Seth MacFarlane (Atlanta Symphony Hall Sept. 18) has his eyes on Ol' Blue Eyes

The 41 year old has a deep abiding love for music well before he was born, with an especially soft heart for Ol' Blue Eyes.

In a phone interview earlier this week, he said as a teen, he fell in love with soundtrack composers such as John Williams ("Close Encounters," "E.T."), Alan Silvestri ("Back to the Future") and James Horner ("Cocoon," "Titanic") and music from the 1987 Woody Allen film "Radio Days," set in the 1930s and 1940s.

"Those two very different influences converged when I discovered the Frank Sinatra recordings of the 1950s and early 1960s," said MacFarlane. "The big band/ jazz symphonic orchestra genre. That represented the peak of popular music."

He dabbled singing this style of music in college but didn't truly indulge until he began working with orchestras to create music for "Family Guy" starting in 1999.  He found vocal coaches in an older couple Lee and Sally Sweetland, who were about 90 at the time and according to MacFarlane, had worked with Sinatra.

Whenever he hosted a premiere or holiday party, he'd hire studio musicians and orchestra players. He'd croon an occasional Sinatra and Nelson Riddle arrangement. After he did a Fox variety special in 2009, Universal Republic asked him to record an album of orchestral jazz standards and a Christmas collection.

Then last year, the San Francisco Orchestra approached him to lead a New Year's show. This led to a Kennedy Center gig in Washington D.C. Soon, other orchestras started calling, hungry to tap into MacFarlane's younger fan base. He found old arrangements of classic tunes and revived them live. "The orchestra is as much part of the show as the vocals," he said. "If anything, it's really about the orchestra first and foremost. These are unbelievably lush, glittering Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins charts."

MacFarlane said he was thrilled to get the invite from the ASO. He recalls buying CDs of the ASO recordings more than a decade ago. "Great orchestra," he said. "You can expect them to play these charts the way they were meant to be played."

He said he gives the musicians the arrangements a few weeks ahead of time but he only needs a few hours of work with them in person to prepare: "When you're dealing with musicians this good, you don't really need a run through a dozen times. They have it down. These orchestras just love playing this music."

He changes up each show with different songs, different arrangements.

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MacFarlane admits these concerts are a little outside the box and difficult to promote to his core audience. But he has been buoyed by the reaction. In Baltimore, he did four encores and ran out of songs. "When people hear the music," he said, "it's like candy to their ears."

He said the crowds are mixed, from 17 to 70. "There are a lot of younger people," he said. "I try to keep it light. I joke a lot between songs. It's a lot like the audience for my show, which is a fairly broad demographic. And this genre of music appeals to people of all ages."

One jokey way he often finishes the show is singing the theme to the 1970s schlockfest "Love Boat." "It oddly requires a large ensemble to do it," he said.  "It's kind of ridiculous. And fun."

Here's the original version:

Here's his version from Baltimore:

I had time for one quick non-symphonic-related question so I went with new Starz comedy "Blunt Talk," which MacFarlane was an executive producer. It wasn't his idea. That would be Jonathan Ames ("Bored to Death"). But MacFarlane helped get Patrick Stewart aboard to star as a likable but unstable talk show host trying to make it big in the United States.

Credit: Rodney Ho

Credit: Rodney Ho

"I worked with Patrick for a number of years on 'American Dad,' on the 'Ted" movies and "Family Guy,' " MacFarlane said. "I've always been a huge fan of his. It seems like nothing he can't do. It's interesting nobody has built a comedy around him. It seemed like a no brainer to me. I would watch this. This whole talk show angle for Patrick seemed very funny. The episodes just get funnier. The cast is fantastic. I think it's fulfilling the balance between great comedy and Jonathan's thoughtful philosophical writing style. You leave viewing 'Blunt Talk' feeling nourished."

CONCERT PREVIEW

Seth MacFarlane with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, 2015

$29.50-$99.50 before fees

Atlanta Symphony Hall

1280 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta

ON TV

"Blunt Talk," 9 p.m. Saturdays, Starz