The newly created Pacific Jazz Orchestra made its first public appearance on Saturday at Hollywood’s United Recording studio, making what may be the final recording in that legendary Sunset Blvd. room where so many great tunes originated over the past 65 years.
That likelihood lent a bittersweet tone to an otherwise joyous occasion. Artistic director Chris Walden conducted a half-hour of music with the 40-piece orchestra and announced plans for its initial 2023-24 season before a crowd of Oscar, Grammy and Emmy winners that included Diane Warren, David Foster, Katharine McPhee, Charles Fox, Rickey Minor and Mark Isham.
“It’s not a symphony orchestra, but it’s also not just a big band,” Walden told PvNew in an interview before the show. “It’s a hybrid ensemble with instrumentation that allows us to explore the boundaries of jazz and create collaborations with a wide range of guest artists.”
The Herb Alpert Foundation will be the primary sponsor of the orchestra’s first season, which will consist of five concerts at various L.A. venues. The first two will be at the Wallis in Beverly Hills Oct. 27, featuring singer Ledisi and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval; and a holiday show at the Alex Theatre in Glendale Dec. 23, with McPhee, Take 6 and violinist Caroline Campbell.
Future dates are expected to be announced including the Soraya in Northridge, the Irvine Barclay Theatre and the Theatre at Ace Hotel downtown.
Alpert sent a video message explaining that the Pacific Jazz Orchestra “will continue in the tradition of orchestral jazz, but this is the important part: We will explore musical collaborations beyond jazz, which will appeal to a wider and more diverse audience. And this will undoubtedly entertain, inspire and enrich our great city of Los Angeles.” Rona Sebastian, president of the Herb Alpert Foundation, attended.
In addition to the concert schedule, the non-profit PJO is planning what Walden called “a summer program-workshop-clinic-masterclass where members of the orchestra will teach high school and college kids,” ending in a recital featuring the Pacific Youth Jazz Orchestra. “I want to give the next generation of music arrangers, directors and conductors the opportunity to work with us.”
The Saturday program was a sample of what’s to come, Walden said. The mini-concert opened with “No Bounds,” a jazzy orchestral Walden original. Nashville singer-songwriter Kandace Springs offered two numbers, “So Far, So Near” and “Run Your Race,” both with tasteful orchestral arrangements. Singer Adam Jackson concluded the set with a wild, big-band swing version of “Let the Good Times Roll.”
The music recorded Saturday will be released soon as part of promotional music videos, Walden said.
L.A. has not had a resident jazz orchestra since 2006 when the Henry Mancini Institute, which sponsored summer concerts conducted by Patrick Williams, closed its doors. Walden cited Wynton Marsalis’ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in New York as an inspiration.
As for United Recording, several in the crowd remembered their own experiences working there. Songwriter Charles Fox recalled recording his Grammy-winning “Killing Me Softly with His Song” there in 1971. Producer Gregg Field, who once played drums for Frank Sinatra, knew the exact spot where Sinatra stood when he recorded “It Was a Very Good Year” in 1965.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Fox said of the decision to close United.
