Music review: NYO Jazz, Usher Hall
NYO Jazz, Usher Hall (****)
The 22 youngsters could be bold, even brash, when required, as in an exuberant blues finale, or in a commissioned piece, Miguel Zenón’s Run with Jones, which had the director’s trumpet shrilling over a big band tornado that gave The Flight of the Bumble Bee a run for its money.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdIn contrast was the young alto saxophonist whose lead floated sublimely over the orchestral glide of the Ellington-Strayhorn classic Isfahan.
The band murmured and chimed impeccably behind guest vocalist Dianne Reeves in Make Someone Happy¸ including sensitive piano and double bass work, and if her skatting in Someday risked being swamped by a beefier accompaniment, Reeves, a warm-hearted, big-voiced presence, clearly relished her youthful company, as did we all.