This is a compilation of compositions by George Gershwin with his brother Ira as lyricist – anyone who rhymes “He made his home in . . . that fish’s abdomen” (It Ain’t Necessarily So) is okay in my book.
The material has been available before, on various individuals’ albums, such as Ella’s Gershwin Songbook (Verve) and that of Sarah Vaughan (Emarcy), and the identical material was issued on W52st Records (523951), a three-disc set, in 2015, under the same title but with extra tracks.
However, it’s a good representation of the depth of Gershwin’s output, straddling the boundary between jazz and popular music, and it’s interesting to compare the range of vocalists. There are the more commercially popular singers – Crosby, Sinatra, Bennett and Astaire (here with JATP support in the shape of Charlie Shavers, Flip Phillips & co) and the rather saccharine Hi-Los, Four Freshmen and Andrews Sisters, but it also includes a variety of song stylists.
Three versions of Summertime enable you to hear the difference in delivery by a sultry Helen Merrill, a breezy Ella/Louis and, a highlight of the album, Jeanne Lee, who with pianist Ran Blake’s dramatic interjections, creates great tension and expression.
There are many other notable contributions, not least Nina Simone’s heartfelt I Loves You Porgy; Billie Holiday with muted Harry Edison and silky smooth Ben Webster; Shirley Horn’s Foggy Day from the session that produced Stuff Smith’s Cat On A Hot Fiddle album; Dinah Washington’s clear, hard-edged tones on Somebody Loves Me, from The Swingin’ Miss D, probably Hal McKusick on alto; Love Walked In from Abbey Lincoln’s early Blue Note recordings; Chris Connor and June Christy’s indebtedness to Anita O’Day in their inflections and phrasing; then Ms O’Day showing how it’s done on ’S Wonderful/They Can’t Take That Away From Me (from Anita Sings The Most), with Oscar Peterson’s dazzling speed and deft brushwork from John Poole. Blossom Dearie’s neat contributions show her piano skills (Little Jazz Bird and Someone To Watch Over Me) – it’s a shame she never recorded Gershwin’s The Half Of It, Dearie, Blues, from his Lady Be Good (1924).
A great reminder of the prodigious talent of Gershwin and the lasting quality of composition by one of the great songwriters of the era. If you haven’t the earlier set, then I recommend this. A booklet gives dates and brief details of recordings.
Discography
CD1: Nina Simone – I Loves You Porgy; Sarah Vaughan – Bidin’ My Time; Ella Fitzgerald – Strike Up The Band; Peggy Lee – It Ain’t Necessarily So; Helen Merrill – Summertime; Frank Sinatra – They Can’t Take That Away From Me; Billie Holiday – Embraceable You; Dinah Washington – Somebody Loves Me; Tony Bennett – Love Walked In; Julie London – ’S Wonderful; Shirley Horn – A Foggy Day; Blossom Dearie – Little Jazz Bird; Lena Horne – The Man I Love; The Hi-Los – Fascinatin’ Rhythm; Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off; Carmen McRae – Nice Work If You Can Get It; Bing Crosby – They All Laughed; Julie London – How Long Has This Been Going On?; Chris Connor – Someone To Watch Over Me; Chet Baker – But Not For Me; Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong – Summertime; Morgana King – For You, For Me, For Evermore; Nat King Cole – Embraceable You; Johnny Hartman – Somebody Loves Me (78.46)
CD2: Ella Fitzgerald – Who Cares?; Joe Williams – ’S Wonderful; Dinah Washington – I’ve Got A Crush On You; Sarah Vaughan – Blah, Blah, Blah; Abbey Lincoln – Love Walked In; Anita O’Day – Medley: ’S Wonderful/They Can’t Take That Away From Me; Blossom Dearie – Someone To Watch Over Me; Lena Horne – How Long Has This Been Going On?; The Four Freshmen – Love Is Here To Stay; Jeanne Lee – Summertime; Ella Fitzgerald – Shall We Dance?; Louis Armstrong – I Was Doin’ All Right; Nina Simone – Porgy, I Is Your Woman Now; Fred Astaire – Lady Be Good; Marilyn Moore – I Got Rhythm; Sarah Vaughan – Soon; The Andrews Sisters – Of Thee I Sing; Chet Baker – They All Laughed; Ella Fitzgerald – By Strauss; Billie Holiday – Love Is Here To Stay; Sarah Vaughan – Lorelei; Ella Fitzgerald – Sam And Delilah; June Christy – They Can’t Take That Away From Me; Lee Wiley – I’ve Got A Crush On You (77.46)
Jackpot Records 48787
