THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 26, 1995 TAG: 9506260126
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICKEY WRIGHT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
After a filled Hampton Coliseum emptied by at least half in the wake of Barry White's last-minute cancellation, along came Ray Charles.
His 70 minutes onstage were an affirmation of both his continued power and that the bulky love-meister's absence hadn't spoiled the whole day.
Touching on several facets of his broad repertoire, Charles lent his richly emotional phrasing to country balladry (``Busted''), alley-bred R&B (``I Believe to My Soul'') and, again and again, the song book of American standards (everything from ``Oh, What a Beautiful Morning'' to Leon Russell's ``A Song for You'').
And, of course, there was ``Georgia on My Mind.'' Charles stretched the lyrics of his signature piece into long, ruminative lines punctuated by brief stabs at the piano keyboard from which he held court. Like this: ``Other arms and winning a performance as could have been wished.
Even more affecting was ``Come Rain or Come Shine,'' another longtime Charles favorite. (He recorded it for 1959's ``Genius of Ray Charles'' album.) He twisted its melody into a pledge of love that was both sweet and nearly aching.
It was sandwiched by lightly swinging versions of ``Morning'' and ``You Made Me Love You'' that also made room for Charles' giddy sense of humor. His orchestra's large horn section shined on these tunes - obviously one reason he's worked with such a group for so long.
The Raylettes joined in late in the set, offering their take on Aretha Franklin's ``Rock Steady'' and assisting Charles on a nastily funny ``Believe'' and the natural show-ender ``What'd I Say.''
The Duke Ellington Orchestra, conducted by the late composer's son Mercer, kicked off the day's work with an impressive set drawn from the Ellington book. Unfortunately, the band's momentum was lost when singer Cleo Laine and saxophonist husband Johnny Dankworth appeared. Laine's showy, unconvincing style couldn't bring to life the likes of ``Take the A Train'' and ``Solitude,'' nor several non-Ellington blues she attempted. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
KEYWORDS: HAMPTON JAZZ FESTIVAL by CNB