Where Are the Love Songs?

The first thing that came to mind when I heard of a multimillion dollar wedding scheduled to take place in France this summer was that Alex Donner and his orchestra must be performing. Over lunch at the Metropolitan Cafe, Mr. Donner told me he was scheduled to perform in Versailles in two weeks, and I naturally assumed that it would be for what is being billed as the most expensive wedding ever. It was an easy mistake to make, because Alex Donner's orchestra is one of the most sought after wedding bands for high society affairs. Part of the cachet may be that Alex Donner is a New York blue blood who chose a risky career in entertainment over the security of the legal profession. The native Manhattanite, who comes from a bloodline that includes some of America's most prominent families, was educated at Buckley, Andover, Princeton, the Sorbonne, and Fordham Law School. Mr. Donner counts as his forebears the Boston Cushings and the New York Brokaws. He is also related to the Roosevelts and is a third cousin of President Bush. Alex Donner was once a successful lawyer who handled divorces during the week and played for weddings on the weekends, which he found much more enjoyable, if not profitable. His first major wedding assignment was in Jaipur, India, for a former divorce client, who was a wealthy oil heiress. That posh ceremony landed his picture in several major magazines, such as Town and Country, and led to a demand for the high-energy, versatile bandleader. An appearance on "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" was next, and in 1986, Mr. Donner gave up his legal career to pursue life as a bandleader. Now, his band performs about 110 times a year. Mr. Donner also oversees a company that books entertainment for another 200 events a year. I caught the silky voiced Mr. Donner at the Ball for Life, a black tie affair at a Park Avenue private club. He was singing one of my favorite old standards, "It Had to Be You." He followed this with "Night and Day" and other classic tunes of the 1940s. I've always been very fond of the Big Band sound and the swing era, which introduced some of the most beautiful songs ever, from such talented composers as Cole Porter and George Gershwin. But the evening of the ball wasn't restricted to standards. After Mr. Donner crooned those classics, his band rendered a variety of music from jazz to Latin - and the evening ended up with the entire dance floor filled with guests dancing to good old rock 'n' roll. The Alex Donner orchestra has performed at the Carlyle, the Waldorf, the Pierre, and every posh country club on the East Coast, and it's easy to see why it's so much in demand. I certainly don't mean to gush about the orchestra, but I'm really so sick and tired of listening to what passes for music now. It's not only ear splitting, it has no rhythm and the lyrics are indecipherable. What ever happened to love songs? I find myself watching AMC and TCM just to catch nostalgic musicals and be transported to an era when class reigned. Listening to the soothing strains of a lovely song as performed by Mr. Donner that evening was not only a breath of fresh air; it was proof that elegance had not completely disappeared in 2004. He has a velvety speaking voice and, at lunch, I had to fight an impulse to say, "Sing, Alex, sing!" He gave me two of his CDs, "White Tie," and "Black Tie Blues." He wrote "Black Tie Blues," a hilarious parody of a rich man's sorrows. I had to ask one more question. Since he is a Bush cousin and the Republican convention will be coming to town, was he scheduled to perform at any of the events? "Not as yet," he answered, "but I'll be glad to offer any help I can." Considering what a Democratic town this is, maybe that might not be such a good idea, I remarked. "You might never work in this town again." He laughed at my concern and said he's a nonpartisan bandleader who's performed for Mario Cuomo as well as Rudy Giuliani. He is strictly nonpolitical when it comes to music. But he does know conservative contacts in the catering industry that would be willing to help make the convention a success. The 2004 GOP committee would be stupid to pass up an offer like his, so I decided to put in a call to Bill Harris, who's the CEO of the committee. Unfortunately, he's a hard man to reach. His press secretary insisted on answering all questions about the convention plans and assured me that everything was going smoothly. Perhaps his reluctance to allow me access to Mr. Harris might be just a healthy skepticism of the hostile New York press. Still, the idea of Alex Donner and his orchestra performing "In the Mood" or "Moonlight Serenade" might be enough to sooth the savage beast of the liberal press.