UTAH SYMPHONY, Keith's Tribute to Swing, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 19 and 20, Abravanel Hall, 8 p.m.Say whatever else you want about Keith Lockhart, you have to give him one thing: He's one heck of a showman.
In his Utah Symphony pops debut Friday, music director Lockhart showed he's learned from his years of conducting the Boston Pops. The concert, dedicated to the swing music of the 1930s and 1940s, was varied and of generally high quality. Most of all, it was a whole lot of fun.
Pavel Kogan (principal guest conductor, he of stern countenance and exacting musicality) wearing spats? Allowing a glitter ball in the hall? I think not. But Lockhart, who's no slouch in the music department himself, did all of that and more with aplomb.
The evening's second half was about what you would expect from the title: a bunch of big-band swing tune hits including "One O'Clock Jump," "I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" and "In the Mood." The orchestra sounded basically like a very large, very lush and technically perfect big band, accompanied on a few songs by the local Swing City Dance Troupe.
Second half highlight: Harry James' "Ciribiribin," which the younger generation knows as the tune Warren Beatty played ad infinitum in "Heaven Can Wait."
With regard to the first half, one can only say this: Whatever principal clarinetist Tad Calcara is being paid, it isn't enough.
Calcara's rendition of Artie Shaw's jazzy "Clarinet Concerto," the concert's second number, was the high point of the entire concert. Calcara, playing in front of the orchestra, played technically dazzling runs, entertaining swoops and loops and a couple of improvised solos any full-time jazz clarinetist would be proud of. The overall effect was mightily entertaining and musically very satisfying.
"Told you you'd like it," Lockhart said to the audience after it gave Calcara a standing ovation.
The concerto, along with the first piece, three dance episodes from Bernstein's "On the Town," set the bar very high, which the rest of the first half, lamentably, couldn't live up to. "Ellington Portrait," a medley of Duke Ellington tunes, in particular was a bit of a mess, though the songs with vocalist Kelly Eisenhour were better.
On the whole, the orchestra seemed to respond to having the boss, rather than an assistant, on the podium. Friday was the Utah Symphony's best pops concert in many a season and proof positive that Lockhart, as hoped, is able to pack in and entertain the crowds.