International Jazz Day 10th Anniversary Celebration, on PBS

When thinking about International Jazz Day, it is tempting to channel the old parental response regarding a prospective Children’s Day and say every other day of the year is Top 40 Pop Day. Yet, that business has been in freefall for years (it hardly makes sense to call it “popular” anymore). We could also say at least jazz has its day. Those blues musicians don’t even have an International Blues Hour. Of course, this year’s annual celebration must be less festive, for obvious reasons. In lieu of public events, they have compiled concert highlights from past years in International Jazz Day 10^th Anniversary Celebration, co-executive-produced by Herbie Hancock, which premieres tomorrow night on PBS.

For their galas, IJD often recruited big crossover names for all-star concerts. Sometimes it works great, other times it is just okay. Annie Lennox is one of the better special guests, probably because she has a comfort level with jazz standards, as she demonstrated with her Nostalgia album and concert special. Once again, she tears into “I Put a Spell on You.”

Wynton Marsalis similarly plays to his strength with a stark, muted-yet-still-potently bluesy “St. James Infirmary, with Danilo Perez on piano and on bass, Christian McBride (who keeps popping up in groups throughout the anniversary special). We have to give similar credit to Tony Bennett, who delivers a simple but heartfelt-sounding rendition of “Lost in the Stars.”

Among the big crossover spotlight features, Aretha Franklin (who started out in jazz) sounds soulful on “A Song for You,” but the arrangement is not so memorable. Likewise, it is hard to hear the distinctive musical personalities of the likes of Hancock, Pat Metheny, Robert Glasper, and Lionel Loueke on Sting’s “Sister Moon.”

On the other hand, there are some excellent collaborations between jazz and world music artists. Perhaps the highpoint of the special is “Lotus Feet,” performed by the trio of John McLaughlin, Jean-Luc Ponty, and tabla player Zakir Hussain. Also notable are Hugh Masekela’s “Bring Him Back Home (Nelson Mandela),” with Mino Cinelu; Wayne Shorter’s “Sabba Hayastan Dance,” featuring Dhafer Youssef on oud; and Dianne Reeves singing “Tango” with a group of Turkish and Eastern musicians.

For traditional fans, Kurt Elling nicely swings “As Long as You’re Living,” which is a perfect fit for his cool, hipster voice. Those in the mood for something more soulful will appreciate Gregory Porter backed by John Scofield and Kris Bowers on “Liquid Spirit.” Frankly, the show should have ended with the funky and swampy “Dynamite,” featuring New Orleans’ own Jon Cleary and Terence Blanchard. Instead, they go with an all-star hodge-podge of Lennon’s “Imagine.” It is a maudlin, over-rated tune, but Elling, Somi, and Lizz Wright liven it up admirably.

Annie Lennox: Nostalgia Live (Including Three by Hoagey)

Recently, Annie Lennox, OBE took performers like Beyonce Knowles to task, making the obvious but inevitably controversial point: “twerking is not feminism . . . It’s not liberating. It’s not empowering. It’s a sexual thing that you’re doing on a stage.” It probably needed to be said. It is therefore not so shocking Ms. Lennox was a little conflicted when her cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You” was requested for the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, but she had to admit it fit the film like a glove, so to speak. Now millions of creepy fans are familiar with the unclassifiable R&B classic. On paper, it also stands out as the ringer in Nostalgia, Lennox’s new CD of American Songbook standards, but once again it just fits neatly into the program. Lennox performs nearly the entire album live at the Orpheum Theatre in a concert recorded for Great Performances, which premieres on PBS this Friday.

Lennox must be hip, because she obviously has an affinity for Hoagey Carmichael. The set opening “Memphis in June” is okay, but it is followed by a stirring “Georgia on My Mind,” given a Ray Charles-ish arrangement with strings. Wisely, she does not keep new fans waiting for “I Put a Spell on You.” Lennox is particularly attuned to the song’s eerie subtext, which is why it works so well over the film’s opening credits. (You now have an excuse to watch the first three and a half minutes when the film comes on cable.)

For jazz fans, the arrangement of “I Cover the Waterfront” provides some of the tastiest moments, including an evocative solo trumpet introduction. It is a great tune from the strangely under-recognized Johnny Green, still probably best known for “Body and Soul.”

Lennox also pays tribute Billie Holiday, which is about as jazz as you can get. However, she also demonstrates the pitfalls of covering “Strange Fruit.” You have to give her credit for trying, but it is a profoundly unforgiving song that only really seems to work with the sparsest of arrangements. Indeed, the string section is far too prominent here and having a back-up vocalist echoing Lennox is bizarrely counter-productive. You really have to lay it all out there in nakedly revealing way to do “Strange Fruit” justice, which is why only a select handful, such as Holiday and Nina Simone, have been able to successfully integrate it into their regular sets.

Happily, “God Bless the Child” is a different matter entirely. Lennox performs it in a gospel bag, giving the lyrics a surprisingly sassy interpretation. It is a bit of a departure from tradition, but it sounds great, in a swinging kind of way. “September in the Rain” also has a pleasant jazz-with-strings vibe, featuring some nice piano seasoning. Lennox also nails the aching romanticism of “The Nearness of You,” another Carmichael tune that never goes out of style.

Fittingly, Lennox saves the best (and her third wardrobe change) for the final Nostalgia song, the Ellington standard, “Mood Indigo,” which features a slightly reggae-ish vibe, a second lining brass combo, and some old school New Orleans plunger mute work. Lennox really embraces the bluesiness of the lyrics and brings it all home.

Of course, you do not survive in show business as long as Lennox has without giving fans what they want, so as an encore she accompanies herself on piano for solo renditions of “Here Comes the Rain” and “Why.” Both are shrewd selections well suited to the stripped down performance (she probably should have approached “Strange Fruit” in a similar manner, but it is hard to blame her for seeking a bit of cover for that song).

It is cool to see PBS nationally following the lead of NJTV and WNET Thirteen with their American Songbook programming. Lennox’s concert is one of the best yet. She has a good feeling for the tunes and she is still a very charismatic performer. Recommended for fans of Lennox and the American Songbook, Nostalgia Live airs on most PBS outlets this Friday (4/3), as part of the current season of Great Performances.

(Photos: Robert Sebree)