Quotation of the Week: Brian Wilson

“Beware the lollipop of mediocrity; lick it once and you’ll suck forever.”

Brian Wilson

Live Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl: Miles Davis/Gil Evans: Still Ahead

By Don Heckman

Call it a mixed blessing. The thought kept flickering through my mind Wednesday night at the Hollywood Bowl during a program titled, promisingly, “Miles Davis/Gil Evans: Still Ahead.” There was no faulting the premise: selections from Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain and Miles Ahead, the classic Davis/Evans musical partnerships of the late fifties, performed by an ensemble of L.A.’s finest musicians, conducted by Vince Mendoza, with Terence Blanchard and Nicholas Payton as principal soloists.

Gil Evans and Miles Davis

The original recorded music was the product of encounters between two jazz masters, each in rare creative form, fully receptive to the directions that each might trigger in the other. And the result was a startlingly far-ranging collection of music: the adventurous individual items of Miles Ahead (including, among others “My Ship,” “New Rhumba” and “The Duke”); the transformative instrumental versions of the character-driven songs in Porgy and Bess; the atmospheric blend of folk, classical and jazz elements in Sketches of Spain.

Amazingly, there is only a minimal history of live recordings of this music. A selection has surfaced here and there over the years, usually at a festival or big band celebration. Evans continued to play some of the individual pieces over the years with his own orchestras — but always in drastically revised versions. And, in the only significant revival, Davis performed excerpts from all three albums in a Quincy Jones-produced event at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1991.

All of which made Wednesday’s Bowl program a much anticipated event. And the upside was clearly the utterly timeless quality of the music. Hearing Evans’ capacity to move effortlessly from the collective jazz drive of some of the Miles Ahead pieces to the emotional intimacy of Porgy and Bess‘ “My Man’s Gone Now” and “I Loves You Porgy” and the passionate intensity of the “Solea” from Sketches of Spain was an ear-opening (and ear-caressing) experience.

So far, so good. But all of these works were conceived as unique concertos — with Davis’ solo voice placed within an orchestral setting. And those settings were designed with the timbre, the phrasing and the style of his trumpet (or flugelhorn) in mind. Blanchard’s playing on Porgy and Bess was an extraordinary display of rich, emotional, improvisational layering. Heard on its own, separate from the Evans’ setting, it would have been a memorable Gershwin interpretation. Positioned within Evans’ re-composition of the score, it seemed at odds with its surroundings — a bit like hearing the Mozart Concerto for Clarinet performed by a superb soprano saxophonist.

It’s neither fair nor desirable, of course, to expect Blanchard — a major artist in his own right — to perform a Miles Davis simulation. And there were a few passages in which his own intimate qualities found meaningful interpretive variations. Given more time to work on it, he would surely have discovered more. Still, one couldn’t help but wonder whether the rarity of the live renderings of this work may simply trace to the challenge of finding a way in which a player other than Davis can find expressive room within a framework so specifically oriented.

Payton’s performance on the Sketches of Spain pieces came somewhat closer to the mark — in part because so much more of the trumpet role was written, in part because his sound and phrasing verged closer to the Davis method. Gil Evans’ trumpet-playing son, Miles, also played on a few pieces, his tentativeness offset by his obvious affection for the music. Jimmy Cobb, who had been present on some of the original recordings, alternated — and sometimes combined — with Peter Erskine in the drumming. And tuba player Howard Johnson, a veteran of Evans’ orchestras, made some significant contributions to Porgy and Bess.

But neither the orchestra, the soloists nor the music were well-served by the sound amplification. Christian McBride’s bass (especially in the Miles Ahead and Porgy and Bess segments) was boosted to the point of heaviness, despite the excellence of his playing. All of the trumpet solos were positioned so far out front of the audio mix that they lost the almost symbiotic relationship with the ensemble that was an essential aspect of the original Davis/Evans vision. Many of the brass passages (some of which were poorly blended with each other) overwhelmed the lighter woodwind timbres. And this, once again, diminished the subtle dynamic qualities so vital to Evans’ orchestrations.

So, as I said, a mixed blessing. Like everyone else in the large crowd, no doubt, I’m happy to have been there, pleased to have heard this remarkable music in live performance fashion. But I couldn’t help but wonder — with a little more rehearsal time, some thoughtful consideration of how to creatively approach the soloing, and the provision of the correct acoustic environment — how much more it might have been.

Picks of the Week: August 3 – 9

By Don Heckman

Los Angeles

- Aug. 4. (Tues.) Chuck Berghofer’s Midnight Jazz Band. Whenever bassist Berghofer steps into the leader’s role, you can count on the fact that he’ll be surrounded by world class players. And the Midnight band is no exception, with Gary Foster on alto sax, Tom Ranier on piano and Joe La Barbera on drums. Charlie O’s. 994-3068.

- Aug. 4. (Tues.) Jean Shy. Jazz, Blues, Gospel, Pop, Rock — Jean Shy does it all, investing every note she sings with her own inimitable sense of soul. Bar Melody. (310) 670-1994.

Gil Evans and Miles Davis

- Aug. 5. (Wed.) “Miles Davis/Gil Evans: Still Ahead.” Trumpeters Terence Blanchard and Nicholas Payton take on the difficult task of playing the Miles Davis roles in the now classic orchestrations created by Gil Evans for the recordings Porgy and Bess, Sketches of Spain and Miles Ahead. The all-star cast also includes drummer Jimmy Cobb, bassist Christian McBride, drummer Peter Erskine and saxophonist/tubaist Howard Johnson. Vince Mendoza conducts and Miles Evans (Gil Evan’s son) is the music director. The Hollywood Bowl. (310) 850-2000.

- Aug. 5. (Wed.) Frank Potenza. Guitarist, educator (at USC) and protege of Joe Pass, Potenza takes an evening away from the classroom to display his briskly swinging style in an organ trio setting with B-3 master Joe Bagg and drummer Ryan Doyle. They’ll be playing selections from the album Old, New, Borrowed & Blue. Steamers. (714) 871-8800.

- Aug. 5. (Wed.) John Proulx. Pianist/singer performs selections from his new CD, Baker’s Dozen: Remembering Chet Baker. Featuring trumpeter Ron Stout, bassist Chuck Berghofer and drummer Joe LaBarbera. Catalina Bar & Grill. (323) 466-2210.

- Aug. 6. (Thurs.) David Sanborn. Alto saxophonist Sanborn — whose sound and style impacted a generation of young saxophonists — makes a rare local club appearance in the Los Angeles suburb of Agoura Hills. Canyon Club. (805) 583-6700.

Estaire Godinez

- Aug. 6. (Thurs.) Estaire Godinez. She plays wildly diverse percussion, she’s a passionate singer, and she brings dynamic electricity to every song she touches. All of which should make for an exciting night in Bel Air. Vibrato. (310) 474-9400

- Aug. 6. (Thurs.)) Wild Magnolias. Mardi Gras in August. The Magnolias combine roots New Orleans music with wildly colorful, on-stage flamboyance. The Skirball Center, (310) 440-4500

- August 7. (Fri..) Lyle Lovett and Madeleine Peyroux. The perfect match of a pair of popular music’s most idiosyncratic performers. Impossible to lock into any single genre, Lovett and Peyroux always offer compelling performances. The Greek Theatre. (Also at the Santa Barbara Bowl on Sun. Aug. 9.)

Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang

- Aug. 7 & 8. (Fri. & Sat.) Herbie Hancock and Lang Lang with the L.A. Philharmonic. Two titans of the contemporary piano world display their very different musical orientations. Let’s hope there’s an opportunity for them to jam together (if they can agree on what to play). The Hollywood Bowl. (323) 850-2000.

- Aug. 7 – 9. (Fri. – Sun.) 22nd Annual Long Beach Jazz Festival. Funk, fusion, crossover and jazz pop in the spotlight with Patti Austin, Norman Brown, David Sanborn, Ledisi, Les McCann, Hiroshima, Ramsey Lewis, Paul Brown, Marc Antoine and numerous others. The Long Beach Jazz Festival. Lagoon Park. http://www.longbeachjazzfestival.com. (562) 424-0013.

Tanya Tagaq

- Aug. 8. (Sat.) Tanya Tagaq. Tagaq, who has worked frequently with Bjork, is a Canadian Inuit who specializes in the difficult, but always fascinating to hear, throat-singing style. Based in Inuit traditions, she has transformed the style into a strikingly contemporary expression. Solo a cappella artist Hyperpotamus opens the bill. Grand Performances. (213) 687-2190

- Aug. 9. (Sun.) Chris Walden celebrates the 10th anniversary of his Big Band. Special guests include Carol Welsman, Tierney Sutton, Courtney Fortune and Christopher Cross. With possible Surprise guest appearances by Michael Bolton and David Foster. 8 p.m. Catalina Bar & Grill. (323) 466-22110.

- Aug. 9. (Sun.) The Lanny Morgan 6. Alto saxophonist Morgan leads his contemporary bebop band of trumpeter Bob Summers, tenor saxophonist Doug Webb, pianist Tom Ranier, bassist Chuck Berghofer and drummer Steve Schaeffer. The Lighthouse Café. (310) 376-9833.

- Aug. 9. (Sun.) “A Tale of Two Princes: Prince William “Buddy” Colette and Prince Charles Mingus.” The music of both composers will be performed, and guest artists will sit in to honor Buddy Colette’s 88th birthday. 11 a.m. brunch. Catalina Bar & Grill. (323) 466-2210.

San Francisco

- Aug. 3. (Mon.) Elin, Rising jazz star Elin has been drawing rave reviews from New York and Miami to Peru and the Canary Islands. Born in Sweden to Peruvian and Irish parents, her comfortable multi-culturalism brings a rich colorful diversity to her music. Brazilian vocalist. Opening for her — San Diego’s talented young vocalist Sacha Boutros. Yoshi’s Oakland. (510) 238-9200

Charlie Haden

- Aug. 7 – 9. (Fri. – Sun.) Charlie Haden leads his Quartet West in a celebation of his 72nd birthday weekend. With pianist Alan Broadbent, tenor saxophonist Ernie Watts and drummer Rodney Green. Yoshi’s San Francisco. (415) 655-5600.

San Jose

- Aug. 7 – 9. (Fri. – Sun.) The San Jose Jazz Festival. Featuring Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Wild Magnolias, Denise Donatelli, Pete Escovedo, Bill Henderson, Allen Toussaint, Winard Harper, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Lionel Loueke and dozens of others. All in all, there will be over a hundred concerts on nine stages throughout the three days of the Festival. With prices as low as $15 a day ($10 on Friday). with children 12 and under free, it is surely one of the best musical bargains of the summer, anywhere. San Jose Jazz Festival. (408) 288-7557.

New York

Tessa Souter

- Aug. 3. (Mon.) Tessa Souter. One of the few exceptional standouts in the crowded field of female jazz singers, Souter performs material from her about-to-be-released CD, Obsession. Her live performances are far too rare, so don’t miss this one. The Blue Note. (212) 475-8592

- Aug. 4 – 6. (Tues. – Thurs.) Greg Osby, Playboy magazine’s “Jazz Artist of the Year,” leads his sextet — vocalist Sara Serpa, guitarist Nil Felder, pianist Frank LoCrasto, bassist Matt Brewer and drummer John Davis – in selections from the album, 9 Levels. The Village Vanguard. (212) 255-4037.

- Aug. 6 – 9. (Thurs. – Sun.) Ernestine Anderson Quartet. At 80-something, Anderson brings a lifetime of atmospheric insight to each phrase, making her performances into virtual master classes in the art of jazz singing. She’s backed by tenor saxophonist Houston Person, whose 30 plus years with Etta Jones taught him something about jazz singing, as well. Jazz Standard. (212) 576-2252.

Boston

Claudia Acuna

- Aug. 7. (Fri.) Claudia Acuna discovered jazz in her native Chile and — even though her last CD, En Este Momento, featured Spanish language songs — her jazz skills continue to grow, enhanced by the velvet sound of her voice. the rhythmic lift of her phrasing, and an unerring way with a lyric. RegattaBar. Cambridge. (617) 395-7757.

- Aug. 7. (Fri.) Leny Andrade. The always-swinging Brazilian jazz/bossa nova singer performs with the Cesar Camargo Mariano/Romero Lubambo guitar duo. Sculler’s. (617) 562-4111

Washington, D.C.

- Aug. 6 – 9. (Thurs,. – Sun.) Freddy Cole. There’s a trace of the same Cole family vocal timbre in his voice that was present in his brother Nat Cole. But Freddy is very much his own man, singing with the interpretive qualities of a jazz master. Blues Alley. (202)337-4141

London

Judy Carmichael

- Aug. 3 – 15. (Mon. – Sat.) (except for the 9th.) Judy Carmichael will be adding vocals to her versatile piano stylings in a performance celebrating her new CD, Come and Get It. The Boisdale of Belgravia. London.