Smithsonian Orchestra Swings With Big Band Style

The big band is jazz music’s symphony orchestra. Its standardized sections of saxophones, trombones, trumpets and rhythm instruments are analogous to the strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion of classical music ensembles. In both instances, the instrumentation has been remarkably utilitarian, serviceable for a striking variety of musical styles.

The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, recognizing the historical role of the big jazz band, has established itself as a repertory voice for the wide range of music written for the standard large jazz group instrumentation. On Friday night before a full house at the Terrace Theatre in Long Beach, in a program presented by the Smithsonian and the Public Corp. for the Arts, the orchestra swung through music ranging from Duke Ellington and Count Basie to Oliver Nelson, Jimmie Lunceford and Woody Herman.

Doing so demanded a firm grasp of subtle differences in ensemble style and rhythmic drive. Lunceford’s “Lunceford Special,” a classic example of buoyant Swing Era music, contrasted dramatically with the in-the-pocket flow of Basie’s “Lil’ Darlin’.” Similarly, the lush saxophone textures of the Ellington/Billy Strayhorn “Le Sucrier Velors” called for timbre far different from the sensual tenor saxophone sound of Herman’s “Early Autumn.”

But the Smithsonian players, under the direction of musician-educator David Baker, handled each style with aplomb. And, although the strength of the Smithsonian Orchestra is in its work as a unit, there was some attractive soloing as well. Pianist Russell Wilson captured some of the Count’s effervescence in the Basie numbers, and veteran trumpeter Joe Wilder still sounded strong and imaginative. Billy Pierce added impressive tenor saxophone choruses, trombonist Garnett Brown made the most of a few brief solos, and trumpeters Greg Gisbert and Tom Williams contributed powerful individual statements.

The only flaw in this otherwise compelling evening of music was the program’s failure to include any selections from such prime large jazz ensemble composer-arrangers as Gil Evans, Gerald Wilson, Quincy Jones and Toshiko Akiyoshi. Heavily weighted toward Ellington and Basie, the Smithsonian Orchestra’s programming will be more truly representative of the jazz repertoire when it spreads its musical net to include a more diverse representation of the music’s many exceptional talents.