By Andrew Poretz***Las Vegas-based jazz singer Clint Holmes returned to Birdland with his latest show, Icons Reimagined, which also celebrated his 79th birthday. The number is astonishing, as he defies age, especially his voice—in astounding condition without a trace of rasp or aging. All in all, the ruggedly handsome Holmes is in 
excellent shape! H’s also a physical performer who uses his entire body as an instrument, also grasping the mic like an unseen sax or clarinet.
Holmes defies easy categorization. Best known today as a jazz singer, he was a “one-hit wonder” on the pop charts with “Playground in My Mind” (#2 in 1973). In this outing he presented a diverse set of songs associated with icons such as Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, Roberta Flack, James Taylor and The Beatles. The arrangements took the material in new and welcomed directions, living up to the “reimagined” description of the show’s title. Holmes was accompanied by musical director and pianist Bill Zappia, bassist Matt Parrish and drummer Jakubu Griffin.
The star opened with a cool take on Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” that included a playful scat and drums call-and-response with Griffin. A terrific, surprising origin story of meeting Roberta Flack took Holmes into “Tryin’ Times” (Donny Hathaway), an early hit for Flack. The lyric speaks of “confusion all over the land” and “man’s inhumanity to man,” a tune that “could be written right 
now,” Holmes noted. The number, which started slowly with Holmes singing against the bass, gradually picked up in tempo and intensity to drive home the powerful message. On a speed-demon rendition of Tom Jobim’s “One Note Samba,” the singer whistled a solo at the break, and even though not quite Toots Thielemans, the effort was effective and fun.
Holmes reported that his young daughter once insisted, “Daddy, John Mayer wrote a song about our family!” Intrigued, Holmes played Mayer’s “Stop This Train”—essentially about life moving too fast—and agreed that it could have been about his family. The number is the first tune on his Grammy-nominated Rendezvous album, and was one of several highlights of the set. He spoke of his friendship with his idol, the late Harry Belafonte; it was seeing Belafonte perform on television as a kid that gave inspired him to become a singer. He honored Belafonte with a calypso-tinged medley of “Jamaica Farewell,” “Day-O” and “Matilda.” A truly “reimagined” “Eleanor Rigby” (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) began with an extended bass solo by Parrish, and then slow, deliberate 
bowed bass and piano, an approach that brought Eleanor’s loneliness and despair to life. It was a compelling interpretation, Holmes taking the listener through the journey of Rigby’s tragic life, with a dramatic conclusion brimming with power and intensity.
A wonderful surprise was an unrehearsed, unplanned appearance by Nicolas King (a favorite of this reviewer). The two first worked together several years ago in Birdland Theater with Veronica Swift. But King reminded Holmes that they actually met when King was a precocious child star singing on a Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon nearly three decades ago. King called for “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” (Bobby Troup) and the pair put on a fun jazz tour de force, with a scat call-and-response that was a joy to behold. The rest of the set was equally excellent, including an excerpt from an unfinished musical Holmes has been writing about his biracial family “for 114 years.” To end, Holmes received a pair of standing ovations that garnered a pair of encores.
Clint Holmes is a man completely at home with himself on stage—a joy to listen to and to watch, He brings a big heart and authenticity to every note, and should he bring Icons Reimagined back to Birdland, don’t miss it.
Photos by Bruce Balbach
