gfg12's Full Review: The Essential George Gershwin by George Gershwin
George Gershwin was a phenomenon. Has there ever been, before or since, a single composer who could wow us with his efforts in so many musical genres? Jazz, classical, blues, pop, opera; Gershwin conquered them all. And believe it or not, he found some time to paint, too! An excellent self-portrait is on display in the liner notes of this two disc album.
The Essential George Gershwin successfully showcases the wide range of this amazing composing genius, who unfortunately never made it to his 39th birthday. Gershwin died of a brain tumor in 1937, but no matter what age you may have attained, you know many of his marvelous melodies. When you play this record you'll hear many outstanding performers, some world famous and some not, but all are world class.
Gershwin himself opens the collection, playing his Prelude No. 2 For Piano, recorded Dec.10, 1928, and still sounding fresh. Ethel Waters follows with a sweet and sassy I Got Rhythm, recorded in 1930. Billie Holiday's soulful version of Summertime, a true classic, is backed by Bunny Berigan on trumpet, Artie Shaw on clarinet, and Cozy Cole on drums. Chill-inducing, to say the least. Fred Astaire's They Can't Take That Away From Me sounds like a tuxedo would if it could sing. Al Jolson does Swanee. No comment necessary. Frank Sinatra does Someone To Watch Over Me. Ditto.
But the very surprising highlight of Disc One is Jane Russell doing one of Gershwin's lesser-known songs, Do It Again. This tune is from a 1922 show called The French Doll. Russell's steamy version was recorded in 1947. Suffice it to say that this is hot stuff. If you slow dance to it in your living room you'll soon find yourself wandering upstairs and turning the lights down low. Way low. Thanks go to Michael Feinstein, who supervised this compilation with love, for finding Do It Again and including it.
Disc Two highlights include Gershwin himself again at the piano for a rousing Rhapsody In Blue, recorded in 1925 with The Columbia Jazz Band. S'Marvelous. Michael Tilson Thomas added additional orchestration in 1976, and it's pretty seamless.
Sarah Vaughan does My Man's Gone Now. Miles Davis is lead trumpet on I Loves You, Porgy. The duo of Adele Addison and Robert McFerrin (Bobby's father) performs Bess, You Is My Woman, Now. Yes, there's a lot of Porgy and Bess because, well, because it was a masterpiece. That's reason enough.
But the piece-de-resistance of Disc Two is a vibrant arrangement of It Ain't Necessarily So by a youthful Aretha Franklin, recorded Dec.19, 1960. This Aretha number from 43 years ago is a revelation. The tune has always been one of my personal favorites. As a matter of fact I've been known to quote it when giving closing summations in jury trials, to try to bring home to the jury that just because someone wrote something down in an official report doesn't mean it actually happened in that exact way. But I digress.
The album's liner notes include an essay by Diane Warren about the incredible staying power of George Gershwin. Just imagine how many of today's musical artists will still have an audience in the year 2068. Not very many, right? Maybe not any.
One definition of a classic is something that stands the test of time. We're still listening to and loving George Gershwin, who left this earth 65 years ago. It's truly mind boggling to think about what Gershwin's output would have been had he lived a more normal life span. The novelist John O'Hara once said "George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don't have to believe it if I don't want to."
When you play The Essential George Gershwin at home you will completely understand and agree with O'Hara's comment. This music lives on. It stands the test of time. Very likely it always will. Who could ask for anything more?
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.