Danny Aiello, the critically acclaimed Academy Award nominated actor, whose performances in more than 70 films including Moonstruck and, Do the Right Thing have endeared him to audiences worldwide, is releasing his first live recording on July 22, 2008. The new CD entitled Live from Atlantic City (Dreammakers) was recorded at the world renowned Copa Room in the Sands Hotel and Casino during one of Aiello’s shows there. This was the same room where old blue eyes performed his final public US concert in 1994 while Danny and his wife Sandy watched from the audience. So when it was suggested to Aiello to record one of his shows from The Sands (which has since been demolished) so he and his band could preserve a little history for themselves, Aiello agreed, “Given Sinatra’s history on that stage and my memories of seeing him there, the Sands really captured the spirit of the resort’s history among the excitement of a new Atlantic City. For me, it made perfect sense.”
Live from Atlantic City features 12 songs including “All of Me,” “Some of These Days,” “Clementine,” and a version of Sinatra’s “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road) interspersed with bits of conversation Aiello shares with his audiences.
Produced and mixed by Grammy Award winning Jason Cosaro (Madonna, Sound Garden , Peter Gabriel, Mariah Carey) this is Aiello’s second release. He made his recording debut in 2004 with I Just Wanted to Hear the Words, a collection of traditional standards. That album charted #4 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Chart and received high marks from critics coast to coast including the LA Times; “His voice warm and amiable, his phrasing easygoing and conversational, his singing revealed influences from his numerous idols-Bobby Darin in particular…but as with his acting, Aiello’s singing at its core was far more than an accumulation of influences. It was a pure manifestation, instead of his own rich persona, of the abundant life experience he brings to his art” and the New York Times “Mr. Aiello’s singing has the bounce of his idols Bobby Darin, Frank Sinatra and Louis Prima, and the throaty lyricism of another idol, Tony Bennett.” Some of those songs are now part of Aiello’s live show and featured on this live album.
Aiello always said he wanted the opportunity to work in the studio with talented musicians on songs he loves. And after having the opportunity to do that in 2004, he took his show and eight piece band he affectionately calls Joe Geary and the Guys on the road.
In between movie shoots, (he wrapped Stiffs with Leslie Ann Warren, Lobster Farm with Jane Curtain and The Shoemaker with Judith Light) Aiello has traveled the country making music- including shows at the monumental Apollo Theatre, on the stage of the legendary Blue Note, at the breathtaking Rainbow Room, with the Boston Pops Orchestra, and of course, live from Atlantic City.
Aiello’s, honest emotion has given him an enormous amount of respect in the stage and screen world. His no-holds-barred performances not only earned him an Academy Award nomination for his performance in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing but gave him Golden Globe nominations along with awards from the Los Angeles , Boston and Chicago Film Critics Associations. Having waited until middle age, to enter the world of acting, Aiello, who has appeared in over seventy films, dozens of plays and numerous TV roles, immediately earned a Theatre World Award for his debut in Lampost Reunion. He has won an Obie Award, an Emmy and many other film accolades.
No stranger to singing, Aiello actually started out singing on street corners as a kid in the Bronx . He sang in the movie Once Around where he starred alongside Holly Hunter, and in the movie Hudson Hawk, where he and co-star Bruce Willis performed “Swinging on a Star” –a duet that has since become a youtube favorite. He has seriously fulfilled a lifelong dream, proving that at any age it’s never too late to follow your heart.
Aiello has also teamed up with producer and rapper Hasan and is back in the studio at work on his third album entitled Bridges, a collaboration of standards with hip hop, due for release in 2011. A remix of the single “Besame Mucho” with corresponding video from the upcoming album can be seen on youtube.com, www.dannyaiello.com or right here