Jazzy Pops program swings and sways

June 04, 2007|Joel Brown, Globe Correspondent

In the first half of Friday night's Boston Pops Jazzfest concert, a performance by Brookline saxophone prodigy Grace Kelly was sandwiched between two audience favorites as if in a protective coating. Keith Lockhart and the orchestra played John Williams's "Swing Swing Swing" and George Gershwin's sublime "An American in Paris" like intimate old friends, with all of the orchestra's gifts on display. The Pops regulars around me nodded in approval.

They were prepared to be charmed by the 15-year-old altoist Kelly, too. Wearing her black newsboy cap with her purple gown was an appealingly kid-like, prom-night sort of decision. Lockhart did her no favor with his introduction, though. He noted that jazz produces far fewer prodigies than classical music, and that it is generally thought of as music "you grow into." He meant that Kelly was an exception to the rule, but the conventional wisdom isn't always wrong.

With three CDs to her credit, Kelly proved a technically adept performer on "The Nearness of You," but her performance of the ballad had little emotional depth. With the orchestra wrapping her lines in a background of strings and tinkling chimes, it came off as jazz lite. Her original composition, "Every Road I Walked," is more upbeat and gave the orchestra a larger role. Based on just this night's sounds, though, Kelly is still growing into her talent.

Dianne Reeves, on the other hand, is in the full flowering of her abundant gifts and was more than ready to share through her "Tribute to Sarah Vaughan" in the second half of the evening, drawing from her 2001 album, "The Calling."

Reeves was joined by her trio of William Childs on piano, James Genus on bass , and Greg Hutchinson on drums. A jaunty "Lullaby of Birdland" and a luminous "Speak Low" were highlights. In the latter, especially, her magnificently controlled voice offered a rich emotional communication -- just the way she held a note spoke volumes. One hoped Kelly was listening from the wings.

All the parts really came together, though, only on an encore of "Misty," when singer, trio , and orchestra combined for a rich reading of the classic. Truly bringing together jazz and the Pops is harder than it would seem.