Newbury festival’s Bernstein evening singer with the controlled ease of a mature Ella Fitzgerald was very impressive indeed, with next to no rehearsal

Newbury Spring Festival: The Music of Leonard Bernstein

at the Corn Exchange

on Wednesday May 21

Review by GAVIN WILKINSON

THE piano-bass-drum trio is frequently considered the definitive jazz combination, the Bill Evans trio coming to mind, along with Jacques Loussier, who built a life-long career jazzing up Bach, and when pianist Rob Barron opened with Cool, a fast, free and bluesy piece, immediately the Oscar Peterson influence was evident both in his phrasing and light syncopation.

The programme predominately featured the music from West Side Story, with other earlier Bernstein songs included.

Oscar Peterson also recorded an album based on West Side Story, clearly an influence on the trio’s approach.

The balance of the three instruments could not have been better. In a trio context, drummers can be too assertive, but Josh Morrison has played many times with pianist Barron, and the interaction between the three musicians was clear from the start, although for much of the time they were reading from scores.

Emma Smith was a worthy finalist in the 2023 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition. She began with Something’s Coming, a brave choice for an opening number, with its complex rhythm changes and challenging melody line, which she delivered with ease, Morrison accurately reacting to her vocal changes.

Some highlights from this superlative evening of jazz included Smith on Tonight, swapping fours with Morrison, and featuring her astounding ability to scat and sound like an alto sax at the same time.

On Somewhere, a number that lends itself to many varied treatments, Barron’s arrangement kept close to the feel of the original recording.

He put down the melody in full chords, expanding into a sensitive series of improvised arpeggios.

Modern electronics allow double-bass amplification to be modelled to a wide envelope of tones, but Jeremy Brown, a naturally melodic bassist, chose to adhere to the essential acoustic tones of the instrument while producing assertive and well-focused solos (bass players can sometimes meander too far into the realms of the avant-garde).

On The Wrong Note Rag, Smith ably illustrated Bernstein’s unique ability to incorporate tri-tone dissonance along with wonderful melodic lines.

There are few singers who could carry off the rapid intricacy of this song so perfectly.

Smith reminded me of the controlled ease of a mature Ella Fitzgerald. She was very impressive indeed, with, we understood, next to no rehearsal.

When Morrison and Brown laid down intricate rhythms to America and Barron pumped out the theme in a series of block phrases, I remembered the big hit from fusion-rock trio Emerson Lake and Palmer with their hi-octane version of this number.

The way Smith integrated with the trio was impressive. This wasn’t just the usual singer with accompaniment. We enjoyed four supreme musicians performing as one creative unit.