James Taylor

July 17, 2002 Tanglewood concert review by Dave Read

In an evening of Americana worthy of an Independence Day festival, three American icons familiar to Tanglewood audiences joined forces Wednesday night to entertain a record-setting crowd of 24,470, breaking the previous record (23,039) held by the Tanglewood on Parade celebration in 1999.

The combined draw of John Williams, the Boston Pops Orchestra and James Taylor filled the Shed, the lawn and the surrounding woods and parking lots with concertgoers, who were treated to a one-of-a-kind show that drew lines connecting the American spirit and the ongoing struggle for freedom to the musical heritage celebrating that spirited struggle.

The tone was set in the first half of the program, when Taylor joined the Pops to narrate an excerpt from Aaron Copland’s “A Lincoln Portrait.” It was a brilliant choice, underlining what indeed is a Lincolnesque quality in the pop-folk singer-songwriter, seen in public for perhaps the first time in suit and tie.

It also connected Lincoln’s brilliant, poetic oratory – read in Taylor’s typically understated delivery but with plenty of impact – to Taylor’s own politically-minded work, bringing to mind songs like “Shed a Little Light,” his tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., and even “Line ‘Em Up,” his semi-comic look at Richard Nixon’s resignation.

The Lincoln piece was part of an America-themed Pops program that included a peppy ride through Richard Rodgers’ “Carousel Waltz” and Williams’ “Call of the Champions,” which kicked off the evening with a brass fanfare. The meat, however, was in the Lincoln piece and Williams’ own portrait of that other much-loved, assassinated president, John F. Kennedy.

Written for the Oliver Stone film “JFK,” Williams’ suite ranged from a lyrical, Irish-tinged theme full of hope – quintessential Williams in its Coplandesque optimism – to a representation of Kennedy’s assassination full of sharp edges and harsh dissonance – more Stravinsky than Copland.

The curtain came down on the first half with a strut through a Yankee Doodle-like march composed by Williams for Steven Spielberg’s World War II comedy “1941.”

Still wearing a the suit, but without the tie, Taylor returned after intermission with a “Hi, how ya doin’?” instantly giving the evening a more relaxed feel. It also helped when, in his folksy manner – wasn’t Lincoln folksy, too? – he teased the audience by saying that he would play three new songs.

“I know you hate new material, but these songs sound just like the old ones,” he said, before launching into “On the 4th of July,” a ballad off his terrific upcoming album “October Road” that was indeed vintage James Taylor.

Vintage in a whole other way, however, was another new song, “Mean Old Man,” an old-fashioned, jazz-style pop tune that, in addition to offering showcases for the two bona fide jazz players in his band, guitarist John Pizzarelli and pianist Larry Goldings, proved that Taylor himself has jazz chops as a vocalist. The tune swung harder and with more personality than anything we’ve heard at Tanglewood in quite a while.

The Pops mostly stayed out of Taylor’s way on the tunes they accompanied. They provided stirring backup, however, on his version of the folk song, “The Water Is Wide,” another showcase for Taylor’s considerable vocal talent, during which you got to hear him ring long notes that built with vibrato. (Is this guy taking voice lessons? He never sounded so good.)

His riotously funny spoken introduction to “The Frozen Man” was first-rate comedy, and “Carolina In My Mind” was a mellow counterpoint.

The closest Taylor came to rocking out fully was on “Country Road,” which opened with a duet jam between Taylor on acoustic guitar and bassist Jimmy Johnson. Even with drummer Gregg Bissonette playing brushes, the song’s inner dynamic of tension and release threatened to explode fully several times. Williams, sitting behind Taylor during the song, got so caught up in the tune that he began clapping out the rhythm.

The orchestra backed Taylor on the set-closing version of “Fire and Rain,” which, taken at a slower pace than the original and with some additional orchestral swells and flourishes and an added crescendo at the end, taking on the aspect of a Williams composition.

Do I hear a full album’s worth of James Taylor songs as orchestrated by John Williams in the future? Do I hear a full album’s worth of pop standards sung by Taylor with the Boston Pops in the future? This concert suggested yes to both.

The Pops played some music from the score to the “Harry Potter” movie – more of which will be heard at Tanglewood on Parade later this month – while Taylor took a breather before officially bringing down the curtain backed by the orchestra on a chilling version of “America the Beautiful.”

With the orchestra released from its official duties as the clock struck 11 PM, Taylor then regrouped informally and generously entertained his fans with an impromptu solo set of favorites including “You’ve Got a Friend,” “The Secret of Life,” and, of course, the obligatory “Sweet Baby James,” with its invocation of the Berkshires and “the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston.”

It was a truly magical and memorable night.

2018 Tanglewood schedule

The 2018 Tanglewood schedulefeatures a season-long celebration of the centennial of Leonard’s Bernstein’s birth, culminating in the Aug. 25 Bernstein Centennial Celebration hosted by Audra McDonald, with Maestro Andris Nelsons, four guest conductors and soloists Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, and others.

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Tanglewood tickets and box office information

Tickets for the 2018 Tanglewood season available through Tanglewood’s website, www.tanglewood.org, SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200, and at the Symphony Hall Box Office at 301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston MA.

July 4, 2008 Tanglewood concert review by Dave Read

A perfectly good rock and roll show, billed as “James Taylor and his Band of Legends” got turned into an event that will go down in Berkshires‘ lore as the night of several stars; live, on video, and animated. It’ll get tagged something like “James Taylor’s 60th Birthday show,” with a variety of sub-titles depending on where else fans loiter on the entertainment scene: Yo Yo Ma, John Travolta, Paul McCartney, Carole King, Homer Simpson.

A third of the way into the second set, by which time Taylor and the Legends already had earned their keep with a nicely paced ninety-plus minutes of often dazzling music, Taylor told the audience “… from here on out, things are going to open up.” And so they did, with his pal John Travolta coming onstage during the Dixie Chicks‘ “Some Days You Gotta Dance” to MC the birthday party segment of the show. (When a rock ‘n roller hits 60, way more than the actual date, March 12, is appropriate for the celebration.)

James Taylor’s 60th birthday celebration at Tanglewood

Can this cat really have reached the threshold for being referred to with a Latin preface, a la “sexagenarian James Taylor rocks throng?”

After a big hug and a kiss, Travolta introduced cellist Yo Yo Ma, who accompanied his neighbor and friend on a poignant rendition of “Sweet Baby James.” Sublime. To the ridiculous? Next was an hilarious video greeting from Homer Simpson that closed with Simpson saying, “…from one person who has cleaned up his act, to another” and introducing the next song, “Steamroller Blues.”

In that little segment, from a duet with Yo Yo Ma, to the totally nutty Homer Simpson clip (including JT’s appearance on the Simpsons in the mid-nineties), to a crazy mad blistering rendition of Taylor’s “Steamroller,” you get an inkling of Taylor’s breadth as a musician and his evolvement as a person – who else has a peer group with that span?

Next was a friend from forty years ago, Paul McCartney, via video, who recalled their meeting when Taylor was the first musician signed by the Beatles’ Apple Records in 1968, and adding that he “has no sympathy for someone turning 60, which is beginning to sound young to me.”

But the icing on this 6-decker cake of a show was the presence of Carole King, who gets refrenced anyway at every James Taylor concert.

The two old friends, who did a series of gigs late last year in celebration of the Troubador in LA, sang “Natural Woman,” “Up on the Roof,” and “You’ve Got a Friend.”

With the typically generous encore, the show went on until a little past ten, ending with the world’s most heartfelt rendition of “How Sweet It Is,” and fireworks over Stockbridge Bowl.

We’re confident nobody has taken up Taylor on his offer to “fight anyone” who disputes his claim that his Band of Legends is the “best band in the world.” They are, and you can find more about them by following the links below:

• Michael Landau
• Luis Conte
• Walt Fowler
• Andrea Zonn
• Kate Markowitz
• Arnold McCuller
• David Lasley
• Larry Goldings
• Steve Gadd
• Lou Marini
• Jimmy Johnson