JB Baretsky – HuffPost 12.9.11

[Note: This is a segment of my interview with JB that might be helpful to new artists.]

Mike Ragogna: What are your some of your favorite jazz standards that you are performing?

JB Baretsky: One of my favorites is “Mack The Knife” and I’m always surprised about how many people love that song when I perform it. The song’s about somebody getting murdered, which I think shows the true nature of people, that they just want more violence. Other than that, I really like “That’s Life,” that’s one of my favorites, I like the message in that one.

MR: Where did your jazz chops come from?

JB: It’s really funny, I sang in a lot of bands and we did a lot of acoustic rock. Then my grandfather was asking me to do some stuff Sinatra did, so I went in the studio one day and I tried it. My manager said, “That’s something right there, you’ve got a jazz thing going,” and I’ve been doing it ever since.

MR: You’ve been listening to older artists as you’ve been developing your repertoire?

JB: Oh yeah. I love Sinatra, Dean Martin, and probably my all time favorites were the all time best stage performers that ever lived–Sammy Davis Jr, and Bobby Darin. You combine their musical talent and on stage talent, they were heads and tails above anything we have today.