BLACK MUSIC ON BROADWAY by Eric Myers ______[This article appeared in the August, 1981 edition of Encore magazine]

veryone knows that New York is a great cosmopolitan city, and a melting-pot of many ethnic cultures. That’s why the city is so E stimulating, offering the best and most exciting of whatever you might be into - the theatre, music, art, food ... whatever. I believe that the fundamental character of New York is determined mostly by the culture of the African Americans in that city. You can sense their influence in many typical New York attitudes; for example, in the concept of being 'hip', which presupposes an intuitive understanding of what is going on around you, without being required to explain it verbally. More particularly, the influence of the blacks is felt, most of all, in the music of New York. Jazz is essentially the classical music of the American Negro although, of course, many white musicians have become proficient and, significantly, made themselves rich as practitioners of the art form.

1

On Broadway these days, there are three major musicals which are based on black music. To be more correct, two are based on music by black composers: Sophisticated Ladies, a song-and-dance show set to the music of ; and Ain't Misbehavin', based on Fats Waller compositions, plus a few other songs which Fats did not write but made famous.

The third musical is built around a classic African American singer - in fact, the first black woman to become prominent in films, Lena Horne. Her show is called The Lady and Her Music. When Duke Ellington's son Mercer brought the Ellington orchestra to Australia in 1980 many who were familiar with Ellington's music were disappointed. It appeared that Mercer, an ambitious arranger and composer himself, and former member of the Ellington trumpet section, had infiltrated a good deal of his own writing into some of his father's original charts. Moreover, the orchestra included a number of lame players. At the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on West 46th Street, where Sophisticated Ladies is playing, the orchestra, still under the direction of , has been entirely revitalised, and now consists primarily of New York studio musicians. The rhythm section was new, and the only players I recognised from the

2

Australian tour were Harold Minerve and David Young (saxophones), Charles Connors (bass trombone) and Barrie Lee Hall Jr (trumpet). My impression was that, although the music was extremely close to Ellington's original charts, much of it had been re-scored. The listed orchestrator was the distinguished Al Cohn, head arranger for the annual show, Miss Universe, Miss USA and Daytime Emmy Award shows. As was the case in all the musicals I saw in New York, the orchestra was positioned on stage behind the performers (not in a pit in front of, or under, the stage, as is the case in Australian theatres) and sounded superb. I never felt at any time that the Duke's music was being short-changed.

Al Cohn, listed orchestrator for the “Ain’t Misbehavin’” Broadway production…PHOTO COURTESY JAZZ MAGAZINE The production was an extremely fast-moving song-and-dance show set to about 35 Ellington tunes. The choreography was dazzling, and I was agreeably surprised to discover that most of the major members of the cast danced, sang, and tap-danced at an extraordinary level of skill.

3

The stars of the show were and Judith Jamison. Hines was a marvel: a magnificent singer who also danced brilliantly and tap-danced like lightning. Shortly after interval, he even appeared behind the drum-kit, booted the ensemble along, and then played a first-rate drum solo. His vocal version of Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me, near the end of the show, was a memorable highlight. Mercer Ellington's daughter Mercedes, who enjoys the distinction of being the first black dancer to appear on television in the United States, was one of the major dancers in the show, and was also active off-stage as assistant choreographer.

Stars of “Sophisticated Ladies” Gregory Hines & Judith Jamison… PHOTO COURTESY PINTEREST This was a sensational show built around immortal music. One of the most impressive aspects of the production was the sophisticated amplification (which was also the case in the other musicals). The orchestra's sections were as clear as a bell, and although I could see no transistor microphones on any of the singers, I assume they were being used, as vocalists moved and turned with extreme mobility, without any suggestion that their voices might be lost in the sound mix. Lena Horne, perhaps the most glamorous grandmother in American show business, is 64 years old. It is a truism that she looks, at most, like a stunning woman in her 30s. At the Nederlander Theatre on West 41st Street, her one- woman show The Lady And Her Music has been the toast of Broadway for some months. She spends about two hours on stage in a strenuous performance.

4

Lena Horne, in front of the Nederlander Theatre on West 41st Street… I was not surprised to read, shortly after I left New York, that owing to exhaustion, her number of weekly shows had been reduced and her matinees cancelled. When you see Lena Horne on stage in 1981, it is hard to believe that, circa 1932, at the age of 16, she was a dancer in the chorus line at Harlem's famous Cotton Club, where the Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway orchestras first came to prominence. The music is built around many great standards and, interestingly, quite a few contemporary songs. The show is very much a review of her illustrious career, which took off, of course, when she went to Hollywood in the early 40s, under contract to MGM.

Horne (left) in the 1943 film “Cabin In The Sky” with Eddie “Rochester” Anderson…

5

Lena narrates the major episodes of her career with a good deal of dry wit. When she got into films, it was conventional for blacks to appear only in "service" roles, and she recounts the story of how a "light Egyptian" makeup was developed to make her skin appear lighter on the screen. The producers wanted her to appear to the public, not as a Negro, but as a Latin. She tells of how she became friendly with another black actress, who played Julie in Show Boat, and how they stuck together to withstand the temptations of Hollywood. She gets good laughs with lines like: "I'd like you to know, folks, that we never said yes ... (pause for applause) ... to the right people." Her initial achievements were her roles in the black musicals Cabin In The Sky and Stormy Weather. She sings the great standard Stormy Weather twice in the production, judiciously and understated in the first half, and with emotion and drama in the second half, bringing the show to a climax.

Lena Horne (centre) in the 1943 film “Stormy Weather” with Bill Robinson (left) and Cab Calloway (right)… Lena Home has a magnificent presence in the theatre. In songs like Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered and That's What Miracles Are All About, she demonstrated her uncanny ability to make a set of lyrics come alive with meaning. When she sang Yesterday When I Was Young, the words were not merely sung, but felt. The difference between a good performer and a great performer can be quite subtle. In Lena's case, it may be the way she can establish an intimacy with even the person sitting in the furthest reaches of the theatre, or the elegance and humility with which she acknowledges applause. Not the least of the delights of this production was the 17-piece orchestra, which was behind Lena Horne in umbrella formation. Her own trio consisted of three

6 of the best in the business: Steve Bargonetti (guitar), Bob Cranshaw (bass) and Grady Tate (drums). The celebrated musical Ain't Misbehavin' which has been running on Broadway for some four years, has won the Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, and was Best Musical in 1978. With an all-black cast of five, and about an eight-piece band, it was the smallest of the three productions.

Fats Waller & Lena Horne pictured together….PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN In the intimate Belasco Theatre on West 44th Street, this superb musical was a reminder of the life, humour and melancholia in Fats Waller's music. He and Andy Razaf may have written many of their songs in a cab on the way to a recording session, or to a meeting with a music publisher, but those songs are now great standards of American popular music: Keepin' Out Of Mischief Now, Black & Blue, Squeeze Me, The Jitterbug Waltz, Ain't Misbehavin’, and so on. One of the thrills of the production was the opportunity to hear the pianist and conductor Hank Jones (elder brother of the trumpeter Thad Jones and the drummer Elvin Jones) who played the upright piano out front, very much part of the show. Obviously a master musician, he handled the ragtime and stride piano styles with supreme ease. In the orchestra was, interestingly, the distinguished old bassist Arvell Shaw, who was in the Louis Armstrong band which toured Australia in 1963. The five singers who performed the musical - Ellia English, Eric Riley, Adriane Lenox, Ken Prymus and Roz Ryan - all have names that would not be recognised in Australia. Yet they were all magnificent performers, testimony to the talent available in New York.

7