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Mel Torme; Hubert Laws; Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Mel Torme has performed at Hollywood Bowl so many times over the course of 18 consecutive years that he has become part of the scenery, something to show the folks from home, like a redwood tree.

Mel Torme has performed at Hollywood Bowl so many times over the course of 18 consecutive years that he has become part of the scenery, something to show the folks from home, like a redwood tree.

Not that his act has become rigid — not at all — but a program called “Mel at the Movies,” you must admit, is definitely what a tourist in Hollywood might expect.

Unlike some of his jazzier dates of late, Torme the singer — as opposed to Torme the swinger — was on display, mostly crooning a selection of film ballads , both familiar and enterprisingly obscure.

It was certainly consistent with Torme’s current recording mood; his new Concord Jazz album, “A Tribute to Bing Crosby,” is devoted to dreamy tunes that Der Bingle sang in his Paramount films.

As a balladeer, Torme can still deliver the goods and then some, maintaining exquisite, disciplined control over dynamics, with just a hint of edginess near the top of his range on this evening.

Often, though, the material coalesced into hackneyed patterns — a Disney medley here, an MGM medley there, a “Hooray for Hollywood” leadoff — that grated upon this admitted non-worshipper at Hollywood’s shrine.

What saved the evening was a sampling of Torme’s galaxy of other interests and abilities. He enlivened what could have been just another over-effusive tribute (to Mickey Rooney this time) by playing quite competent, subtle drums in “Strike Up the Band.”

A Delius fanatic, Torme managed to graft the composer’s “On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring” onto a fascinating, moody chart (Torme’s own?) of “It Might as Well Be Spring,” playing Delius on the piano himself. Throughout, this seasoned entertainer masterfully paced the show by sprinkling in memoirs of the old days, making it look easy.

The contrast between Torme’s stage savvy and flutist Hubert Laws’ wooden presentation earlier on was startling. Laws, too, stressed versatility, playing fluidly as ever in classical and jazz idioms, but he has nothing to say anymore.

From an innocuous Chaminade Flute Concertino, to the retooled “Romeo and Juliet” and pointless “Bolero” adaptations, Laws is embalmed in a sleek ’70s classical-jazz concept gone stale.

The visiting Detroit Symphony Orchestra, closing out a week-long Bowl stand, played competently but could not conceal its collective boredom with Laws’ set, while sounding more involved with Torme’s.

Mel Torme; Hubert Laws; Detroit Symphony Orchestra

(Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood; 17,979 seats; $ 88 top)

  • Production: Presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Assn.
  • Cast: Performers: Mel Torme, John Colianni, John Leitham, Donny Osborne, Hubert Laws, Detroit Symphony Orchestra conducted by Robert Krogstad and Luther Henderson III. Reviewed Aug. 26, 1994.