I'm fairly certain that my earliest experience hearing an orchestra was seeing Arthur Fiedler conduct the Boston Pops on PBS. I was about five years old. I don't remember most of what they played – other than Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever" – but I do remember it seeming like a lot of fun. When my mother innocently asked me which instrument was my favorite, I screamed: "I want to play the stick!"
Alas, my career as a pops conductor never took off, but I was happy to finally see the Boston Pops in person for the first time last night at Tanglewood. The Pops is made up of members of the Boston Symphony, less the first chair players and with a rhythm section added. They play mostly big band jazz and film scores – especially those by Laureate Conductor John Williams, who took over after Fiedler's death on 1979. It may not be the sort of "serious music" one usually hears in the Shed, but you'd better believe this orchestra – and their audience – take this stuff very seriously.
Somehow, it's been 15 years since baby-faced Keith Lockhart took over the Pops in 1995 (he turns 50 later this year), and he's added a bit of flash to the role, wearing designer shirts and cracking jokes from the podium between numbers. The huge crowd ate it up (especially the old timer in the back right of the house who kept shouting back his approval.)
After opening with Williams' rousing "Summon the Heroes" – familiar to most as the fanfare played ad nauseum during NBC's Olympics coverage – Lockhart brought out principal clarinetist Thomas Martin, who led a series of Benny Goodman classics, in honor of the jazz master's 100th birthday. In addition to big band classics "Let's Dance" and "Sing, Sing, Sing", they played the quiet first movement of Copland's Clarinet Concerto, which he wrote for Goodman in 1949. Lockhart reminded us that Copland was a long-time fixture at Tanglewood, and perhaps thinking of him, the performance felt especially tender and true.
But, Lockhart's primary contribution to the Pops legacy has been to introduce outside musical acts to the mix: everyone from Ben Folds, to Guster, to My Morning Jacket has played with the Pops at their bandshell in Boston (similar to what the LA Phil has put on at the Hollywood Bowl the past few summers.) Last night, it was trumpeter Chris Botti and his band, who brought their best-selling strain of jazz fusion to the mix. Not exactly my preference, but Botti is an engaging – if self-aggrandizing - onstage presence, and his band – pianist William Childs, guitarist Mark Whitfield, drummer Billy Kilson – is bad ass. And, Botti can demonstrate good taste when he wants to, like his version of Miles' "Flamenco Sketches," which he played in honor of the 50th anniversary of Kind of Blue.
The concert ended with good ol' "Stars and Stripes Forever," complete with stars projected on the stage backdrop and Old Glory unfurling from the ceiling mid-refrain. A bit cheesy? Sure. A good show? You bet. (More pics below.)