[Dixielandjazz] LINCOLN CENTER JAZZ ORCHESTRA - OKOM

[Stephen Barbone]

OKOM AT LINCOLN CENTER?

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

December 17, 2002 New York Times

When You've Got That Swing and Use It in a Real Hurry

Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra  Avery Fisher Hall

The teenage mania for Benny Goodman's big band in the 1930's has been
well documented; one of the most effective set pieces in Ken Burns's
jazz documentary was about the riots at the Palomar Ballroom in Los
Angeles. That mania can be puzzling to anyone born several generations
later. Rioting, to Benny Goodman?

On Thursday night the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra shed some light on
how riots get started. The second tune of the evening was "Bugle Call
Rag"; it was set at superfast tempo with a string of short, tight solos
in swing rhythm, each more driving than the last. It was thundering;
there's not much like it in jazz.
There's your answer.

For "The Music of Benny Goodman," with the clarinetist Bob Wilber as
host, the arrangements were original, the work of Goodman band employees
from the 30's to the 50's. There was no structural reinterpretation, not
even in "Sing, Sing, Sing," one of the most famously open-ended pieces
in swing. This
concert with its rapid-fire menu of concise repertory made you aware of
how short 78-r.p.m. records were.

The clarinet role was shared by Mr. Wilber, Victor Goines (of the
Lincoln Center band) and Paquito D'Rivera; each had his special moments.
Mr. Wilber's came early with "Bugle Call Rag"; Mr. Goines was excellent
in "Down South Campmeeting," with the guitarist James Chirillo and the
bassist Carlos
Henriquez setting their stiff chonk-chonk rhythm. But Mr. D'Rivera,
whose virtuosity beams forth from the first note of any performance, did
the extraordinary work of the night.

For "Memories of You," he played soft, woody, long tones, with perfect
form and intonation, yet surprisingly human; in the bridge section of
"Clarinade" he seemed to be gliding peacefully on the music, only to
return to rigor when he arrived back at the main theme.

The concert was not all hits; warhorses like "One O'Clock Jump" shared a
bill with lesser-knowns like Chico O'Farrill's "Undercurrent Blues."

BEN RATLIFF