The NY Pops Johnny Mercer concert was quite good with many wonderful moments. After a while, I started to feel there were too many charts aiming to give each singer a raise-the-crowd-to-their-feet-screaming moment that became aurally exhausting but each singer had wonderful moments: Ann Hampton Callaway sang the most beautiful rendition of "Skylark" I've ever heard, with a wonderful unnamed pianist, Kevin Kuhn on guitar, bass, drums, and sax solo. The most beautiful orchestral playing was the orchestra performing Johnny Mandel's arrangement of "Emily," and the other singers each had at least one fantastic moment:
James Lane on "Hooray for Hollywood" and :One for My Baby"
Michael Feinstein on "I Remember You" and a Revenge Medley of "I Want to be Around to Pick Up the Pieces and Gody Goody"
N'Kenge (pronounced "Nuhkengee," I believe} on "Autmn Leaves" and "Come rain or Come Shine"
There was also a group of kids, Camp Broadway Kids, who went on too long and amused the noisy parents around me. They closed the program, and I think they should have performed early and cleared out for the adults.
After a while, though, I kept thinking, Give me a band of 30 at the maximum so it doesn't all sound so soupy.
This was the first Pops concert I'd been to since a Christmas one conducted by that scumbag Skitch Henderson around 1996, which was under-rehearsed, sloppy, and poorly prepared. This was slick and very well prepared and performed. I had a good time