A lone guitar (with the rest of the orchestra filtering on stage) introduced an evening with Michel Legrand & Friends on February 8th at the Odeon Hammersmith. Making his first live London appearance this multi-talented Frenchman charmed a capacity audience from the moment he walked on unannounced.
For most of the time he was virtually glued to the piano. And what piano! For a busy film composer it seems unbelievable that his technique hasn’t suffered. (Most arrangers put away their instruments and concentrate on writing.) Not so Michel. He switches constantly from jazz to classical with complete ease and equal facility sometimes incorporating both but never sounding contrived. Occasionally one hears a touch of Garner, Peterson or Evans but essentially he is an individualist.
The highlight of the evening was (even in the opinion of Michel) the breathtaking performance by altoist Phil Woods of an orchestral suite especially written for him. Not since Tubby Hayes have I been so enthralled by the magic of the saxophone. Close on the heels of that (popularity-wise) were film clips from Thomas Crown Affair, Summer Of 42, The Go Between and Le Mans projected onto a transparent screen while Legrand conducted the orchestra behind.
Feminine interest came in the form of a surprise guest, none other than his delectable sister Christiane, a founder member of the Swingle Singers. Together they presented a medley of his new songs in a very informal manner. Perhaps the most bizarre moment came when the whole string section under strict orders from Legrand let their hair down and did some scat singing in an interplay with the combined vocal forces of the brass and woodwind. Legrand did likewise (he could have been a Swingle himself) with Danny Moss.
Back at the piano again he played a scintillating Bach Concerto with the strings only and, following his best-known song What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life, an effective treatment of Windmills Of Your Mind interpolating Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C sharp minor. The evening ended with Christiane rejoining Michel for a most theatrical finale by the mainstay of many a London concert, the dynamic and youthful-looking Kenny Clare. P.S. My only complaint is that there was possibly too much piano and not enough pure orchestral arrangements.
