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Lounge singer has moved up
Lounge performer T. Fox
dresses up to sing Latin pop music as he entertains the crowds
on the patio of Trader Vic’s outside Planet Hollywood on the
Strip Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008.
By
Jerry Fink
Oct 27, 2008
Five years ago T. Fox was performing in a
wide spot in a hallway on the second floor of the Tropicana. The
makeshift lounge was at the entry to the Island Buffet.
He shared the spot with a bird act.
The venue was confining, almost
claustrophobic for the 100 or so fans who crowded into the close
quarters to listen and to watch. But Fox energized the hallway
with his nonstop audience interaction, doing impressions and
singing covers of songs by the likes of Nat King Cole, Frank
Sinatra, Luther Vandross and Sammy Davis Jr. Standards, rock,
R&B, jazz. Nothing was outside of Fox’s repertoire.
Today, the walls have come down.
He’s gone from an aisle to a six-lane
boulevard — the Strip between Flamingo and Harmon.
His stage now is a patio at Trader Vic’s,
where he performs outside Planet Hollywood beneath the stars and
the bright lights of Las Vegas. The set that surrounds him is
literally worth billions of dollars — a panoramic backdrop that
includes the Bellagio and its fountains, the emerging City
Center and the colorful hot air balloon sign at Paris Las Vegas.
The patio, an extension of the famed
restaurant, looms over the Strip, 10 feet above the sidewalk
where a steady stream of tourists flow past.
Most seem awed by what they see as they
stroll along: massive resorts that dwarf humanity; blazing
lights that turn night into day; the sheer numbers of people
that surround them.
Many stop to enjoy the free show on the patio
above them.
The patio, a bar and dining area, seats about
100. But T. Fox performs nightly to an audience that numbers in
the thousands.
It includes more than just motorists and
pedestrians; he reaches the world, across the airwaves.
Midway through his frenzied routine Fox
encourages fans at the patio tables to use their cell phones to
call their family and friends wherever they are. When they
connect, he takes the phone and sings long distance, sometimes
juggling three or four phones at once.
“That’s right. This is live from Las Vegas,”
he beams as he sings to the surprised recipients of the late
night phone calls made to Oklahoma City and Toronto and Atlantic
City.
Fox, 44, who began playing piano at 4 in his
native Detroit, has had a lifelong love of entertaining. He
inherited the passion from his mother, Maria Jackson — aka Mamma
Fox — who used to sing with such legends as Billy Eckstine and
Sarah Vaughan.
Fox majored in business and music at the
University of Michigan before pursuing his musical career
full-time.
He arrived in Las Vegas in early 1999
anticipating an engagement at the Luxor. When the job fell
through he landed at the old Cafe Nicolle for six months and
from there was offered the hallway at the Tropicana, where he
performed for several years before moving on to other venues.
He may be on a patio now. But if you ask him,
he’s really in heaven. |
