By Marilyn Lester***”And now for something completely different,” as the Monty Pythons would say. That something different for the New York Pops was a trip away from more standard Broadway fare and the Great American Songbook into the soulful, funky, rockin’ world of rhythm and blues (R&B). Pops charismatic music director
and conductor Steven Reineke and the orchestra boogied down with the best of ‘em, at times giving the Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage a stadium glow up as patrons swung, jived and literally danced in the aisles. The enthusiasm and energy started at Mach ten and had nowhere else to go but up. It was a rousing, joyous scene, with guest artists Aisha Jackson and Avery Wilson helping to make the program, If I Ain’t Got You: The Best of R&B, a night to truly remember.
What of R&B? The sound is rooted in the blues and swing, a marriage that came to fruition in the late 1940s, and then, as many musical genres do, evolved. Into the mix went jazz, gospel and spirituals, soul, Motown, funk, disco and even hip-hop—elements celebrated in the set list of the concert, which was part of Carnegie Hall’s United in Sound: America at 250 festival, featuring a wide variety of music that’s shaped American identity in its 250-year history.
Opener, Barry White’s “Love’s Theme,” immediately set the upbeat tone, also revealing that so much of this music isn’t at all esoteric— that it’s actually quite widely-known and loved. Jackson and Wilson followed with a dreamy version of Ashford (Nickolas) and Simpson (Valerie)’s “You’re All I Need to Get By,” followed by another Ashford and Simpson hit, “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing.” The duo closed out Act One of the concert with another Ashford/Simson, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Adding texture throughout the concert was the trio of backing /support vocalists, making their fourth appearance with the Pops: Ramona Dunlap, Stephanie Fisher and Melodie Ray.
The Act Two band opener, “September Celebration,” was a multi-composer extravaganza of sound that encouraged dancing, movement and general audience enthusiasm. Jackson, who’s a Broadway diva through and through, and Wilson, who’s primarily a 
vocalist and recording artist as well as an actor, spelled each other during most of the concert, each often encouraging audience participation and each receiving frequent standing ovations fully or in part as audience members were moved.
About as important as the songs were the songwriters who wrote them—masters of their craft and stars of the American songbook in modern times. Jackson aced Carole King’s (with Gerry Goffin) “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” and Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You.” Wilson, in color-coordinated finery with Jackson, proved he had major moves, choreographed to vocal standouts including Prince’s “I Wanna Be Your Lover” and Marvin Gaye’s (with Al Cleveland and Renaldo Benson) classic “What’s Goin’ On,” calling for a strong participatory chorus from the audience.
No R&B concert would be complete without a hat tip to Motown and The Supremes. The Pops performed a medley of tunes: “I Hear a Symphony” and 
“Stop in the Name of Love,” both by the legendary team of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland and Eddie Holland, plus “Touch Me in the Morning” (Michael Masser, Ron Miller) and the instrumental version of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” The official program ended with a rousing, bursting at the seams with energy duet of Lionel Richie’s “Endless Love,” first performed in 1981 between Richie and Diana Ross for the soundtrack of the eponymous film.
But wait! There’s more! As is the Pop’s style, there’s always a “surprise” encore. In this case it was another megahit, “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” (George Merrill, Shannon Rubicam), written for Whitney Houston in 1987. Standing, dancing, clapping, gooving, this was an audience like no other in recent Pops history. The good times were rolling and as the 10-o’clock hour arrived, a passerby outside might well have seen the roof of Carnegie Hall lift off its moorings.
Photos by Genevieve Rafter Keddy
