JAZZ REVIEW : Big Bands Are a Big Draw at the Bowl

So big bands are dead? Tell that to the 15,145 fans who converged Wednesday on the Hollywood Bowl for a concert by the orchestras of Mercer Ellington, Frank Foster (leading the Count Basie Band) and Louie Bellson.

The Ellingtonians were the most adventurous by far, in instrumentation (three percussionists) and material. Even when Mercer plays father Duke’s tunes something fresh is added.

The use of steel drums on “Queenie Pie” with its reggae beat was delightful. Barrie Lee Hall’s trumpet on “Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me” and Shelly Paul’s tenor sax had a personal touch, and the flute of Sayyd Abdul Al Khabyyr provided moments of exotica. His son, Muhammad, contributed two elegant trombone solos.

At the piano, where his eminence the Duke once sat, was the charming Suzuko Yokoyama, whose solo on “Satin Doll” was an expression of her own boppish personality rather than a mirror image of her predecessor. Another powerful force was Tina Fabrique, whose flawless negotiation of the hard-to-sing “Something to Live For” was followed by an ebullient “Just Squeeze Me.”

“Ballet of the Flying Saucers,” originally part of the suite “A Drum Is a Woman,” found Yokoyama at the electric keyboard among other innovations, again reflecting Mercer Ellington’s determination to make an individual place for himself in musical history.

The Basie ensemble, in its more past-oriented way, was equally effective, though a stronger pianist than Ace Carter would be helpful. The “Count Basie Remembrance Suite,” reviewed here earlier this year, was repeated. Carmen Bradford, a distinguished singer, was confined to one tune; no doubt this was due to the presence of another Carmen, who used the band for her own set.

Carmen McRae’s vocals are rarely heard in an orchestral setting. Thanks to sensitive arrangements by John Clayton, she was in splendid form; her “For All We Know” displayed the depth of her emotional conviction.

Following directly after the Ellington set, Louie Bellson’s band was a sort of continuum, since he is a celebrated Ellington alumnus (he also played briefly with Basie), but it seemed strange that he devoted so much of his set to works by the Duke and doubly debatable that he wound up with “Cotton Tail” and “Caravan,” both of which the Ellingtonians had just played.

The best of Bellson could be found in the ensemble precision and in solos by Bob Cooper and Don Menza on tenor sax, Steve Huffsteter on trumpet, Thurman Green on trombone and Bill Green on soprano sax, with the leader climaxing it in his drum workout. But Bellson is a talented composer; why couldn’t he have offered us at least two or three of his own pieces instead of those ducal duplications?