, Til Tuesday, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In 1982, March-Tormé received a phone call from noted jazz critic Leonard Feather, inquiring his interest in auditioning for a vocal group that Leonard's daughter Lorraine Feather was starting up with her friend Charlotte Crossley (The Harlettes). When told that the recommendation had come from Quincy Jones (who'd seen March-Tormé perform at a tribute show to Henry Mancini at the Hollywood Bowl) and that the project would be produced by Richard Perry, March-Tormé went to the offices of Planet Records to sing "Serenade in Blue" and "Blue Suede Shoes" for Richard and his partner, movie producer Joel Silver. He got the gig as the solo male voice in the trio Full Swing and after the debut album (entitled Full Swing) was recorded at Planet Records in Hollywood, it was followed up with tours of Brazil and Japan. The Full Swing LP featured some of the best studio musicians in L.A., including Paulinho Da Costa, Paul Jackson Jr., Victor Feldman, Chuck Findley, Gary Grant, Dick "Slide" Hyde (all of whom performed on March-Tormé's Lucky LP in 1978), Tom Scott, David Benoit, Jerry Hey, Conte Condoli, Lew McCreary, Richard Tee, Vinnie Colaiuta, Russ Kunkel, John Robinson, and George Doering. Four other musicians from this recording (Gary Herbig, Ira Newborn, Joel Peskin, and Peter Christlieb (of Steely Dan fame)) would later work with March-Tormé on future LPs. March-Tormé sang with his father Mel Tormé at the Kool Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall as a member of "Full Swing". March-Tormé sang the lead part on Mel's arrangement of "What Is This Thing Called Love", previously performed by the Meltones. After Richard Perry sold Planet Records in 1983, March-Tormé left the group to pursue his solo career.

March-Tormé played the male lead in the Italian TV musical-drama "Molly O" for RAI Television. It was released in 1986.

The 1990s

Throughout the decade of the 90's, March-Tormé performed in clubs, theaters and performance arts centers in the U.S. (N.Y., Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, Portland, Dallas, West Palm Beach), including the famed L.A. venues: Catalina's, Feinstein's, At My Place and The Jazz Bakery. He also toured Canada, playing venues in Toronto, Edmonton and Winnipeg.

The 2000s

In 2000, he added concerts at Feinstein's in N.Y.C., the Dakota Jazz club in Minneapolis and the Hollywood Bowl (in a tribute concert to his father Mel Tormé) to his résumé.

In 2001, he did his first two symphony concerts with the Palm Beach Pops in Florida and his first of two appearances at the Gene Harris Jazz Festival in Boise, Idaho.

In 2006, his "Tormé Sings Tormé," a four-sided, double disc DVD and CD on AIX Records, won Best Vocal Dual Disc at the EMX DVD Awards show in Los Angeles.

In 2009, March-Tormé recorded his most recent album "inside/out" for the Go Daddy Music label. The project was recorded mostly in Los Angeles (with a couple of tracks in Wisconsin) and is the first "pop" album he's done since "Lucky." The entire album (music and lyrics) was written by March-Tormé and also features him playing both keyboards and guitar for the first time since the "Lucky" LP. For the last 12 years, he's worked with arranger/pianist Steve Rawlins, who, more often than not, accompanies him on stage and has played piano and arranged a number of songs on Steve March Tormé's recordings. They've also co-written many of the songs on March-Tormé's jazz LPs.

2010 to Present

March-Tormé currently tours worldwide as a singer/entertainer, offering a variety of platforms: a jazz trio ensemble, a big band show, a dektette show entitled "Torme Sings Torme" that CAMI (Columbia Artists Management Inc.) sent out as a 32 city national tour in 2007, and a full 70 piece symphony show entitled "From Broadway to Bernstein, From Mercer to Mel". He's performed in 46 of the 50 states, in addition to concerts in Australia, Canada, Japan, Brazil, London and Italy. March-Tormé also hosts his own show every Wednesday and Thursday on the Music of Your Life Radio Network[3] and is the afternoon/drive time host five days a week at 91.1 FM "The Avenue",[4] serving Green Bay, Appleton, and Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

March-Tormé started performing his Holiday Symphony Show in 2011 with the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. The music is arranged for a full 70 piece orchestra and the orchestrations were written by his longtime musical director/pianist Steve Rawlins, with some help from Steve March-Tormé.

In Sept. of 2013, he headlined at The Smith Center in Las Vegas and he'll return there in April 2017.

March-Tormé performed in the prestigious Detroit Jazz Festival on Labor Day, September 1, 2014. He presented the show "Tormé Sings Tormé' with a ten piece band, featuring the fabled arrangements by his father Mel and the late Marty Paich.

On Dec. 10 of 2016, he'll headline with the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra during their Holiday Concert at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center. His daughter Ruby will join him on stage as a singer for the first time.

Sports

March-Tormé is a two-time Gold Medal winner in the Maccabiah Games in 1985 and 1989 in fast pitch softball. The Maccabiah Games are the Olympics for Jewish athletes worldwide. The games are held every four years in Tel Aviv, Israel and are staggered against the global Olympic Games so that they never fall on the same year. March-Tormé was the starting center-fielder on the 1985 team and was one of two starting pitchers in the 1989 games, in which he shut out Panama 14-0 in his first outing and bested Venezuela 6-4 in the other. The U.S.A. fast-pitch team won gold medals both years, beating Canada in both title games. Other notable U.S.A. athletes who've participated in the Maccabiah Games include Mark Spitz, Mitch Gaylord, Brad Gilbert, Ernie Grunfeld and Danny Schayes.

In 2007, he participated in the New York Yankees baseball fantasy camp, Heroes in Pinstripes, in Jupiter, Florida and won the MVP Award. He's been a member of the USTA since 2006 and in October, 2014. Hee played in the Men's 4.0, 18 and over National Championships in Tucson, Arizona with his team from Appleton, Wisconsin.

Discography

Studio albums

Live Recordings

References

  1. 1 2 3 Biography, stevemarchtorme.com; accessed November 8, 2016.
  2. ↑ "at". Gameshowutopia.net. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  3. ↑ "Home". Music of Your Life. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
  4. ↑ "Avenue 91.1 – Welcome!". Theavenue91.com. Retrieved 2011-01-28.
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