A Sparkling ‘June Night’ Tribute to Teri Thornton

“Jazz on a June Night” at the John Anson Ford Theatre Saturday night turned out a bit different from the planned production. Scheduled to open the Ford’s Summer Nights 2000 with a performance by Teri Thornton, it was, instead, a tribute to the veteran singer, who died in May from complications of bladder cancer.

But there was nothing to regret about the replacement program, which added singers Carmen Lundy and Nnenna Freelon to the previously scheduled Terence Blanchard Sextet, the group Prime and the Billy Childs Trio. A benefit produced by and for the Jazz Bakery, the program offered a well chosen representation of the sort of music that takes place nightly at the Bakery’s home in Culver City.

Childs, with the remarkable young bassist Billy Mohler and drummer Rob Perkins, opened the bill with a pair of standards (“Alone Together” and “I Love You”) and a blues offering showcasing Mohler. The trio then settled into an accompaniment role to support Freelon and Lundy.

Freelon’s elegant stage presence and supple dancer’s movements enhanced her Sarah Vaughan-tinged renderings of “Close Your Eyes” and, especially, a sensual interpretation of “Every Time We Say Goodbye.” Lundy, with her lush, dark-toned sound and smoothly articulated rhythms, offered a tribute in the form of a Thornton original, “The Language of Love.” Both singers then joined in a spirited romp--highlighted by some back and forth scatting--through “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was.”

The program’s second half was all instrumental, starting with Prime and its three veteran members--pianist Tom Rainier, bassist Abe Laboreal and drummer Peter Donald--offering their craftsmanlike versions of a set dominated by original tunes. The Blanchard sextet’s relatively brief appearance surprisingly omitted any material from the trumpeter-composer’s latest album, “Wandering Moon.” But it did include a pair of stunning interpretations--Herbie Hancock’s “Sorcerer” and Ivan Lins’ “Nocturna”--providing ample solo space for Blanchard and his fine crew of young players, saxophonists Brice Winston and Aaron Fletcher, pianist Edward Simon, bassist Derek Nievergelt and drummer Eric Harland.

The only flaw in the otherwise entertaining program (which was hosted by Ruth Price, the Bakery’s music director) was a glitch that has also troubled the Jazz Bakery--audio problems. The first was the Ford’s sound engineers’ apparent inability to eliminate a persistent hum in the vocal microphones. The second, and more damaging, was the failure to properly amplify Laboreal’s bass in the Prime set, making it virtually impossible to fully experience the ensemble’s smoothly integrated work.