The press release on this coupling promised “an evening of unparalleled artistry,” a very lofty intention indeed. But after a few numbers I tend to agree whole-heartedly – these two critically-acclaimed musicians put on a master class that at moments, took my breath away.
Both have impressive resumes. Hobgood is a Grammy Award-winning pianist, composer and arranger and Jones most recently seen in Off-Broadway productions of Twist of Fate and Brooklyn’s Bridge at The York Theatre. Ben received the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best Performance in a Musical for his portrayal of Sid Sorokin in The Pajama Game. Ben stated that they were still getting to know each other through a string of shows and the idea is a strong one. Not your typical cabaret shows with canned banter, Jones and Hobgood elevated the form with stunningly beautiful and cerebral offerings of a wide range of genres and styles.
A few bars of the popular love ballad “Love Hurts” (Boudleaux Bryant) segued into a mashup of Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” followed by Kansas’ “Dust in the Wind” (Kerry Livgren)- all three choices surprisingly enchanting. Jones has an expressive face and reaches deep into lyrics to mine the emotional content, coupled with Hobgood’s off the charts instrumentals, extracting everything from the handmade Yamaha CX.
Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” and “This Nearly Was Mine” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific showed Jones at his most vulnerable and nuanced. A few unexpected numbers put a smile on my face – Supertramp’s 1979 hit “Take the Long Way Home” (Roger Hodgson) and Stevie Wonder and Yvonne Wright’s “I Believe (When I Fall in Love It Will Be Forever). In a true collaboration of equals, the arrangements showcased both their talents.
Other highlights in a set of treasures included the haunting “Ballad of a Sad Young Men” (Frances Landesman/ Thomas J. Wolf Jr.), a nice cover of The Bee Gees “How Deep is Your Love” and the ever popular “Nature Boy” (Eden Ahbez). Hobgood is no stranger to collaborations with vocalists having accompanied Kurt Elling for eighteen years. He knows how to extract the best from Jones with his thematically improvised technique. Together they make a magic which should be recorded (hint, hint).
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