At 73, Van Morrison is going through a musical renaissance, and like the original Renaissance, he is accomplishing it by returning to the foundations and “first love” of his musical civilization, the jump blues of the 50s. With a swinging team of Dave Keary/g, Jay Berliner/g, Paul Moran/org-tp, David Hayes/b, Teena Lyle/perc-vib, Mez Clough/dr and Dana Master/voc, Morrison took the packed Wiltern theater through a roadhouse tour of his hits as well as from his juke joint jumping latest pair of albums.
Morrison’s voice is in possibly its best shape ever, sounding like a vintage Lester Young tenor sax as he is gorgeously relaxed behind the beat and loosely cool while singing standards like “A Foggy Day” and the bebopping “The New Symphony Sid.” When he pulled out his alto sax, he teamed up with Paul Moran’s trumpet to sound like Louis Jordan’s Tympany Five as the team bounced on new pieces like “Ain’t Gonna Moan No More” and slinked with an easy groove on “Days Like This” as his sax growled with an R&B attitude.
Morrison then pulled out his harmonica and took the crowd to the South Side of Chicago as Keary’s guitar wailed on a gritty medley that included “Baby, Please Don’t Go”, “Got My Mojo Working” and blew smoke rings on “Playhouse.” Backed by Dana Masters’ rich voice, Morrison then testified with a gorgeous gospel’d “Sometimes We Cry” and with daughter Shana Morrison swayed to a lovely “Beautiful Vision” that gave a mood of a night at the local VFW.
Teena Lyle’s vibes lithely danced alongside Moran’s humming Hammond and Morrison’s earthy alto on a passionate “Magic Time,” whereas “Crazy Love” was delivered with an irresistible and upbeat groove that seductively danced. Even more impressive was when Morrison and Moran locked horns on a kind of bluish take of “Moondance” that even included a segue into vintage Miles Davis with Cannonball Adderley with lines from “So What” and “My Funny Valentine.” WHEW!
Morrison concluded the 100 minute concert with a visit to Memphis for a swampy “Cleaning Windows” that veered off into a raucous “Be-bop-A-Lula” and then a side trip to Kansas City in a tribute to Big Joe Turner before closing out with a “Brown Eyed Girl” that would have put a smile on Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson’s face. The last stop on the tour was to East LA, as Keary pulled out his flamenco guitar and the band closed to a jazzy Latin Lover jam on “Ballerina.”
At this stage in his career, with nothing to prove to himself or his devoted fans, Morrison sounds like a man free to explore the true passions of his musical life. His latest two albums, as well as the concerts that are supporting them, show that he grew up drinking from the right waters.
Upcoming shows at The Wiltern include Nick Mason 03/16-17, Steve Curtis Chapman 04/12, Robin Trower 05/04 and Todd Rundgren 05/09-10