Stoltzman Family Crosses Over, and Back, at the Bowl

Clarinetist Richard Stoltzman has established himself as a preeminent instrumentalist in the classical realm, but has never let that get in the way of what he perceives as a good time, dabbling in jazz and other detours from the art music straight and narrow. He took crossover to new heights Wednesday night at the Hollywood Bowl, stretching from classical to jazz inflections and the Latin leanings of his new album, “Danza Latina.”

But there was a special agenda this night, as the Stoltzman family circus made its Hollywood Bowl debut. It turned out to be an accessible, balanced family affair, with classical sensibilities nicely covered by mother, Lucy--a violinist who is associate concertmaster of the San Francisco Symphony--and the young pianist, Meggie, while son Peter revealed a pronounced jazz leaning. Richard Stoltzman, of course, went every which way, skillfully, if not always with the surest sense of swing when needed.

A highlight of the concert’s first half was Darius Milhaud’s Suite for Clarinet, Violin and Piano, giving the family (Meggie on piano) a work full of sweetly dissonant tones and jazz-hued wit. They found an even more fitting foil in that other noted jazz-influenced composer, George Gershwin, in a suite from “Porgy and Bess,” which found the Stoltzman males exploring the innate jazz aspects.

For their part, the females in the family delivered more classical decorum in phrasing and manner on arrangements by Jascha Heifetz. During the Gershwin, Richard Stoltzman, never one to abide by strict concert music protocol, strolled around the periphery of the Bowl’s first box section for no apparent reason--influenced, perhaps, by Kenny G.

After intermission, Stoltzman returned with selections from his new album, joined by members of the Angeles String Quartet and a genuine rhythm section, playing tunes by Brazilians Egberto Gismonti, Jobim and Ivan Lins, and Argentine new tango master Astor Piazzolla.

Stoltzman drew on the talents of local legends, including drummer Alex Acuna, who soloed mightily on a fusion tune played on plugged-in keyboards by Peter, who reveals a Chick Corea-like sense of phrasing and touch. Another significant local, off-stage, was composer-pianist Clare Fischer, who supplied many of the arrangements.

All in all, the message of the evening was that crossover doesn’t have to be a dirty word, and that family connections can run deep.