Jazz Reviews : A Master’s Turn From Tony Bennett at Hollywood Bowl

Tony Bennett has it all.

It is a rare event when the chance arises, over a 10-day span, to hear the three pre-eminent male singers of our time. On Labor Day, Joe Williams, backed by an ad-hoc 10-man band, was a special joy at the Dick Gibson jazz party in Denver; last week at the Greek Theatre, Frank Sinatra, in fine fettle, was assisted by a large ensemble of strings, brass and saxophones. But Bennett, at the Hollywood Bowl on Wednesday, dispensed with such appurtenances.

There were no strings, no brass, no reeds; for the first couple of numbers not even bass and drums.

One wonders whether Sinatra today could work vocally naked, with nothing but a jazz trio for backup. With Ralph Sharon (coincidentally one of two London-born pianists featured during the evening), Paul Langosch on bass and Joe LaBarbera on drums, Bennett cruised unpretentiously through a perfectly chosen sequence of superior melodies and intelligent lyrics.

Although he can and often does belt out a triple-forte finale, he also sang “Speak Low” as if taking the title literally, almost in a whisper. His scope of emotions ranged from the sly humor of “I Wish I Were in Love Again” to the emotional power of “When Do the Bells Ring for Me?”

The contrast between Bennett, with his effortless ease, and Diane Schuur, who put so much effort to so little valid use, was almost an education. Schuur has taken the idiosyncrasies of several other singers and compounded them into a less than felicitous whole, with awkward scatting and calculated effects. She drew applause by holding the final of in “New York State of Mind” for about 15 seconds.

Worse is her pseudo-ethnic accent bit. If she wants to sing “It Don’t Mean a Thang,” why can’t she at least be consistent and follow it with “Swang” instead of singing swing, which doesn’t even rhyme? As for all those blind jokes (“You’re all looking very good tonight,”) they are embarrassingly silly.

George Shearing, as is his wont, also had a couple of blind jokes; what’s more, at the end of his generally splendid set (with the admirable Neil Swainson on bass) he brought Schuur back for an encore. A vocal by Shearing himself, who sings very pleasantly and without mannerisms, would have been preferable, but perhaps that would not have been show business. Attendance: 13,918.