Holland Band Overcomes Sound Woes

It may be time for UCLA to post a “caveat emptor” sign whenever there is a jazz concert at Royce Hall. Buyer beware, that is, for anyone expecting Royce’s audio engineers to allow an accurate sound image of what really takes place on stage when a jazz ensemble is performing.

In less than a month, two superb jazz orchestras have had their performances distorted by sound mixes appropriate for rock music but completely wrong for jazz.

On Sept. 15, the victim was the Luckman Jazz Orchestra, whose concert of Duke Ellington’s sacred music was presented in a fashion that buried the subtle ensemble textures beneath the sound of an over-amplified tuba.

On Thursday night, Dave Holland’s Big Band had a similar experience: Much of what it played was trapped within bottom-heavy sound reproduction. Ironically, it was Holland’s bass work--superb in its own right--that was over-amplified to the point that it became a muddy undercurrent, blurring the airy open spaces that he had so carefully laid out in his orchestrations.

It was to the credit of Holland, his players and his imaginative compositions and arrangements that the performance was nonetheless a state-of-the-art example of contemporary jazz artistry. Some of the pieces traced to the group’s just-released first album, “What Goes Around,” others to a work commissioned for the Monterey Jazz Festival.

The album’s title track, with its shifting rhythmic meter, was delivered with confident ensemble mastery, driven by the supercharged engine of Holland’s bass and showcasing a sterling solo by drummer Billy Kilson. On “Time Remembered”--and in other pieces--the soloing of trumpeter Alex Sipiagin had the hallmark of a rapidly emerging, potentially major talent. And alto and soprano saxophonist Antonio Hart shifted from gorgeous lead work in the saxophone section to wildly inventive soloing.

This brilliant performance required discretionary listening, focusing past the turgid qualities of the audio and attempting to hear what was happening on stage. With a string of important jazz events scheduled for the rest of the UCLA Live season, someone--performing arts director David Sefton?--should take steps to assure a respectful audio setting.