It would make Lenny proud, this 123rd season of the Boston Pops, which is dedicated to maestro Leonard Bernstein’s legacy. Coinciding with the 90th anniversary of his birth, conductor Keith Lockhart kicked off the remembrance Wednesday night at Symphony Hall with a starry program that included guest soloist Natalie Cole.
The tribute includes not only Wednesday evening, but also four more concerts, with some jazzy bits, some show music, some rock-fueled riffs and some classical innovations: a democratic and eclectic mix that Lenny - like Seiji and Jimmy and very few others, a first name suffices - spent his life exploring, and would have been gratified to hear on this stage.
Bernstein belonged in large part to Boston, from his birthplace in Lawrence, high school years in Brookline, his days at Harvard, his summers at Tanglewood and his profound mentor-colleague relationship with Boston’s musical father figure, Serge Koussevitzky.
Opening night’s selections included a medley of show tunes and the harrowing suite from Bernstein’s only film score, “On the Waterfront,” with black-and-white stills from the flick showing a roguishly youthful Marlon Brando and the fetching Eva Marie Saint. The music was classic Bernstein: emotional, alluring, almost painterly in its emotions.
Cole was opening night’s headliner, and she ushered in the new season with style. She looked great - and don’t forget, we’re heading toward the seventh decade here - and sounded better. As a vocalist, Cole avoids pyrotechnics, relying instead on sweet delivery and stylish phrasing to make her impact.
Her dozen or so songs, including, of course, her ’90s trademark hit “Unforgettable,” with film clips of her father, Nat, helping along the nostalgia, stayed mainly in the soft jazz mainstream.
Reworkings of American classics such as “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “The Very Thought of You,” “Lollipops and Roses” and others showed Cole at her best.
Maestro Lockhart kept the band in harness and let Cole and her four-piece ensemble set the groove.
keithpowers@earthlink.net
