JAZZ REVIEW : Verve Anniversary Bash a Celebration of the Present

No company in the jazz business packages its records as smartly as Verve. So it made sense that Wednesday’s gala celebration of the label’s storied history should have come as tightly wrapped and as colorfully arranged as a box of assorted sweets. Some of the offerings were gooey. Others were tart. But a few more mixed nuts here and there would have been welcome.

From the jump, it was clear that this made-for-TV event (scheduled for broadcast May 18 on PBS, as part of the Great Performance Series) would serve just enough of the 30-plus artists assembled for the bash. Despite the cavalcade of historic tributes, “Verve at 50” was less a celebration of the label’s past than a creamy-dreamy salute to its glittering present.

Within such limitations, there were a few pleasures to be had. It was nice, for instance, to see Dee Dee Bridgewater make a rare appearance, and nicer still to see her coming into her own as a vocalist. Organist Jimmy Smith glowed within the frame of Oliver Nelson’s classic arrangement of “Walk on the Wild Side,” re-enacted with the proper sense of fun by the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. Smith milked the formal-garbed audience so shamelessly that he gave the evening’s somewhat self-conscious toniness a welcome jolt.

Overall, the design of the show--tributes to Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Evans and other Verve icons--was intelligently crafted. But some of the details were bewildering. Why, for instance, was Miles Davis one of the honorees? His only direct connection with Verve have been on a couple of sessions with Charlie Parker.

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It became clear that Davis’ ghost was summoned for no other purpose than to bless the fusion artists who opened the second half. Co-host Herbie Hancock, now a full-fledged Verve guy, also used his former boss’ spirit to advance his own forthcoming work for the label, billed as a “synthesis of jazz hip-hop and African music.” You like to root for someone who knows and loves the music as well as Hancock, but the groove-infested piece he trundled out only served to constrain such vital young voices as trumpeter Roy Hargrove and saxophonist Gary Thomas.

Indeed, one was hoping that Hargrove, the latest and most promising addition to Verve’s roster, would have had the chance to shine at this event--as he often has in similar settings. But his high-altitude fluidity seemed checked by the program’s brisk pace. Indeed, there seemed just enough time for each of the stars to make an impression and leave. Trombonist J. J. Johnson and singer Betty Carter made the best of the situation. Carter’s lively performance of “How High the Moon” showed her to be not only the best scat singer of the night, but the best bandleader as well.