Schuur-Ferguson Magic Arrives a Bit Late

Vocalist Diane Schuur and trumpeter Maynard Ferguson are two of the jazz world’s most vivacious personalities. Pairing them on the same bill, as was done Friday and Saturday at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, seemingly guaranteed a high-energy evening.

But having the horn section of Ferguson’s nine-piece Big Bop Nouveau Band join Schuur during her set had the opposite effect on this double bill’s opening night. The horns, which blew strong and confident in support of trumpeter Ferguson during the evening’s first set, were uncertain and hesitant in their role with the singer. That uncertainty hobbled Schuur’s usual vibrant delivery.

The catalytic promise of their joint appearance didn’t emerge until Ferguson himself came out to join Schuur and company during an encore of “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).” The exchange of high-flying scat and trumpet lines that followed overshadowed anything the singer had done with the ensemble.

When she wasn’t dancing around Ferguson’s horns, Schuur’s work was assured and upbeat while offering more dynamic range than in years past. Though her voice could be shrill at the very top of her three-octave range, she still hit sweet and smooth upper register notes that glistened with vibrato. Her sense of swing was superb when performing “What Is This Thing Called Love?” with bassist Roger Hines and drummer David Gibson as she often lay temptingly behind the beat.

Best received among the mix of ballads, blues and standards were the contemporary numbers “Love Dance” and “Louisiana Sunday Afternoon,” which have become signatures at Schuur concerts. The brass had no trouble fitting into the latter’s good-time swing while Schuur soared at the top of her lungs.

Ferguson’s opening set with Big Bop Nouveau also had a contemporary slant, with the trumpeter playing a largely directorial role. Ferguson never sounded a note during a medley of his two best-known recordings, Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park” and the theme from “Rocky,” instead circling through the audience shaking hands.

Otherwise, the trumpeter played only brief snatches that unfailingly ended with his characteristic, sky-high tones. He sounded best on the raga-based “Sweet Baba Suite” (dedicated to Ferguson guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba), adding unusually warm and thoughtful tones over a modal bass drone. Apparently, as is said of Duke Ellington, the band has become Ferguson’s instrument.