As he took the stage at the start of last month’s Hawaii Pops concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of Frank Sinatra’s birth, Jimmy Borges looked out at the audience with a fresh appreciation.
“I knew that this was probably the last time I was going to look out into this type of audience and see the faces of people who have supported me and loved me over the years,” the 80-year-old singer said. “They made my career. They paid money to someone who would have sung to them for free and gave me my career. It was a beautiful feeling to see and feel that much aloha.”
From “Luck Be a Lady” all the way through the Sinatra catalog to “My Way,” the audience that night witnessed a classically smooth, heartfelt performance from one of Hawaii’s most enduring and most beloved performers — unaware that they were also receiving a final gift from a dying man.
Reached at home Sunday, Borges confirmed that he has terminal lung and liver cancer.
Borges survived a previous bout of liver cancer and had been cancer-free for three years when his doctors detected spots in his lungs in late 2014. He kept the discovery secret to all but his wife until further tests revealed the presence of cancer cells in his lungs and liver.
He revealed his condition Thursday during the taping of a PBS Hawaii special that has yet to air.
“There’s no fear here,” Borges said. “I’m not afraid to die. I’ve had a great life. I’ve had 80 years of hugs and embraces from the people I love and the spirits that watch over me.”
Borges’ diagnosis has prompted introspection about what it means to connect to an audience.
“When you see a show, people will ask you, ‘Hey, how did he sound?’” Borges said. “How do you tell another person what someone sounds like? Once the note ends, the sound is gone. What you leave a person with is a story. It’s what they take back with them.”
A story, then:
It’s 1957 and Borges, just 22, is tapped to replace actor and singer James Shigeta as the headliner of a Las Vegas show.
Borges, who started his career in San Francisco, acquits himself like a pro and soon lands an important gig in New York, where as part of his act he is to sing “New York, New York” to a sophisticated audience of actual New Yorkers. He’s scared beyond his wits.
“It turned out to be the cry of a young Kalihi boy in New York trying to show that he’s a star even though he knows he hasn’t paid his dues yet,” Borges said. “I sang it as a soft ballad, and it became a new story. It became my story.”
Indeed, Borges’ precise phrasing, smooth delivery and luxuriously held notes became a signature style, one that honored the material rather than glorified the singer’s own natural gifts — particularly in Borges’ oft-requested rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Borges was forced to alter his style on his eponymously titled 2015 album.
“I did that album with cancer in my lungs,” he said. “I had to relearn phrasing because I didn’t have the long air to stretch out over eight to 12 bars. But it worked out.”
Borges isn’t done just yet.
On Saturday he’ll tape a performance with old friend Betty Loo Taylor for Hawaii Public Radio. On Dec. 15 he’ll perform with the Count Basie Sextet in the Lewers Lounge at the Halekulani Hotel.
“It’s not work,” Borges said. “It never has been. It’s my raison d’etre. It’s never been an occupation. I chose this path, and for me it’s always been a passion and a dream.”
