At Mancini concert, it’s all about talent

The real stars of the Henry Mancini Institute’s annual summer conclaves are the talented young players who spend four weeks in a nonstop succession of classes, performances and seminars. And Saturday night at UCLA’s Royce Hall, in this year’s first presentation by the HMI Orchestra, the most appealing aspect of the evening was the across-the-board musical skill of the ensemble’s 80-plus members (who came from 60 American cities and 14 countries).

Henry Mancini and institute founder Jack Elliot were always closely linked to jazz, so it was appropriate that the evening’s musical highlights traced to the program’s jazz-oriented works. The best featured saxophonist Tom Scott, pianist Dave Grusin and drummer Peter Erskine in a pair of Gerry Mulligan pieces -- “Line for Lyons” and “A Ballad,” arranged by Scott, who also impressively played the baritone saxophone in briskly swinging, Mulligan-esque style.

Equally appealing, Duke Ellington’s buoyant “Grand Slam Jam” featured sinewy tenor saxophone playing from HMI participant Janelle Reichman. And the premiere performance of “Release,” by HMI composer and participant Matthew Janszen, triggered some of the concert’s most enthusiastic playing, with the orchestra clearly stimulated by the work’s strutting rhythms and spirited ensemble interaction.

The balance of the program underscored HMI’s strong connection to the Southland’s film and television scoring community, via works by Lee Holdridge, Vince Mendoza, Ennio Morricone (arranged by Mancini), Bruce Broughton and artistic director Patrick Williams.

Less intriguing musically, these pieces nonetheless fulfilled one of the HMI goals by providing a wide range of substantive challenges, effectively introducing the young players to the broad stylistic demands facing today’s professional musical artists.