JAZZ REVIEW : Fresh Proof of Timeless Wonder of Benny Carter

The timelessness of Benny Carter’s contributions, as alto saxophonist and composer, has long been one of the wonders of the music world. Saturday night, in a concert with a full orchestra at El Camino College, he proved it yet again.

It would have been impossible for the unwitting listener to discern that “Symphony in Riffs” and “Elegy in Blue” were written 55 years apart, the former in 1933 and the latter just months ago. Both are perfect examples of the big band forum.

Much of what Carter writes and plays relies more on melody and beauty than on complexity. He is capable of conveying every emotion, every passion from joy to sorrow--except anger, which he seems unable or unwilling to express. It’s a true illustration of the art reflecting the man.

The program ranged from his 1936 composition “When Lights Are Low” and his 1939 arrangement of the old pop song “Sleep” to such recent works as a couple of movements from his “Central City Sketches.” This suite was introduced in its entirety last year in New York; it’s too bad this occasion was not used to offer a full West Coast premiere.

Carter was well served by a splendid brass section, with fine solos by all the trumpeters and wistfully lovely cornet chorus by Bill Berry on “I Cant’s Get Started.”

The entire band, assembled just for this occasion, performed spiritedly, with a tenor sax chase by Don Menza and Bob Cooper, and with pianist Mike Wofford, bassist Larry Gales and drummer Sherman Ferguson effective both singly and as a rhythm section.

Enjoyable though the concert was, it left the feeling that Carter deserves an evening devoted entirely to his music, with a vocalist to interpret some of the songs to which lyrics have been set. It is always a pleasure to hear his versions of “Misty” and “Honeysuckle Rose,” yet you can’t avoid the feeling that every moment of non-Carter music, no matter how convincingly he personalizes, is a moment of self-sacrifice.