I got plenty o 'nuttin'
I Got Plenty o 'Nuttin' (also I Got Plenty o 'Nothin' ) is the name of an aria from George Gershwin's folk opera Porgy and Bess , which he composed in 1933-35. The plot comes from the novel Porgy by DuBose Heyward , who also wrote the libretto for the opera and is named together with George's brother Ira Gershwin as the author of the lyrics. Alongside Summertime , It Ain't Necessarily So and I Loves You, Porgy, the aria is now one of the most famous songs of this opera and also an evergreen .
music
The music of this aria , like all the others in the opera, is linked to jazz . It is in G major and in 2/4 time. The orchestral prelude moves ladder-like from the d to the four-bowed d, with a great number of fifths in the secondary parts. In measure 5, all the strings stop so that only the piano can be heard, whereupon the vocal part begins. With longer sustained notes in the vocal part, the clarinet often has a short interlude containing blue notes . Often there are intermediate dominants that briefly transition into another key, but which eventually end back in the original key through a median.
text
The text of the aria is always about Porgy's attitude towards materialistic things and their value. For example, he draws a comparison that the wealthy population has locks on their doors, so that their property is not stolen. Porgy, on the other hand, doesn't have much to steal, and if his carpet is stolen from his floor, he doesn't care because the things he values are the stars, the sun, the moon, his girlfriend, his god and his song. What seems a bit sarcastic at first glance turns out to be an absolutely serious view later.
language
The language in the aria is a dialect of the African-American population of the southern states that Gershwin researched during a two-year study trip. So it says:
- De folks wid plenty o 'plenty got a lock on de door ...
- Dey kin steal the rug from the floor, that's okeh wid me
- I got my gal, got my song, got Hebben the whole day long
Cover versions
Frank Sinatra recorded the song on November 15, 1956, in a jazz arrangement by Nelson Riddle . This version appeared in 1957 on the Capitol album "A Swingin 'Affair!" That was the starting point for numerous other recordings: In the same year Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald recorded the piece for their 1959 Porgy & Bess album; In 1958, Sammy Davis Jr. followed . A first instrumental interpretation of the title can be found on the album The Jazz Soul of Porgy and Bess (1959), in which Art Farmer , Bob Brookmeyer and Bill Evans were involved. Oscar Peterson played the piece several times, initially also in 1959 for a Porgy & Bess album. So he recorded it in 1976 in a duo with Joe Pass , where he played the spinet . Joe Henderson went to the studio for the piece in 1997 with John Scofield and Dave Holland and also played it regularly on his European tour in 1997 and subsequently at other appearances (e.g. at Lincoln Center ).
In the field of classical music, the pianist and organist Wayne Marshall used the piece as material for an organ improvisation (on the CD Organ Improvisation , 2000). The New Century Saxophone Quartet played the piece on their CD Main Street USA (1996). Beatrice and Maurice André interpreted it on their Gershwin album, as did the Canadian Brass . There are also arrangements of the piece for wind orchestra , both in instrumental versions and with vocal soloists.
Remarks
- ↑ cf. Benedikt Moor in: Cultural History - 20th Century
- ^ Frank Sinatra website
- ↑ The singer sang the piece, which can be found on the album The Candy Man Swings , over the years and also sang it in joint concerts with Sinatra (see Sammy Davis title discography )
- ^ Peterson Discography
- ^ Sessionography Joe Henderson
- ↑ Concert band sheet music