Laine and Dankworth: Together

If the careers of Cleo Laine and John Dankworth were ever made into a motion picture, it might well be called “Divided Lives.” Or “United Lives,” according to which aspects of their multifarious activities are inspected.

When Laine and Dankworth are not working as a team (as they will be tonight at the Hollywood Bowl), she may be busy with her stage career as a dramatic actress, whose credits extend back to 1958 (the year they were married), while he lays aside his saxophone and clarinet to resume his other life as a symphony conductor, composer/arranger, and occasional writer of film scores.

“It’s been going surprisingly well,” said Dankworth. “The contrast between England and the U.S. is striking; pops concerts, which are so popular here now, have had a real struggle over there, but at last I’m securely fastened, it seems.”

Dankworth, who has also been principal guest conductor of the San Francisco Symphony Pops since 1987, is constantly in demand for other symphony appearances. “I conducted a date with the Rochester Philharmonic featuring Dizzy Gillespie,” he said. “We did symphonic arrangements of several of Dizzy’s best known compositions.”

It was with the Rochester Pops that Dankworth conducted (and played saxophone) for “Echoes of Harlem,” one of the most successful incursions into symphony-cum-jazz territory, with trumpeter Barry Lee Hall of the Ellington orchestra as the other principal soloist, on ProJazz Records, a subsidiary of the ProArte label to which he is now under contract.

Meanwhile, Laine recently completed “Woman to Woman,” consisting of music and lyrics by female composers. Several songs from that album will be heard this evening. RCA has also just reissued her classic “Porgy and Bess” album with Ray Charles, which Norman Granz produced in 1977.

The divided lives of Laine and Dankworth extend to their residences. At their home north of London they host the Wavendon All Music Plan, presenting everything from string quartets and jazz to opera and Indian music during about 150 concerts a year. Occasionally they retreat to a home they bought a few years ago up north in Sonoma, Calif.

For John Dankworth, the surprise of the year was an announcement that out of 31 applicants for a new radio channel in London, a group applying for an all-jazz station (with Dankworth and other jazz notables on the committee) was the winner.

Dankworth’s enthusiasm for the jazz project is a reminder of his loyalty to the idiom that was his basic background. It seems probable that he will take part in the venture with an occasional program of his own; and it is not hard to guess which Grammy winning jazz-pop-musical comedy-opera singer will be his first guest.