Ben Jones & Laurence Hobgood
Birdland, NYC, August 18, 2025
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg
Photo by Kevin Alvey
It was all about the music; there was barely any patter. Ben Jones was dressed casually (though elegantly). There was no particular theme or through line to the set list, which was made up mostly of pop songs from the later 20th century (with a few intriguing exceptions). Yet tenor Jones and pianist Laurence Hobgood blended together to create stage magic.
“Blended” is a key word here for several reasons. The selections were presented with very few breaks, and each song led into the next one, often with a contrasting mood or approach. It is not every day that one hears the angular “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (Paul Simon), which seamlessly transitioned into the classic “Shenandoah,” which Jones performed with aching simplicity. Then there was the jazz standard “If I Should Lose You” (Ralph Rainger/Leo Robin). That song originated in the now-forgotten movie Rose of the Rancho, where it was introduced by slumming Metropolitan Opera star Gladys Swarthout before it was embraced by jazz musicians that included Chet Baker and Shirley Horn. It was followed by the heartbreaking cabaret favorite, “Ballad of the Sad Young Men (Tommy Wolf/Fran Landesman). These songs really had nothing to do with each other, but the wonderful musicianship of the two performers made the sequence work.
Quite different from everything else performed was “But I Was Cool” (Oscar Brown, Jr.), the sole comedy number in the show. Jones delivered it with a grand combination of sexiness and humor that made us regret he hadn’t chosen more songs of this genre. However, the evening was brought to a close with his serene delivery of the classic “Nature Boy” (Eden Ahbez). Jones and Hobgood will soon be releasing a new CD that promises to offer the same kind of musical celebration that they presented at Birdland, and it will be all about the music.
