SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Gershwin and Friends: Kim Criswell, BBC Big Band, David Firman, Cadogan Hall, London, 22.8.2008 (BBr)

George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern: Songs


I have long admired the artistry of Kim Criswell and have always enjoyed her work; she can play a part and become part of the ensemble, never trying to be the big star. This is the first time I have heard her carry a show and I am sorry to have to report that, for me, it wasn’t an entirely satisfactory experience. Of course, the repertoire was right up Ms Criswell’s street, the great tunes of the Gershwin boys, and a couple by others which used lyrics by Ira – written after George’s death – with great arrangements for both big band and small string ensemble, made up, it seemed, from members of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

My problem was the amplification of Ms Criswell; it was too loud, but not loud enough for she was occasionally drowned out by the exciting, and sometimes forceful playing of the Big Band. Mr Firman should have been aware of this and restrained them from time to time. However, having said that I have to tell you that the BBC Big Band was really cooking tonight! Its interpretation of an arrangement of It Ain’t Necessarily So, made for Miles Davis, which opened the second half was superb.

Ms Criswell not only sang but gave a spritely connecting narrative, putting the Gershwin’s work in perspective. At the end of the first part she sang I Got Rhythm as the great Ethel Merman did, complete with the longest of long held notes. The problem was she oversang. Indeed, all too often Ms Criswell seemed to forget that she was amplified and gave too much. So much so that she didn’t sing as well in the second half of the show. The voice is the most delicate of musical instruments, and when it is pushed too hard it is impossible to keep the vocal production as pure as it was at the beginning. There was evident strain as the show progressed.

But Ms Criswell is nothing if not a trouper and at the end, and after the ovations, she delighted a packed house with two encores.  It was terrific to hear some of the Gershwin standards, and some not so standard, performed with as much style as this – Somebody Love Me, Embraceable You, Love Is Here to Stay were especially memorable. And how wonderful to have a songs by Vernon Duke – the magnificent I Can’t Get Started – Jerome Kern – Long Ago and Far Away – and Harold Arlen – The Man That Got Away.

A flawed concert, certainly, but with much to admire and enjoy – not least the sight of David Firman displaying his abilities in the terpsichorean art!

Bob Briggs


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