A Jazz Tribute to a Man Who “Hated” Jazz

By Bart Greenberg*****Well, to be more accurate, Jerome Kern hated jazz interpretations of his compositions—according to Will Anderson’s informative and amusing narration. However, even Kern might have enjoyed this lively summer concert of many of his best-known songs interpreted by some top-notch musicians.

Songbook Summit, occurring at Symphony Space in New York City, devoted its second of a four-week residency to the classic composer of such standards as “The Way You Look Tonight,” “The Song Is You” and “Old Man River.” Week one’s program had spotlighted Irving Berlin with week three devoted to Hoagy Carmichael. The last installment (Aug. 28 – Sept. 2) wraps up with a tribute to Jimmy Van Heusen. All are produced and headed up by the dazzling twin brother team of Peter and Will Anderson, both expert players of multiple reed instruments including saxophones, clarinets and flutes. Each show is a mix of live performances in a range of jazz styles, video clips from film and television and information about the life and work of the featured artist.

The information was delivered in a light and comfortable manner by Will Anderson, as a mix of biographical notes and discussions of Kern’s place in the development of American musical theater. One of the few flaws of the evening was that these later comments didn’t always move smoothly into appropriate musical moments; for instance, a discussion of the landmark Princess Theater musicals led into a lovely but unconnected version of “All the Things You Are” rather than one of the delightful songs from the earlier works.

But the music was at the center of the evening, and any concert that offers up such delicious moments is very worth the time to attend. A delicate clarinet delivery of “The Folks Who Live on the Hill” by Peter and a touching saxophone version of “Yesterdays” by Will, each working in duet with indispensable pianist Tardo Hammer, were golden moments indeed. The keyboardist also soloed on a bewitching “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” Not that the entire repertoire concentrated on Kern’s ballads: “girl singer” Molly Ryan, evoking the big band style of early Rosemary Clooney and Helen O’Connell, swung through “A Fine Romance” and “I Won’t Dance.” Bassist Clovis Nicolas and drummer Phil Stewart helped to bring out the intricate pleasures to be found in Peter’s arrangements.

All in all, this was a delightful way to spend a summer evening with the melding of Broadway and jazz into a solid and unique event.