That's entertainment

Elia and other "vocal stylists" and "impersonators" want to relive a style of music that never really went away, he said.

Elia, 48, a vocal stylist in Tucson for more than a decade, doesn't do impersonations, but prefers to interpret a melody and make it his own, he said. When he sings in the legendary style of performers such as Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Bobby Darin, the experience is pure Swing Era nostalgia.

"I grew up in Chicago with this stuff," Elia said. "Sundays and Wednesdays were pasta days while Sinatra, Mario Lanza and Tony Bennett played on the turntable."

A drummer and front man for local bands since the age of 15, Elia, 48, performs with all the nuances of the archetypes he admires, but doesn't want to appear like a cartoon character singing "New York, New York" as other impersonators do.

Elia (pronounced like Elliott without the "tt") prefers Sinatra's style of phrasing a lyric the way no one else can, he said.

"When you come to my show you get the real thing," Elia said. "I don't pretend to be Sinatra — I just happen to sound like him."

Elia has been singing every Sunday for 10 years at Fuego Restaurant, Bar & Grill, 6958 E. Tanque Verde Road. But other talents are coming on scene, making the impersonation business in Tucson a growing phenomenon.

Clifton Ford is an impersonator who not only sings like Nat King Cole but looks, acts and dresses like the famous1950s jazz performer.

Ford, 61, got his start in Al's Barbershop at Grant Road and First Avenue and began impersonating Cole three years ago, he said.

"I'm doing my part to keep his music alive," Ford said.

Laura Nava, with her red lips and electric wink, likes to sing torch songs, but her look is undeniably Marilyn Monroe, Mae West and sometimes Tina Turner.

"I've always been able to do voices," Nava said.

Wearing glittery gowns and gargantuan simulated diamonds, Nava, who started doing impersonations as a child and has performed as Monroe for five years, captures the audiences' attention by becoming the personification of Monroe, West or Turner.

"Once you get into the character, people don't care what you do," she said. "As long as I project myself as Marilyn, they don't care what I sing."

Nava, 43, contends there are a lot of great singers, but an audience wants to be entertained.

"Three straight singers wouldn't sell like three impersonators can," Nava said.

About four months ago, restaurant owner and chef Mo Moslem of Verona Italian Restaurant, 120 S. Houghton Road, decided to put on a show for the holidays using the talents of Elia, Ford and Nava, he said. Within 10 days, the event was entirely booked — without advertising.

"Every single person loved the show," Moslem said. "I'm so happy I pleased the people."

Moslem's restaurant, which is in its seventh year of business in the Bashas' shopping center at Houghton Road and Broadway, is nearly always booked and requires a reservation, Moslem said.

Lauri Wednesday and her family went to Verona's special-event night to celebrate a birthday.

"We love it," Wednesday said. "For years it was just the food; now we come for the entertainment."

Kent and Sandra Phillips are a couple of regulars who come for the food and get great entertainment without a cover charge.

"Tucson needs more of this," said Kent Phillips. "I just wish I could sing. I know all the words."

Sandra Phillips wants to keep the restaurant a neighborhood secret, she said.

Elia, an experienced industry professional with a quirky sense of humor, said he will continue performing for another three years while he pursues a career in motion pictures.

"My future could be big things," he said, "or I could quit to sell cars."

Elia, Ford and Nava bring back the music that never went away

l What: Paul Elia sings Sinatra

l Where: Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Verona Italian Restaurant, 120 S. Houghton Road, and Sundays from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Fuego Restaurant, Bar & Grill, 6958 E. Tanque Verde Road

l For more information: Call Verona at 722-2722 or Fuego at 886-1745