Jack Jones

September 17, 2009

Oak Room at the Algonquin  –  September 9-19

Jack Jones’s current show is a tribute to the great lyricists Marilyn and Alan Bergman. When going to a Jack Jones performance, I don’t think it’s possible—at least not for me—not to feel something akin to awe at the man’s career and accomplishments. He has been in show business for over fifty years and has released a similar number of albums, many of them hits. He’s acted on TV and in films and theatre, not to mention his countless concert and club appearances here and internationally. Many people have sung the songs of the Bergmans, but Jones is a close friend of theirs. Though the term legendhas been overused, it does come to mind. And if awe is going a bit too far, then admiration and respect will do.

Jones does not in any way coast along on his reputation. He delivers a show filled not only with superb songs, but also with fine singing and noteworthy interpretations. Internally intense, brooding, almost surrealistic, his rendition of “The Windmills of Your Mind” (music by Michel Legrand) is the best I’ve ever heard. Slow, deliberate and quiet, “The Way We Were” (Marvin Hamlisch) is heartfelt and memorable. “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” (Legrand) is very affecting, and Jones’s beautiful rendition of “Where Do You Start?” (Johnny Mandel) probes deep below the surface.

There are a few sprightlier number as well, among them the standard “Nice ‘n’ Easy” (Lew Spence) and “Sweet Gingerbread Man” (Legrand), a bouncy delight from the 1970 film The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart. The show closes with “What Matters Most” (Dave Grusin’s music is from his score to the 1979 film The Champ); Jones’s interpretation does full justice to this haunting, moving song.

At times his voice displays a light, attractive rasp, and he can still sustain notes with ease and clarity. Indeed, one of the only two significant faults I found is that he occasionally sustains notes too long, so we are taken out of the song and instead become aware of the vocal device. The other is that on a few ballads he moves to different parts of the floor to face directly the two wings of the room; the shift is a distraction. It would be better if he stayed in one spot, occasionally turning slightly to address the audience on either side, but essentially letting us come to him; his interpretations are strong enough to have that magnetic effect. But so much of his performance is extraordinary, that my commenting on flaws borders on hubris.

Throughout the evening, the instrumental arrangements and accompaniment make a marked contribution to the proceedings. The master musicians are Mike Renzi on piano, Chris Colangelo on bass, and Kendall Kay on drums. (One side comment: in the past I’ve taken a few percussionists to task for heavy-handedness; Kay could show them how it’s done.)

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About the Author

Roy Sander has been covering cabaret and theatre for over thirty years. He’s written cabaret and theatre reviews, features, and commentary for seven print publications, most notably Back Stage, and for CitySearch on the Internet. He covered cabaret monthly on “New York Theatre Review” on PBS TV, and cabaret and theatre weekly on WLIM-FM radio. He was twice a guest instructor at the London School of Musical Theatre. A critic for BistroAwards.com, he is also the site’s Reviews Editor; in addition, he is Chairman of the Advisory Board of MAC.