By DAVID A. FRYE
Special to the Daily News
A great musical match-up took place Monday night as Maestro Bob Lappin and the Palm Beach Pops welcomed veteran entertainer Clint Holmes to the Kravis Center stage.
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An extremely polished performer, Holmes seemed right at home fronting the large group. He held his own through a well-paced set of quiet ballads as well as big numbers, while sharing the spotlight with Lappin and an array of soloists from the Pops lineup.
The evening began sweetly enough with flutist Sara Stout kicking off the Chaplin classic Smile, which also made great use of the string section. Special guest Mike Renzi — a world-class arranger, orchestrator and accompanist who has worked with everyone from Sinatra to Miss Piggy — stopped by to sit in with Lappin for a challenging dual-piano version of Gershwin's Embraceable You.
Rounding out the opening set was Renzi's beautiful medley of award-winning songs by Michel LeGrande, including a full-tilt swing take on I Will Wait For You that had toes tapping throughout the hall, book-ended by a lush, string-laden approach to How Do You Keep The Music Playing?
While the Pops players are still as bankable as ever, both individually and as a unit, the lighting designs and audio mix have never been better, making for a great overall experience.
In the second half, Holmes came out of the gate swinging with a tight big-band arrangement of Get Me To The Church On Time, from My Fair Lady, the first of many show tunes — both classic and original — performed that evening. Displaying a well-tempered confidence that only comes from 20-plus years in Vegas and Atlantic City, Holmes smoothly segued from one tune to the next, weaving anecdotes and one-liners into the mix in a conversational tone that doesn't feel rehearsed. In fact, he makes you feel right at home, sharing his tasteful interpretations of a wide variety of material while channeling bits of the heroes he has known over the years: a little bit of Sammy Davis Jr. in What Kind of Fool Am I?, a little Sinatra in Under My Skin, and a little Michael Jackson in a refreshing version of Human Nature.
Other highlights included the stunning West Side Story Suite — a beautifully understated abridged version of the show that was a one-man tour-de-force — along with several original tunes from a yet-to-be-produced autobiographical musical, and his 1974 number one pop hit, Playground In My Mind, which had the Kravis crowd happily singing along.
By pairing with Holmes, likely the most talented "one-hit wonder" whose name you might not recall but certainly should remember, the Palm Beach Pops has raised the bar substantially for future guest performers, and found a solid collaborator who is as close to a perfect fit as it's had in recent years. It resulted in simply a great night of music.
http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/arts/content/arts/2010/02/09/Frye0210.html
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
