Bobby Shew and the Auckland Philharmonia

By HEATH LEES

AOTEA CENTRE, Auckland - "We hope it'll be a nice night," said ace trumpeter Bobby Shew, a bit breathless after his Saturday-night opening number, a tight and punchy treatment of Kurt Weill's Speak Low.

And he did everything to make it nice, with a silky-smooth trumpet sound that wrapped itself around the lines of some great jazz standards, effortlessly decorating the notes through gently unfolding musical patterns, then teasing the tune back into its recognisable phrases with lots of tender loving care.

Shew's phrases are long and elegantly polished, sometimes spilling over into half the next line, only to right themselves naturally over the rest of the verse, and finish with his trademarked farewell sighs over the final chords.

Behind all this, the Auckland Philharmonia, with imported saxophones, beefed-up brass, and a front-stage combo centred around the nimble piano fingers of Kevin Field, wove a full and sensuous carpet of sound that occasionally became a magic carpet, taking Shew off on his musical flights.

Some of the nicest orchestral sounds were in the Gershwin numbers, and Marc Taddei's direction kept the tempo right while bringing out the special flashes of detail. It was a pity that Shew's own piece Nadalin was marred by the incessant triangle.

Otherwise, the arrangements, mostly by Lex Jasper, gave some rein to the orchestral sound instead of the usual practice of trying to make it all sound like a big band.

Vocalist Elaine Delmar joined Shew at the front, and her material and approach was very similar to his - reflective, smoochy, always classy. The real lack was variety, especially in the second half. Delmar has an arresting voice though, deep and creamy down low, like Sarah Vaughan on the straight, but with a strength of line up top that the microphone couldn't handle.

There were too many long and awkward exits and entrances, with Delmar and Shew continually passing each other like Queen St trams. Lighting and sets were imaginative though. Overall, Shew was right. It was a nice night.