Jazz : Versatile Jubilee Singers Celebrate Black Music at UCLA

“They can do it all.” It’s a virtual entertainment business cliche--a description that almost never seems to deliver what it promises.

Except, for once, in the case of the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, a congregation of artists with the talent and versatility to make the cliche come true.

The ensemble’s performance at Royce Hall on Friday night was a joyous celebration of the deep and persistent roots of black music in American society. Starting with spirituals, and moving through gospel music, jazz and contemporary rhythm and blues, the Jubilee Singers presented a virtual cornucopia of choral sounds, rhythm and choreography.

There were powerfully idiomatic readings of such traditional spiritual works as “Dry Bones” and “I Will Trust in the Lord,” followed by several delightful numbers led by the 90-year-old guest conductor, composer/arranger Jester Hairston.

A set of black gospel songs (performed with the amplification typical of current church practice) was highlighted by Lisa Gray-Ashley’s passionately expressive (and, as it turned out, extremely appropriate) rendering of “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”

The program’s second half moved into African folk songs (including Virginia White’s whimsical “Umngoma”), a theatrical collection of Ellington material and a rousing, hand-clapping tour through “Oh Happy Day.” It was, in short, a remarkable collection, remarkably performed by gifted singers.

In fact, the most startling thing about the Jubilee Singers’ program was the way in which it gave the lie to the proposition that big name performers are necessarily more talented than lesser known artists. There were perhaps 10 or 12 soloists with the group who could provide serious competition for virtually any established world-class star. And they demonstrated their extraordinary solo skills while still meeting their responsibilities as ensemble singers.

Founder-director Albert J. McNeil--a laid-back, but gently authoritative figure--has been leading the Jubilee Singers (with varying personnel) for more than two decades. The years clearly have been kind to an ensemble whose skill and imagination seem to have few limits.