Review by Ron Fassler . . .
Ben Jones has already proven that he’s a singer who is unafraid to charter new waters. Capable of singing in many different styles, he uses his extensive range to convey powerful emotionality, either with cautionary containment or carefree abandon, a mixture of energies both large and small. In a club, his upbeat and loose patter between songs can be enormously entertaining. Last night at Birdland Jazz Club, a different side of his diverse talent was on display, that of a true collaborator. Working in tandem with Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist Laurence Hobgood, the pair created an evening devoid of commentary that soared in dual musicianship. For seventy-five minutes, they excelled in a symbiotic relationship that would have made you think they’ve been performing this way for years. The truth is they only came together relatively recently, and a studio album based on much of last night’s set list is due to come out six weeks from now (September 26). For a preview, click here to listen to their rendition of Eden Ahbez’s “Nature Boy,” first made famous in the late 1940s by Nat King Cole, then later reintroduced to a whole new generation in 2001 by Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge.
In an unbroken stream of a baker’s dozen worth of songs, threaded together in beautiful fashion by Hobgood’s jazz improvisations at the piano, just take a look at these first five songs as a sample of the eclectic material chosen: The good-natured sing-songiness of Paul Simon’s “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover” (1975), the early nineteenth-century, traditional folk song “Shenandoah,” Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin’s composition “If I Should Lose You,” first heard in a 1936 American action film Rose from the Rancho, Joni Mitchell’s critically acclaimed and fan favorite “Hejira” (1976), off her album of the same name, and a moodily affecting “Ballad of the Sad Young Men” from the 1959 revue The Nervous Set, with music by Tommy Wolf and lyrics by Fran Landesman. Not only an amazingly diverse group of songs to open with, but due to Hobgood’s jazz-inspired fingering of the keys, most didn’t sound the way we’ve ever heard them. Flights of fancy from both musical instruments—the piano and Jones’s voice—kept things lively and surprising. Sometimes certain stylings felt subversive, as if attempting to break the songs wide open. It made for a fascinating listening session, again, uninterrupted by any explanations of what was being done, or jokes or stories to take away from the power of the continuous stream of music offered.
Other highlights included Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” (1965) in a rendition that took the melody to unexpected heights and showcased Jones’s exceptional high notes; “But I Was Cool,” a comedic winner from 1960, written and made famous by Oscar Brown Jr., and the Bee Gees’ “How Deep is Your Love,” a very familiar song which they made sound wholly original. They also took to unexpected heights “Take the Long Way Home,” written by Roger Hodgson for the British rock band Supertramp, as well as the jazz classic “Midnight Sun” (1947), by Lionel Hampton and Sonny Burke, with lyrics added years later by the great Johnny Mercer, which proved a fine way to end the evening (the aforementioned “Nature Boy” was the encore).
Hobgood’s style knows no bounds. At times, he is communing with the delicacy of every classical pianist who’s ever played Carnegie Hall, only to switch to the pounding rhythms of jazz virtuosos who assure that the piano tuner will have to be called in the following morning. His riffs received applause over and over again and Jones was only too gracious in ceding the spotlight to him throughout the evening. A sensitive singer, Jones is also an empathetic performer when sharing the stage with another dazzling talent such as Hobgood. It’s a match made in heaven—a heaven where George Shearing and Mel Tormé are smiling down.
Ben Jones and Laurene Hobgood were at Birdland Jazz Club, 315 W 44th Street, NYC. For future Jones and Hobgood performances, please visit https://www.benjonessinger.com. For more information on Birdland, please go to https://www.birdlandjazz.com.
Photos by Ron Fassler.
