Woody Allen and his regular band – the Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band – have just finished a short US tour. The final show was at the Orpheum in Los Angeles, and the LA Times reviewed the show.
Always the self-deprecator, Allen joked at the top of the concert: “It’s like touring doing Gregorian chants. Whenever anyone pays to see us, we’re amazed.” Wearing a blue button-down shirt and khaki slacks, Allen otherwise blended in with the six other members of the Eddy Davis New Orleans Jazz Band as they executed numbers including “Down by the Riverside,” “Easter Parade” and the hymn “The Old Rugged Cross.”
The band played three encores, and Allen ended the show with another quip.
But the most Allen-esque moment of the evening came just before that as the director said goodnight from the stage. For those of you who had seen him perform jazz before, he said, “You’ll notice that I have not improved.”
Director Robert Weide (who made Woody Allen: A Documentary), music producer Quincy Jones, musician Christopher Owens, voice artist Neil Kaplan were some of the people who attended the recent show.
Allen is staying on in Los Angeles for production of his 2016 film, which begins shooting on the 17th August. He is also directing the opera Gianni Schicchi at LA Opera in September.
