JAZZ REVIEW : Boys Choir of Harlem in Premiere of Burrell’s ‘Love Suite’ at UCLA

The Boys Choir of Harlem, a group of 35 ranging in age from 8 to 18, is an amazing assemblage. The efforts of conductor Walter Turnbull and the boys were in full flower at Royce Hall, UCLA, on Monday night.

In a wide-ranging program that included austere choral masterpieces by Leonard Bernstein and Adolphus Hailstok, pop tunes by Kool and the Gang, jazz classics by Clifford Brown and Billy Strayhorn and the world premiere of an impressive, challenging piece by guitarist Kenny Burrell, the choir offered as uplifting a view of American youth as can be found.

For what Burrell’s piece, “The Love Suite: A Double Suite for Boys Choir and Guitar,” lacked in lyric depth, it more than made up for in musicality. The piece drew from every imaginable source for its form and content (jazz, rock, Latin, etc.) and provided an ample vehicle for displaying the choir’s wide range of voices. There were moments that were simply gorgeous and the performance was top-notch. The piece could be strengthened only by a stronger, less-cliched libretto.

But Burrell’s lyrics were in keeping with the spirit of the choir. The lyrical messages were keenly positive, with the ending moments of the three-hour concert being a series of heartfelt pleas for racial sanity, human pride and, of course, the anti-drug message “Just Say No.”

All of the young men possessed abundant talent as both singers and dancers. It was a worthy West Coast debut that should pave the way for the group’s return in the very near future.