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Rating: On a cold pre-Christmas evening (12/23/07) at the Stadt Halle in Vienna, a not particularly young audience enjoyed an aperitif before settling into the theater to listen to the prowess of Woody Allen & His New Orleans Jazz Band. The atmosphere was pleasantly relaxed, and the theater, with its bright red seats, was packed with elegant spectators.
The small and shy Allen does not keep the audience waiting. He enters in a green sweater and brown pants, head down, with his band. He is focused and does not look at the audience. Slightly built, he sits on one of the four chairs in the center of the stage with his trusty clarinet. He is accompanied by Conal Fowkes on piano, Gregory Cohen on bass, John Gill on drums/percussions, Jerry Zigmont on trombone, Simon Wettental on trumpet, and the corpulent maestro and leader (as Woody defines him at the end), Eddy Davies on banjo.
The septet kicks off. Two rapid pieces that garner applause with every instrumental switch. Allen is not always fluid, but he manages quite well. And as the second piece unfolds, he takes off his sweater and rolls up his shirt: the artist is warm.
After the two opening pieces, he approaches the microphone and greets the audience, saying "this evening we'll play pieces from New Orleans in the '40s, let's see what happens", eliciting a laugh.
From that moment on, a dozen pieces follow where each musician has their own space and share of applause. The banjo is a graceful and cheeky instrument. Maestro Davis prompts it with laughs and Texan yelps, amusing himself and others.
Often the dixieland jazz pieces lean towards blues, and it's curious how Allen, despite his well-known passion for the classics of pure American jazz, also dabbles in fusions and contaminations that will, in a few years, develop into a definitive genre.
A few minor slips are forgiven, but it must be said that in certain moments, the clarinetist rises and performs energetic and skillful solo feats. The audience has fun and after Allen's presentation of all the members and their exit from the stage, the applause encourages the band to return and perform encores and repeats.
But it really is the end, and the audience has descended in front of the stage to take pictures. It's late, people are leaving, and a few loyal fans hope for an autograph that doesn't come.
Two entertaining hours. I was in the front row.
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