Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra II

A second trip to the Barbican to see the LCJO, this time playing a set of the music of Benny Goodman. I enjoyed this very much. The sound seemed better than on Monday. The structure of the evening also benefited by having a band leader at the front, calling the tunes. This role was taken by Bob Wilber, a cool and charismatic old dude, who has actually played with Benny Goodman and plays a really mean clarinet in the Goodman style, as he demonstrated on tunes like “Benny Rides Again” and “Clarinet à la King”. Throughout the evening, he and Vic Goines, the young clarinet player from the LCJO, traded band leading duties. Goines did some great stuff (“Clarinaid” in particular showcasing his skills), while Wilber provided visual entertainment by grooving at the back. They did some great dueling clarinets stuff too when they both stayed up the front. Highlights were the classic Benny Goodman number “Sing, Sing, Sing” with some fantastic stuff from Herlin Riley on drums and a good solo from Wynton Marsalis and the high–energy encore, “One O'Clock Jump” with people taking solos all over the shop.

Reflected by Wilber’s comment about “the modest guy at the back who is the main reason why most of you are here tonight”, Marsalis took a fairly low–key role, not taking more than his share of solos, but he did some great stuff when he did, most notably in “When the Angels Sing”, playing about with the mute and also letting rip with a clean, powerful sound.

As in the Art Blakey set, Riley on drums, Richard Johnson on piano and Carlos Henriquez on bass set a solid foundation for everyone else and had plenty of flair when they were called upon to do a solo. These three were certainly one of the best things about this band.

As an overall impression of the evening, there seemed more energy and fun about this performance than Monday’s, with Wilber pointing and nodding recognition when a soloist did some good stuff and the feeling that the musicians were really trying to come up with something to beat the last guy when they stood up for a solo. I think if I’d heard this gig at a more intimate venue like Ronnie Scott’s, it would have been even better, but tonight still had the “Yeah!” factor.