Doc’s Swingin’ Christmas Pops

Deck the Halls shook the walls of Uihlein Hall Friday night (Nov. 30), to open Doc Severinsen’s Holiday Pops weekend with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

The Milwaukee Symphony Chorus, the Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble and a full big band couched within the orchestra played a brilliant arrangement bursting with variational tangents and rich, active inner voices. Doc seems to have worked on his conducting technique since he was here last. In this rather complex piece and throughout the concert, he cued and shaped phrases with purpose and clarity exceeding precedent.

That arrangement, creative as it was, sounded traditional and a little square, very 19th-century. Then the music took a sharp turn into a mysterious, impressionist transition and came out swinging on the other side. I mean swinging, in loping, jazzy rhythms that the orchestra and chorus took to body and soul. That shift was as startling and thrilling as anything I’ve ever heard at a pops concert.

Severinsen announced the program from the stage, and the blank program page gave no arranging credits. I’ll try to get them, though, because Doc came to town with a bundle of new (or at least new to us) scores under his arm, and they are spectacular. “What Child Is This?” as a gossamer jazz waltz? A wonder. [This just in, and see comment below from C Heidenreich: Dick Lieb arranged “Deck the Halls”, “Happy Holidays” and “What Child Is This?”  John Behnke arranged the handbell numbers and Craig Hella Johnson arranged “Motherless Child.”] On several occasions, Doc waded into the orchestra to get close to the big band — complete with trap set, bass and a full saxophone section — and those arrangements, too, were terrific, especially the late Tommy Newsom’s red-hot take on “Jingle Bells.”

As always, Doc was generous and considerate to his hosts and his guests. He brought choral director Lee Erickson to the podium to conduct his singers and the orchestra through a rhythmically vibrant reading of Randol Alan Bass’ Gloria. And he brought Suzanne Hibbard to the fore to lead the Milwaukee Handbell Ensemble in utterly charming bells-only renditions of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” and, naturally, “The Carol of the Bells.”

In addition to those remarkable arrangements, Doc brought along a remarkable young singer, Vanessa Thomas. He introduced her very cleverly. The MSO routinely mikes and amplifies pops concerts. The mikes went off while Thomas sang Mozart’s “Alleluia,” a soprano coloratura extravaganza. The drop in volume had the desired effect of making everyone in the big crowd listen hard and get quiet. Thomas just nailed the piece and the audience went wild for her.

At that point, she could have trotted out the old Al Jolson line: “Folks, you ain’t heard nothin’ yet.”

Thomas picked up the mike to follow up with as soulful and chesty a rendition of “Motherless Child” as you’ll ever hear. And then, she came up with a countryfied “Blue Christmas,” and topped it off by belting out “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm.” Over these songs and a couple more, Thomas showed astounding command of a range of genres. Doc said he found Thomas more or less by chance while on tour in Clay Center, Kansas. I did a little Googling and found that Ms. Thomas is, indeed, a high school music teacher in Lawrence, Kansas. But I have to wonder for how long. This is a serious voice.

Doc, now in his mid-80s, remans as funny and charming as ever. And the lip is still intact. He played a number of brilliant, powerful trumpet solos of the sort that made him famous. But he put down the trumpet and picked up the flugelhorn for the evening’s most beautiful number, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” He took no wild virtuoso flights, but rather caressed the gentle melody with modest ornaments here and there and warmed it with the most exquisite and subtle vibrato. Even without the words, the sweetest of Christmas sentiments welled up and filled the hall.

Repeat performances are set for 2:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sat., Dec. 1, and 2:30 p.m., Sun. Dec. 2. Tickets range from $25 to $105 online or call the Marcus Center box office, 414 273-7206.

You think the Holiday Pops are all you have to do this weekend? Oh no. Find out what going on; check out our On Stage column.