In a Festival of Fusion, the Music Unravels

Curious about the state of contemporary jazz, otherwise known as fusion? One needed to look no further than Jazz at the Meadows concert Saturday at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre to get a fix on the genre, now some 25 years old, which melds pop and other musical styles with jazz.

The diverse lineup included a saxophonist’s funky band, an ensemble that uses Japanese instrumentation to color its pop vamps and ballads, an electric guitarist with an ear for the jazz mainstream, a soft-pop vocalist and a flamenco-fired acoustic guitar duo. Does that cover all the bases?

Maybe not, but it’s unlikely that a more representative cross-section could have been assembled for a five-hour plus show. The uneven program also reflected the artistic unevenness of the contemporary-jazz scene.

Perhaps most telling was the attendance. Despite the presence of guitarist Lee Ritenour, singer Michael Franks, saxophonist Tom Scott and the band Hiroshima, the amphitheater was less than half full (and the lawn seating area not even open). Getting out of the parking lot at the end of the day was like driving on the 405 after midnight: Where’d everybody go?

The crowd, though small, was genuinely enthusiastic, especially for Franks and Hiroshima. Although the audience for contemporary jazz may be shrinking, the spirit of its remaining devotees is not.

The program’s best moments came when bands stuck to fusion’s original intent: making jazz more accessible to the pop audience.

When Ritenour explored the music of Wes Montgomery, when saxophonist Scott played with passion and technique against the backbeat, when Hiroshima vocalist Kimaya Seward scatted easily against a swing rhythm, the music had feeling and meaning.

Not surprisingly, the day’s worst moments came when the jazz/pop formula was turned on its head and commercial music forms were given jazz touches. Typical of this was Franks’ light ballads and too-cool delivery, or Hiroshima’s attempts at being soulful.

Scott’s closing set was a demonstration that musicianship can make even easy-to-grasp material more interesting. Backed by a tight quartet, the saxophonist improvised with fluid grace and authentic feeling, something missing in the canned, perfunctory sax solos during Hiroshima’s set.

Ironically, Scott’s program looked back some 20 years for its best material. The Average White Band’s 1974 disco hit, “Pick Up the Pieces,” was given a Latin feel and played with an aggressiveness missing from the original.

“Tom Cat” and “Rock Island Rocket,” a pair of tunes that Scott pulled from his days as leader of the L.A. Express, were attractive exercises that simply linked jazz sensibilities with R&B; rhythmic forms.

Ritenour, with respected saxophonist Ernie Watts in his band, also showed the value of musicianship as he improvised or moved through detailed passages with his band. Watts, on both flute and tenor, added further intelligence and emotion to the set. Though mostly built on the predictable, the set seemed like a breath of fresh air compared to what preceded it.

Hiroshima, reviewed last month during a performance at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, has focused its appeal to commercialism with a range of soul-styled ballads and stodgy beat-vocal numbers. The brevity of the set here--with just enough of June Kuramoto’s koto to keep it interesting (but far too little of Johnny Mori’s big taiko drums)--helped keep their little secret: Most of Hiroshima’s tunes are bland and sound alike.

Franks turned in a dismal set as the members of his band seemed unfocused and unable to follow one another. The singer announced that the group had just returned from Bangkok, but even jet lag couldn’t explain the tiredness of this performance.

Guitar duo Strunz and Farah, with a drummer, bassist and two percussionists, set a rhythm-rich background for flamenco-styled improvisations that were full of fire but low on heat. The group was hurt by thin, poorly mixed sound that often rendered the layered accompaniment into a flat, buzzing wall.

Although one or two of the group’s numbers, with the ongoing interplay between percussion and strings, made for attractive listening, Strunz and Farah has over-homogenized their Latin-Middle Eastern-Asian influences into a bland, same-sounding formula. More cultural authenticity is needed here.