Chicago jazz singer Paul Marinaro brings his own voice to the classics

Chicago jazz singer Paul Marinaro’s prior full-length record, on which his baritone voice supported the Metropolitan Jazz Octet, was “The Bowie Project,” a collection of covers of the iconic British rock star David Bowie.

Marinaro’s current project, “Mood Ellington,” tackles another legendary band leader, Duke Ellington, arguably the greatest American jazz composer.

“Mood Ellington,” which will have Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 24-25, record release concerts at Studio5 in Evanston, is a 25-song double-album of Marinaro’s lyrical favorites from the mammoth songbook of Ellington and his composing partner, Billy Strayhorn.

To a stylist like Marinaro, though Duke Ellington and the Thin White Duke are disparate artists, they both offer what he seeks — lyrics that present the opportunity to reach listeners through phrasing, interpretation, emotion and just the right note.

“What they all have in common is that they’re stories,” Marinaro, 49, said of these songs. “They’re stories that can be told, they’re lyrics that a singer can interpret like an actor would interpret a play. That’s first and foremost my biggest concern, is can I tell a story.”

Numerous critics and publications have stated that Marinaro is among the best in doing that.

“Can you tell a story, and can you tell it from your perspective? How do you invest your own life into this material? How do you make it sound as if you’re not only singing from your voice, but you’re also singing to your audience?”

As an example, the acclaimed singer cites “(In My) Solitude,” saying it may be his favorite track off “Mood Ellington,” his fifth album including the live recording “One Night in Chicago” (2015).

Plenty of vocalists have approached the 1941 standard. Marinaro seeks his own truth in the song, aided by an arrangement from five-time Grammy Award nominee Chuck Owen.

“It’s the same lyrics, it’s the same melody, it’s the same structure of the song, but we turned it into something completely different through interpretation. It forces a different emotion out of the listener,” said Marinaro, a Buffalo, New York, native who moved to Chicago in 2004.

Following “The Bowie Project” (2023), Marinaro sought a return to the classic American songbook, to an artist he’s sung since his debut album, “Without a Song” (2013). That was in tribute to his father, Joseph Marinaro, who was unable to pursue his own dream of being a professional singer.

Paul Marinaro searched Ellington’s prolific output spanning the 1920s to the 1970s for “the best of the best,” lyrical compositions Marinaro felt best suited to perform.

“This was all a very singer-driven, lyric-driven, conscious choice for these 25 songs,” Marinaro said of the Origin Records imprint, initially released Nov. 21.

He felt Ellington’s sophisticated compositions demanded a full instrumental treatment, a “grandiosity,” he said. Many of the tracks on “Mood Ellington” feature a 12-piece string section in addition to horns and a rhythm section, 21 musicians in all.

Plus, 13 arrangers worked on the songs, including Grammy Award winners Adam Broadbent, John Clayton, Bill Cunliffe and Chuck Israels.

“The problem with doing a large album like this,” Marinaro said, “is touring it.”

At Studio5, a 2016 expansion of Béa and Steve Rashid’s Dance Center Evanston, Marinaro will lose the strings and perform with Tom Vaitsas (piano), Mike Allemana (guitar), John Tate (bass), Neil Hemphill (drums), Steve Duncan and Eric Jacobson (horns), and Ted Hogarth, Rich Moore and John Wojciechowski (horns and woodwinds).

“The stage is going to be populated by really, really fine — I can’t underline that enough — really fine musicians playing gorgeous arrangements, and then Paul’s pretty wonderful voice on top of that. It’s going to be quite a night,” said Steve Rashid, himself an Emmy Award-winning composer and host of “Chicago Jazz Live” on WDCB 90.9 FM.

Held in Studio5’s near-studio quality performance space, Rashid said Marinaro’s performances are so well regarded that they typically sell out the 128-person space.

In that event, Studio5 will offer a “Live at Studio5” stream of the concert, available for purchase through studio5.dance/.

“He always does a very interesting show. It’s always something a little bit different than the last time he’s been there, so we always welcome his appearances there because it’s going to be unique,” Rashid said.

It’s also going to be Marinaro’s unique take on the material.

“Your own voice has to be present,” Marinaro said, “because if not then you’re just a second-rate imitator. That has no interest to me. The material doesn’t live.”

• • •

Paul Marinaro “Mood Ellington” album release

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, and 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25

Where: Studio5, 1934 Dempster St., Evanston

Tickets: $40 theater seating, $55 cabaret seating

Details: studio5.dance/calendar