An unlikely pair work musical magic at SPAC

by Mary Anne Leonard, The Knickerbocker News, June 29, 1981

Left to his own devices, the typical concert promoter considering a double bill of Cleo Laine and James Galway might have said: “too different, it would never work.”

And they are a contrast, the husky-voiced scat singer with the touch of a Cockney accent and the classically trained flutist from Belfast.

But in a two-hour-long program at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center Sunday night, the singer and the flutist each provided their respective fans with enough singing and enough impressive flute work to keep their respective fans happy. And in the process, they created a crossbred fan, in love with both of them by the night’s end.

Purists might accuse Galway of selling out, deserting the classical in favor of such crassly commercial hits as his rendition of John Denver’s “Annie’s Song” or the title song from their joint album, “Sometimes When We Touch.”

But Galway is enough of a showman and enough of a musician to appreciate how his instrument can transcend classification and have a universal appeal.

Sunday’s concert was the last for the two before they go their separate ways again, Galway back to the concert halls and Laine back to club dates. And the small crowd of 3,300 people who saw them Sunday should be grateful for the rare chance to see them together.

Although the concert seemed at times too predictable and too rehearsed, neither performer acted as if it were the last in a long tour. Ms. Laine was in superb voice, comfortable anywhere in her three-octave range and showing a fluid style that showed why she’s been called one of the greatest singers in the world. Known primarily as a jazz vocalist, she was best in the scat numbers, especially in the second half, where her voice apparently knew no bounds.

And Galway, too, proved comfortable with a range of material, delighting his audiences with a few classical pieces, but avoiding anything too heavyweight. It would have enhanced his part of the program, though, to have heard a few more classical pieces.

With a string section of local musicians and a quintet who travels with them, the show really owed much of the credit to the skillful direction of John Dankworth, Ms. Laine’s talented musician husband. In fact, Dankworth’s clarinet and saxophone solos were among the concert’s highlights and the long-time bandleader deserves as much attention as the headliners.

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