Home » Jazz Articles » Live Review » Byron Stripling and the Philly Pops at the Kimmel Center

Byron Stripling and the Philly Pops at the Kimmel Center

View Slideshow

By Victor L. Schermer
March 5, 2019
View read count

Byron Stripling and the Philly Pops
"Uptown Nights"
The Kimmel Center for Performing Arts
Philadelphia, PA
March 1, 2019

The Philly Pops' "Uptown Nights," as the title implies, revealed itself to be a festive show that featured the music of the 1920s through the 1940s when jazz was the popular music of the Jazz Age, the Swing Era, and World War II. Those were heady times when jazz was a form of entertainment intersecting first with brothels, and then speakeasies, dance halls, and musical theater. Thus, Byron Stripling, billed simply as a trumpeter who played with

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie, morphed into a vaudeville actor, singer, and comedian as he and the orchestra swung through fresh arrangements of tunes ranging from "St. James Infirmary" to "I Got Rhythm," "Mood Indigo," and "I Won't Dance," re-creating the showmanship function that fueled the music of those golden eras. The tap dancer Leo Manzari added to the vaudevillian atmosphere, and vocalist

Carmen Bradford

vocals
b.1960

" data-original-title="" title="">Carmen Bradford captured the essence of the singers of that period, especially of her avowed idol,

Ella Fitzgerald

vocals
1917 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Ella Fitzgerald.

The show was uplifting for this reviewer, who like most of us, came of age during or after the 1950s when jazz became more of a salon art form primarily of small ensembles with only traces of the previous showmanship that lit up the music with demonstrative theatrics. Traces of the latter remained in the antics of

Dizzy Gillespie

trumpet
1917 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Dizzy Gillespie and the dramatic personae of

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis,

Dexter Gordon

saxophone, tenor
1923 - 1990

" data-original-title="" title="">Dexter Gordon, and others, but this concert -and especially Stripling's performance -gave us an opportunity to experience how the jazz idiom was fashioned to get people up off their seats, laugh, dance, drink, and fight -in other words, have an emotional catharsis. Matters were helped along by the terrific arrangements of Eastman bred

Conductor: Jeff Tyzik

" data-original-title="" title="">Conductor: Jeff Tyzik which combined Ellingtonian elegance,

Benny Goodman

clarinet
1909 - 1986

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Goodman's swing, and a modern flair. Arrangers like Tyzik should get more acknowledgment for their work, which can make or break a performance. The rich, bright sound of the Philly Pops, including a glorious complement of strings and big band brass, reed, and rhythm sections brought the music to a peak.

The concert got off to a hot start with

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington's classic "It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got that Swing." Bradford and Manzari came out for "cameo" appearances, but Stripling stole the show with his singing and humor, making Shakespearean drama of the "Doo wah, doo wah, doo wah, doo wah," prancing around the stage like Falstaff. His sonorous bass baritone voice suggested at various times Paul Robeson, Cab Calloway,

Billy Eckstine

vocals
1914 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Billy Eckstine, and

Joe Williams

vocals
1918 - 1999

" data-original-title="" title="">Joe Williams, depending on the context. He turned "St. James Infirmary" into a morbid necrophilic eulogy for a dead prostitute, helped along by

Chris Farr

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Farr's unusual saxophone solo that sounded like someone at the Wailing Wall. "Symphony in Riffs" surprised with an early

Benny Carter

saxophone, alto
1907 - 2003

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Carter composition to which the inimitable

George Rabbai

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">George Rabbai contributed a stunning trumpet solo. (It's easy to forget that Carter, who contributed so much to modern jazz, was already going strong with

Fletcher Henderson

arranger
1897 - 1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Fletcher Henderson in the 1920s.)

Bradford brought the music itself into sharper focus with a well-controlled but forceful rendition of Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm," spiced up with a lively Bird-like saxophone solo by section leader

Ron Kerber

saxophone, tenor

" data-original-title="" title="">Ron Kerber. Bradford delivered great scatting, honoring her lifelong idol Fitzgerald. Bradford continued to sing with rare disciplined grace and expressiveness with "Our Love is Here to Stay," for which Philadelphia's treasured Rabbai provided a lyrical muted solo.

Two numbers -"Smile Darn Ya Smile" and "You Gotta Give Me Some Rhythm" (a Tyzik original) -gave dancer Manzari an opportunity to show his wares. His body was Astaire-like in its ease, his feet tapped at breakneck speed like Bill Robinson, and his casual attire bore all the signs of a Millennial (LOL!). Stripling engaged him in hilarious banter as the trumpeter tried to give the dancer some lessons in rhythm, falling all over himself in the process.

Following the intermission, a beautifully orchestrated version of "Bugle Call" showed off the Pops sound, and versions of the "St. Louis Blues" and "Mood Indigo" further demonstrated the orchestra's ability to interpret jazz in a way reminiscent of

Paul Whiteman

composer / conductor
1890 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Paul Whiteman's grand ensembles, which like the Pops, included both jazz and classical musicians. "Harlem Street Scene," another Tyzik original, made the rounds of soloists: Kerber, trumpeter

Matt Gallagher

trumpet

" data-original-title="" title="">Matt Gallagher, and trombonist Dave Cianci all delivering with polished artistry.

Ripling's vocal rendition of Cab Calloway's version of "Minnie the Moocher" was a riot! He not only captured Calloway's unique deep voice, but stretched "hi-dee hi-dee hi-(hi-dee hi-dee ho)" to its farcical limits. What saved Ripling's comedy from gross sarcasm was his gentle soul, expressed in his body language. Throughout the evening, his kindness showed through the mockery, more like, say, Johnny Carson than Don Rickles.

To prevent the comedy from getting out of hand, Bradford, a very serious dedicated singer, more than earned her keep. She began by telling heartwarming and heartbreaking stories of her encounters with Ella Fitzgerald, culminating in her transformative experience of

Carmen Lundy

vocals
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Carmen Lundy inviting her to Fitzgerald's estate sale after her passing to see that Bradford's own CD tribute to Ella was the last thing Fitzerald listened to before she died. Bradford then sung a beautiful rendition of Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me" that brought the house down. Bradford is a rare breed of singer combining superb blues timing with swing (a feature of the Basie Band). And her voice was vibrant and clear, at a level one rarely hears today.

The concert wrapped up with Manzari back on stage with Ripling and Bradford for "I Won't Dance" and "Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home." To sum things up, this concert was not only great fun and music. It also afforded an experiential education in the origins of jazz as a kind of multi-media exhibitionism. That's not meant in a sarcastic way. Jazz is the most embodied, ironic, and rhythmic musical story-telling of all time.

Set List: It Don't Mean a Thing if It Ain't Got that Swing; Dinah; St. James Infirmary; Symphony in Riffs; I Got Rhythm; Love is Here to Stay; I Can't Give You Anything but Love; Smile Darn Ya Smile; You Gotta Give Me Some Rhythm; (Intermission); Bugle Call Rag; St. Louis Blues; Mood Indigo; Harlem Street Scene; Minnie the Moocher; The Harlem Numbers Game; I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues; Someone to Watch Over Me; I Won't Dance; Bill Bailey Won't You Please Come Home.

Personnel: Byron Stripling: conductor, trumpet, and vocalist; Carmen Bradford: vocalist; Leo Manzari: tap dancer and vocalist; The Philly Pops Orchestra.

PREVIOUS / NEXT

The Abode
< Previous

The Vach�� Brothers Quintet At The J...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.