Symphonic harmony

Alex Coolman

Take a great sound and add a string section, and the result is an even

better sound.

That’s what Tony Butala thinks is the case when the sound in question is

the vocal harmony of the Lettermen, the three-man singing group he formed

in the late ‘50s.

The group plays tonight at the Orange County Performing Arts Center with

the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. The Kingston Trio will also perform.

Though the distinctive character of the Lettermen’s material is derived

from its tight vocal harmonies, Butala says the addition of an orchestra

to the mix can be magical.

“Our hit records seem to be conducive to larger instrumentation,” Butala

said. He said that a dozen or so murmuring violins and a few double

basses can fill out the harmonic spectrum of the Lettermen’s tunes,

creating “a more ethereal, expansive sound.”

Back when the group was first making its name, performing on talk shows

for the likes of George Burns and Jack Benny, the Lettermen would often

be backed up by a big band, Butala said. Nightclub gigs, too, would

involve performing with symphonic accompaniment.

“We had our charts written for 70 or 80 pieces,” Butala said.

But the core of the Lettermen’s sound has always been in the voices.

Butala said his approach to crooning was heavily influenced by Mel Torme,

whose breathy tone earned him the nickname the “Velvet Fog.”

“I couldn’t call myself the Velvet Fog, so I called myself the Velvet

Smog since I grew up in L.A.,” Butala said.

It’s a smoothness of tone that has proved popular with some of the vocal

acts that have followed in the Lettermen’s footsteps.

Butala said that although his group is “certainly not Boyz II Men,” the

Lettermen was one of the first acts mentioned when that contemporary a

cappella group was asked about its influences.

The Lettermen appear at the center at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14 to $54. The

center is at 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. For more information,

call (714) 740-7878.