Predictability Mars Bowl’s ‘Tropicana!’ Tribute

Yes, that really was Tito Puente who turned up at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday night. But it was a surprisingly reserved Tito Puente, performing in a fashion that had a lot more to do with a summer pops concert titled “Tropicana!” than it did with the fiery distillation of Latin music and jazz that has characterized his performances for the past five decades.

Looking fit and trim, the 76-year-old Puente led a powerful 10-piece ensemble, kicking off his segment of the show with an exhilarating example of his ability to combine massed jazz ensemble sounds and wide-open soloing over a rhythmic foundation possessing the capacity to make the feet tap and the body move. From that point on, however, Puente and his sterling ensemble were largely accompanied by John Mauceri and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and what started off as a rocket-like musical ascent quickly settled into a predictable level flight.

There were some high points--especially a fascinating tribute to the music of Cuba’s seminal charanga ensemble, Orquestra Aragon. And Puente was his familiar miniature dynamo, doing a dance step here, tossing in a few passages on the vibraphone, pulling the rhythm together with his high voltage timbales playing. But there was also a rendering of Duke Ellington’s “I’m Gonna Go Fishin’ ” theme from the film “Anatomy of a Murder”--not exactly a Puente classic--and a tepid attempt to get the audience to its feet via some salsa rhythms. It was, in sum, only a small, teasing taste of the artistry of this great musical fusionist.

The balance of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra’s performance, underscoring the “Tropicana!” theme, held few surprises. There was an unusually orchestrated rendering of Bizet’s “Haban~era” from “Carmen,” the customary dosage of film music (in this case, Ernesto Lecuona’s “Jungle Drums” and “Andalucia,” and a segment of Dimitri Tiomkin’s score for “The Old Man and the Sea”), a quirky medley of tunes associated with Carmen Miranda, and the “Mambo” from “West Side Story.” (And what a shame that some spectacular playing by the Bowl Orchestra’s trumpet section--Jon Lewis, Rick Baptist and Wayne Bergeron--failed to receive the full acknowledgment that it deserved.)

Capping off the evening, George Gershwin’s “Cuban Overture” served as the foundation for yet another imaginative fireworks display by special effects consultant Gene Evans.

The program was repeated on Saturday night.