Bowl Jazz Series Ends in Snappy Tribute to Legends

The Lexus Jazz at the Hollywood Bowl series finished up its inaugural season Wednesday night with a snappy, fast-paced tribute to three “Hollywood Jazz Legends”: Quincy Jones, Johnny Mandel and Henry Mancini. And it included many elements reflecting what was right about Willem Wijnbergen’s decision to expand the presence of jazz at the Bowl and bring in John Clayton as creative director.

There was, for example, a solid headliner in the presence of Shirley Horn. Performing some numbers with her trio, some with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and trumpet soloist Jack Sheldon, she was in rare form. A steamy rendering of “Fever” and a dramatically laid-back stroll through “How Am I to Know” were examples of Horn at her best.

The thematic approach to the program was also a good choice. Jones, Mandel and Mancini all combined impressive composing and arranging skills with an innate jazz sensibility. Showcasing Jolie Jones (singing her father’s “The Eyes of Love”) and Monica Mancini (singing “Anywhere the Heart Goes” and “The Days of Wine and Roses”) was an added benefit.

And it was neat to hear Sheldon with Mandel’s “The Shadow of Your Smile” and tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson with Mancini’s “The Pink Panther”--both players having been associated with the songs’ original versions.

Additionally, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra’s central role in the program was nicely balanced--not too much, not too little--with the ensemble sounding in particularly strong, swinging form.

That said, however, there were a few difficulties with this otherwise captivating evening. The first was that the audio reproduction continues to be a problem--this time via a dead microphone that made it impossible to hear flutist Greg Jefferson for most of his high-speed feature number, “Speedy Gonzales.” Fortunately, John Clayton--aware of the glitch--simply did the piece all over again to give the gifted Jefferson the opportunity to be heard.

The second problem was the failure of Shirley Horn’s programming to do more with the composers who were being honored.

Finally, it’s hard to imagine a tribute to “Hollywood’s Jazz Legends” without Benny Carter--a jazz icon active in the studios for five decades or more. Granted the fact that he received a number of tributes centered on his 90th birthday, he is, nonetheless, one of Hollywood’s, and the world’s, true jazz legends. His music and his presence, particularly in this context, were much missed.