12/8/2021
Performances and Artists
Acclaimed Vocalist Mark Verabian to Perform Tony Bennett Songbook
Tony Bennett’s music has followed Mark Verabian all his life.
He remembers Bennett ballads playing at every wedding his family attended. Growing up, he serenaded his parents with the icon’s hits. And for an early job as a singing waiter at an Italian restaurant, his boss tasked him with delivering the best of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin — and, of course, Tony Bennett.
No wonder that now, as an acclaimed vocalist — opening for stars such as Stevie Wonder and Sheryl Crow — Verabian jumps at opportunities to perform Bennett’s classics.
“When Tony Bennett sings, it sounds like a baritone sax, with such color and tone,” Verabian describes. “It’s an intangible quality that makes you want to listen, but also humanizes him like he’s standing in your living room.”
Backed by a jazz quartet — just as Bennett performed over the past 25 years — Verabian will croon classics such as “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” “The Good Life” and “Rags to Riches.”
“For some, I hope they will feel nostalgic,” Verabian says. “And for others, I hope it will be a moment where they can go, ‘you know what, Tony Bennett is done performing, but we can still find places like The Smith Center to find this music and appreciate it.’”
From Waiter to Headliner
Verabian’s life parallels Bennett’s in many ways.
Just like Bennett, Verabian worked for years as a waiter. While he earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and broadcasting, Verabian couldn’t abandon his passion for singing and performed in various nightclubs.
Again like Bennett, Verabian’s big break came by happenstance.
While Bennett’s performance at a nightclub in 1949 impressed Bob Hope, who promptly invited him to share the stage at an upcoming show, Verabian caught the eye of executives from MGM Resorts International while singing at a small club in Pasadena.
This resulted in an invitation to perform at an upscale venue at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, which followed with performing at venues throughout the Las Vegas Strip. This led to opening for the likes of Stevie Wonder and performing with acclaimed symphonies like the St. Louis Symphony.
“That’s when it really became, ‘this is a reality, this is what I do now,’” he remarks with a laugh.
Meeting the Icon
Verabian knows he’s on the right career path after a chance meeting with Bennett.
He accompanied comedian and singer Steve Rossi to a Bennett performance in Las Vegas, he recalls, and Rossi — a friend of Bennett’s — invited him backstage.
They sat down, exchanged banter, and in a life-changing moment, sang together.
Verabian still cherishes Bennett’s praise that he has “presence, charm and Grammy-quality vocals.”
He hopes to leave audiences at The Smith Center feeling equally uplifted.
“It was a really good moment to have met him and be near him and soak up his talent. That’s not an experience you can buy,” Verabian says. “To have a stamp of his approval and acknowledgment propelled me forward to keep doing what I’m doing.”