Quincy Jones 90th Birthday Celebration – Hollywood Bowl

*How does one pay correct tribute in a two-and-a-half hour night with intermission underneath the celebrities on the Hollywood Bowl earlier than hundreds of individuals to an African American Black man who has impacted common music as a composer, arranger, producer, movie scorer, expertise scout, tastemaker, file government and all worldwide icon? You definitely don’t string collectively his associations with different icons with out context nor commit almost the complete second half to work he produced for a “King of Pop” he labored with for one decade of the seven through which he has been a serious participant – irrespective of the multitude of platinum recordings made with that one artist. This undercut full justice to the person of the hour – a person we’re all blessed to nonetheless have amongst us on the planet and on this metropolis. And but that’s precisely what was carried out to Quincy Jones on the primary of two nights of tributes slated to honor his ninetieth birthday on the Hollywood Bowl this weekend as a part of the venue’s summer time sequence.

This was not a tribute that failed because of unqualified folks on stage. It failed from conception and execution. It failed from beneficiant sources and expertise squandered. It failed from pandering to pop denominators. And it failed from a second half being extra a tribute to Michael Jackson than to a person who has a lot extra inside his legacy to rejoice.

Not that a lot of the viewers didn’t lap it up as can be anticipated of the TV track contest technology. However occasions similar to this for dwelling legend icons must be a lot extra.

They must be as succinctly teachable as they’re entertaining.

And with somebody as distinguished as “Q,” it must cowl as a lot floor as doable in a brief time frame.

This night time’s live performance opened with the breezy `60s swing of “Soul Bossa Nova” which gained a brand new viewers when resurrected for the “Austin Powers” spy spoof flicks. It was adopted by the ballad “Misty” sung within the Sarah Vaughan model of Samara Pleasure (good tenor sax solo by Larry Williams of the Seawind Horns) then the Frank Sinatra staple “Fly Me to The Moon.” However for these conservative picks to be the only real acknowledgments to Jones’ jazz canon is excessive crime contemplating all the large band charts and film scores from which one may select.

The good Patti Austin did a pleasant job with the introspective pop film theme “How Do You Preserve the Music Enjoying” – no complaints right here. This led to what I contemplate to be the 2 hippest highlights of the night. First, Patti sang the midnight groover “Betcha Wouldn’t Damage Me” with its composer taking the stage as a shock, Mr. Stevie Marvel (although he appeared like he was wrestling along with his synthesizer for the primary half). Austin then departed the stage as Marvel did what in all probability he may do better of all of the night time’s company which was share the shaggy dog story of how he first met “Q” as a baby on the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Marvel then slipped seamlessly into his composition “You’ve Acquired it Dangerous, Lady” which Jones brilliantly organized, sang (sure), and recorded because the title monitor of his 1974 LP for A&M Data. Inside this one efficiency, the true essence of Jones was most utterly revealed with the horn and string elements performed exactly as Q had written them with composer Marvel himself bluely crooning them in high-quality voice. Marvel even took a harmonica solo on this quantity and honored Jones with a melodic quote from his signature jazz hit, “Killer Joe” (from the pen of Benny Golson). Why couldn’t the remainder of the night time observe such scripting???

John Legend on the piano singing “Simply As soon as” (initially recorded by the late James Ingram on Q’s The Dude LP) and trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf enjoying “She’s Out of My Life” (first sung/sobbed by Michael Jackson) had been satisfactory if not particularly passionate renderings. Shelea put some riffy strikes of her personal on “You Put a Transfer On My Coronary heart,” the dynamic Rod Temperton-penned soul pop gem that launched Tamia to the world stage. Act 1 closed with an ensemble run by way of The Brothers Johnson’s “Stomp,” a novelty disco track from the sibling duo that Q launched/produced within the mid-`70s but an odd alternative given what number of different far superior songs he did for them together with “Strawberry Letter 23” and “Ain’t We Funkin’ Now.” Little did I understand how way more disappointment awaited post-intermission?

For the second half of the live performance, as I foreshadowed earlier, a full 8 of the 9 songs had been devoted to songs Jones produced on the late nice Michael Jackson. Had this been a night devoted to “MJ,” this could be applicable. However even on condition that Jones’ productions on Jackson – Off the Wall, the all-time best-seller Thriller, and Dangerous – popular culture watermarks whose creations concerned lots of the business’s best musicians, composers, arrangers and technicians, this was method an excessive amount of of an overload on Jackson materials when extra valuable time may have been dedicated to different Jones-focused masterpieces. Numbers similar to “Physique Warmth,” “If I Ever Lose This Heaven,” “Is it Love That We’re Lacking,” “Stuff Like That,” “Ai No Corrida” and so many extra that will have actually put the orchestra and singers by way of their paces, and the viewers on a time travelling magic carpet experience. The opposite main difficulty is that context was not often given within the introductions of the songs that might have hammered residence Q’s genius, particularly for youthful viewers members. I’m not speaking lectures right here however stable intros of fast stable data and accolades.

As an alternative, we bought members of the vocal ensemble taking activates Jackson smashes similar to “P.Y.T. (Fairly Younger Factor),” “Rock with You” and “Don’t Cease `Til You Get Sufficient” that, once more, had been proficient however not grand slams. Africa’s Angelique Kidjo threw in some pleased toes dancing to her tackle “Wanna Be Beginning One thing” that was ‘cute’ however she may have carried out extra with it vocally as she is extremely succesful. Avery Wilson additionally confirmed he had been watching MJ’s creepy landmark “Thriller” choreography as he carried out the track. Most fascinating was singer Jacob Collier on the piano along with his mom conducting the orchestra on a fascinating association of “Human Nature” with an Asian motif. And Siedah Garrett, one half of the composing group for the anthemic “Man within the Mirror,” introduced a soulful earnestness to her providing of the track. Nonetheless, a wise, respectful medley of those would have left extra time for extra Q songs. That might have required much more rehearsal and staging, I think about…)

The live performance concluded with Patti Austin, Samara Pleasure, Jacob Collier, and Jones’ prodigy instrumentalists Alfredo Rodriguez on piano and Ibrahim Maalouf on trumpet having a lackluster go on the Ray Charles home rocker “Let the Good Instances Roll” that was too little too late. Stevie Marvel returned to sing his track “Blissful Birthday,” capping an evening that left some entertained however hardcore admirers similar to myself (sporting my sacred Quincy Jones Smackwater Jack t-shirt) woefully underwhelmed if not infuriated.

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