Keeping Its Energy in Neutral

Last week in an interview, singer Patti Austin described smooth jazz as “an instrumental wasteland.” And on Sunday night, at the JVC Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl, her characterization was pretty much on target.

The exceptions, as it turned out, were Austin’s own solidly dependable singing, along with the charismatic vocalizing of Jonathan Butler, and the creative centerpiece of the concert--a musically engaging set by singer-songwriter Brenda Russell. Offering a collection of her own well-crafted material, including a pair of songs written with Ivan Lins--”She Walks This Earth” and “Please Felipe”--as well as other attractive items such as “Piano in the Dark” and “Get Here,” she brought life, love and musical color to a program that too rarely moved beyond gray predictability.

The lengthy evening began at 6 p.m., although, oddly, audience members who arrived before 5 p.m. for the usual pre-concert picnics were prevented from entering until sound checks could be completed. Odd scheduling, at best. And the net result was that the opening set by the Joyce Cooling group was largely relegated to the role of background music. Seemingly resigning herself to the circumstances, Cooling--who has displayed intriguing qualities in the past--essentially offered radio-style smooth jazz, frequently turning the spotlight position over to keyboardist Jay Wagner rather than her own guitar work.

Sets by saxophonist Ronnie Laws and pianist Joe Sample offered predictable tours through the urban-contemporary music landscape. Both are capable of delivering impressive outings, but Laws--aside from a few references to his familiar hits--provided few surprises. And Sample only rarely used the kinetic energy of his powerful rhythmic grooves to service compelling melodies.

The intended highlight of the program was a presentation of material from Lee Ritenour’s new recording, “A Twist of Marley.” A follow-up to the successful “A Twist of Jobim,” both the album and selections performed at the concert attempted to position such classic Bob Marley items as “Get Up, Stand Up” and “I Shot the Sheriff” within contemporary, radio-friendly settings.

Despite the array of talent on stage (with saxophonist Gerald Albright joining Ritenour, Austin and Butler) to complete the process, however, the music had a creatively neutral quality. And when Jobim’s “Agua de Beber” was added to the sequence, the primary problem with the “Twist of” projects became apparent. In both cases, the fundamental rhythmic qualities of the music--bossa nova and samba in the case of Jobim, reggae in the case of Marley--have been abandoned, replaced by the repetitious rhythmic groove of the smooth/urban jazz styles. In the process, some excellent offerings barely managed to surface, among them the entertaining vocalizing of Austin and Butler, and Ritenour’s always virtuosic guitar playing.

The perfect definition of what the evening was really about, however, arrived when Albright, abandoning Marley and Jobim, tossed in a twist of Ray Charles, bringing the large crowd to their feet with a visceral appeal to their primal senses via an emotionally charged rendering of “Georgia.” And the instrumental wasteland once again prevailed.