With music flourishing on a variety of cable channels, from MTV and VH-1 to BET and Bravo, perhaps it’s not so surprising that concerts rarely turn up on free TV anymore.
That is, unless you count awards shows such as the Grammys, where the speeches tend to run longer than the musical performances.
The Public Broadcasting System, however, has been one of the last holdouts for bona fide musical shows, as evidenced by three specials airing over the weekend on WTTW-Ch. 11.
The title of “Benny Goodman’s Greatest Hits” may not suggest the most erudite of programs, but the show (at 8 p.m. Friday) offers plenty of archival footage of the Chicago jazz legend. Certainly there’s enough historical material here to beguile the jazz novice and perhaps entice the connoisseur as well.
The heart of the program is its vintage film clips, most notably segments featuring Goodman’s quartet, with vibist Lionel Hampton, drummer Gene Krupa and pianist Jess Stacy. To see and hear these four virtuosos – in their prime – bringing so much rhythmic energy and technical brilliance to various jazz standards is to appreciate anew Goodman’s gifts as leader.
Though listeners tend to associate Krupa with a relentless bashing of the drums, here the volatile musician offers a degree of subtlety and understatement that might catch some fans by surprise. Add to this mix Stacy’s gorgeously voiced pianism, Goodman’s sublime lyricism on the clarinet and Hampton’s incendiary technique, and you have one of the most accomplished ensembles in all of jazz. In addition to the glorious archival footage, the show presents live performances in the McCallum Theater in Palm Desert, Calif., with clarinetists Richard Stoltzman and Abe Most taking turns in the Goodman role. Neither is as persuasive in this music as, say, Chicago Symphony Orchestra principal clarinetist Larry Combs, but they treat such Goodman classics as “Let’s Dance” and “Don’t Be That Way” with palpable affection.
The show also has its bittersweet moments, particularly when 88-year-old Hampton — the last surviving member of Goodman’s quartet — takes to the vibes. Slightly bent over and hardly moving, Hampton heroically attempts to make his way through such showpieces as “Flying Home.” The old energy and dexterity may be gone, but the man courageously presses on nonetheless.
“The Songs of Johnny Mercer — Too Marvelous for Words” (at 9:25 p.m. Friday) casts a spotlight on a great American songwriter who isn’t as widely remembered as Cole Porter or Irving Berlin, but deserves to be. Having penned lyrics for such indelible tunes as “Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive,” “And the Angels Sing,” “Blues in the Night,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening” and dozens more, Mercer stands as one of the great poets of Tin Pan Alley and Hollywood.
The program’s most striking moments show Mercer on “The Andy Williams Show” in 1963, the two sweetly crooning their way through the Mercer songbook. “Moon River,” “The Days of Wine and Roses,” “You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby” — the hit parade seems almost endless.
“I always believed it takes more talent to write music,” the great lyricist once said, “but it takes more courage to write lyrics.” Certainly the honesty and insight of Mercer’s lyrics place him among the elite songwriters, among them Lorenz Hart, Cole Porter, Mitchell Parish and Stephen Sondheim.
Those who doubt it need only listen to songs such as “Too Marvelous for Words,” “One for My Baby,” “My Shining Hour” and “Laura,” all elegantly performed during the course of the tribute program. If venerable singer Margaret Whiting brings the most interpretive depth to this music, vocalists Johnny Mathis and Melissa Manchester perform these songs with the ardor and musicianship they require. Only the young singer-guitarist John Pizzarrelli sounds seriously out of his league here.
Finally, “STYX: Return to the Paradise Theatre” (at 9 p.m. Sunday) should reconfirm just about everyone’s attitudes on one of the best known bands to come out of Chicago.
Those who find Styx and its grandiose manner difficult to take probably will be put off by the flamboyance of this taped concert, which took place last year at the Rosemont Horizon. Listeners who still treasure such Styx anthems as “Lady,” “Babe” and “Come Sail Away,” on the other hand, will be in heaven.
Pop music as openly melodic and optimistic as this may be out of vogue in the angry and angst-ridden ’90s, but that only makes Styx’s message all the more striking. Moreover, Dennis DeYoung remains one of the more charismatic vocalists in American pop, a born showman who can sell a song with the dramatic charge of a Broadway belter.
For anyone who wants to catch DeYoung at the peak of his vocal powers, “Return to the Paradise Theatre” is essential viewing.
