By Andrew Poretz . . .

The New York Pops, under the direction of Maestro Steven Reineke, hit gold again with their latest concert, If I Ain’t Got You: The Best of R&B, celebrating some of the best R&B hits of all time. For the most part, the arrangements closely followed or were at least guided by the well-known recordings and vocal interpretations familiar to much of the audience, rather than any sort of reinvention. Rather, the luscious Pops orchestra made everything, well, bigger, with any ‘70s synthesizers replaced with the real thing.

The program opened with an interesting choice, Barry White’s “Love’s Theme,” a rare instrumental to hit #1 on the Billboard chart, which it did in 1974, and was a big influence on disco. Reineke brought out a backup trio (Ramona Dunlap, Stephanie Risher and Melodie Ray) and the Pops’ guest stars for the evening, Broadway stars Aisha Jackson (making her Pops and Carnegie Hall debut) and Avery Wilson, both attired from head to toe in Valentine’s red. They performed a thrilling duet of Ashford and Simpson’s “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing.”

The song selections throughout were stellar, safe choices – the entire set list was familiar even to a casual R&B fan.

In “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” (Gerry Goffin/Carole King), Jackson managed to be faithful to the Aretha Franklin hit while making it her own, with great harmonies by the backup singers. The big finish got great applause, with some giving a standing ovation.

With the kind of music that nearly demands an audience rise to its feet and sing along, and answer any call and response lyrics – “Oh yes, you can talk back” – this was strongly encouraged. After Wilson sang “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” (Gary Jackson/Raynard Miner/Carl Smith), Reineke encouraged the audience to get up and dance. “If an usher comes over, just dance with them!” The enthusiastic Carnegie Hall audience obliged.

After a fun orchestra medley of songs associated with Diana Ross, Wilson performed a perfect “Let’s Stay Together” (Al Green/Willie Mitchell/Al Jackson Jr.). Wryly noting, “What’s not going on?,” Wilson lent his beautiful, rangy tenor to “What’s Going On” (Al Cleveland/Renaldo Benson/Marvin Gaye). The pair closed the first half with a powerful “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” (Nickolas Ashford/Valerie Simpson), which was also in the medley. Reineke noted, wryly, that “the real Ashford and Simpson” sang the song at a Pops concert some years ago. (Ashford died in 2011.)

The second half of the program opened with “September Celebration!”, essentially a joyous overture of familiar R&B themes that had many people dancing in the aisles, so excited they just couldn’t hide it (to borrow from a Pointer Sisters hit not in the show).

In an interesting twist, “to change things up,” Jackson took the Stevie Wonder hit “For Once In My Life” (Ron Miller/Orlando Murden), a song rarely sung by a woman. Wonder’s harmonica solo was replaced by an organ solo.

Wilson killed it with the Michael Jackson hit “Rock with You” (Rod Temperton) and Prince’s “I Wanna Be Your Lover.” A terrific showman, he was now wearing a wild white suit with a large cut-out in the back of the jacket that revealed his bare skin. The performance earned him a standing ovation.

When Jackson returned, she related that she grew up in a very religious family with a reverend for a father, and was not allowed to listen to secular music. Her late brother turned her on to John Legend. She braced herself, noting, “If I cry . . . go with me.” Her entire family was present. Jackson performed a gorgeous rendition of the Legend hit “Ordinary People” (John Stephens/Will Adams), choking up mid-song. The brilliant Tedd Firth arrangement helped make this one of the concert highlights, and garnered a huge standing ovation.

Still teary, she sang Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You.” Interestingly, Maleah Joi Moon, who earned a Tony Award for her portrayal of Keys in Hell’s Kitchen, was originally scheduled to appear in the program, but bowed out and was replaced by Jackson, who did not disappoint. She was stunning here as well.

Wilson, who also acknowledged his parents, who were present, did a gender-bending turn of his own. He performed the Whitney Houston hit “I Have Nothing” (David Foster/Linda Thompson) entirely in falsetto/countertenor, reaching seemingly impossible high notes, somehow invoking Houston without impersonating her. This number also resulted in a strong standing ovation.

For the finale, Jackson and Wilson performed the beautiful Ashford & Simpson ballad, “Endless Love,” singing to one another as if they were a Valentine’s couple. Reineke often adds the equivalent of an “extra credit scene” to Pops concerts with a surprise encore. Here, it was the Whitney Houston hit, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)” (George Merrill/Shannon Rubicam), which had the entire Carnegie Hall audience dancing and singing along. A very exciting finish to a great evening!

For more information about The New York Pops, visit https://newyorkpops.org.