Porgy and Bess (Joe Henderson album)
| Porgy and Bess | ||||
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| Studio album by Joe Henderson | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | verve | |||
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Format (s) |
CD |
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Title (number) |
10 |
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running time |
53:46 |
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Studio (s) |
Avatar Recording Studios, NYC |
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Porgy and Bess is a jazz album by Joe Henderson containing the music of the opera of the same name by George Gershwin , conducted by Bob Belden , and was recorded from May 25-28, 1997 at Avatar Recording Studios in New York City . It was released on Verve Records that same year and was the tenor saxophonist's last album before his death in late June 2001.
The album
The Porgy & Bess album by Joe Henderson continued the series of tribute albums continue to Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn (1991), for which he received the Grammy got, and So Near, So Far (Musings for Miles) ( 1992) and Double Rainbow: The Music of Antonio Carlos Jobim (1995). In connection with the success of these productions, the sixty-year-old saxophonist was now able to hire well-known musicians for his projects; Henderson brought in guitarist John Scofield for the Gershwin project , who had also participated in his Miles Davis tribute. The rhythm section consisted of Dave Holland on bass, Tommy Flanagan on piano and Jack DeJohnette on drums. The trombonist Conrad Herwig added brass sections in the swinging arrangement of I Got Plenty of Nothing . Another player was the vibraphonist Stefon Harris . Henderson had two singers in the project; Chaka Khan in Jazzstandard Summertime , and Sting in It Ain't Necessarily So.
Track list
- Joe Henderson - Porgy And Bess (Verve 314 539 046-2)
- Introduction: Jasbo Brown Blues - 0:56
- Summertime - 7:16
- Here Comes De Honeyman / They Pass By Singin '- 2:04
- My Man's Gone Now - 6:58
- I Got Plenty Of Nuttin '- 6:52
- Bess, You Is My Woman Now - 5:15
- It Ain't Necessarily Sun - 6:27 am
- I Loves You, Porgy - 4:18
- There's a Boat Dat's Leavin 'Soon for New York - 6:42
- Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess? - 6:58
- All compositions are by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin .
reception
Many critics have compared Joe Henderson's Porgy & Bess adaptation to the previous version by Miles Davis and the Gil Evans Orchestra from 1956. In its annual review, the Billboard asked Can this stand alongside the interpretations by Pops & Ella and Miles? Yes!
According to Leo Stanley, who awarded the album four (out of 5) stars in Allmusic , Joe Henderson's Asaption from Porgy and Bess considers the high standard of his previous albums to be verve. Henderson brings Gershwin's music to life with subtle beauty and dignity. Even if Henderson's Porgy and Bess has the same origins as Miles Davis' legendary version of the opera, it still has an original sound that is less based on orchestration than the Miles Davis classic. Although the album is not flawless - instead of enhancing the music, guest contributions by singers Chaka Khan and Sting end this moment and attract attention - it is still a "valuable addition to Henderson's catalog."
Jason Laipply especially praised Joe Henderson's role in All About Jazz :
- One of Verve's best selling active artists, Henderson's earned his living by applying his distinctive tenor tone to various well known works. Porgy & Bess seems like the perfect vehicle for Henderson, who excels at both the up-tempo and the laid back. Throughout the disc, Henderson plays confidently, pushing familiar ideas through his solos, and playfully manipulating the basic Gershwin melodies. On classic ballads like "I Loves You Porgy" and "Bess, You Is My Woman Now," Henderson plays soulfully, giving proper emotion to the characters involved. On the upbeat numbers, Henderson blows out as the leader, pulling the band and the listener with him, and often makes use of his signature "fluttering" on the end of solos.
The author criticizes John Scofield's guitar playing, which sounds too much like fusion, and Stefon Harris' " lounge-sounding " vibraphone, which leads away from the "romantic" core of the material. Even if the author doesn't want to complain about the untraditional instruments, several parts of the album still sound too much like smooth jazz . Even if Henderson's playing is satisfactory, the album cannot compare with the Porgy & Bess versions by Louis Armstrong / Ella Fitzgerald , Miles Davis / Gil Evans and even Oscar Peterson .
In JazzTimes, Bill Bennett highlighted Joe Henderson's ability to hold his own in the music scene, which means having put together such a phenomenal group as a bandleader. Mention is also made of Tommy Flanagan's elegant playing, especially his wonderful echoes of the Gil Evans arrangement of Summertime , and praises Dave Holland and Jack DeJohnette for their rhythmic breathing life into interpretations of the Gershwin classics. Chaka Khan delivers a “wonderfully restrained” reading of Summertime , “which overflows with emotion.” Mention is made of Sting's trouble with the theatrical nature of It Ain't Necessarily So , which was arguably the most difficult part in distilling an opera. In summation, then: how suite it is!
Richard Cook and Brian Morton only rated the album three (out of four) stars and commented that the music had a "kind of elephant-like grace" and that there was nothing here that Henderson had not done better in other cases. So it is a real shame that this was his last work before his death in 2001.
Web links
- Porgy and Bess at Allmusic (English)
- Review of the album in JazzTimes
- Review of the album in All About Jazz
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Review of the album in All About Jazz
- ^ Billboard Dec 27, 1997 - Jan 3, 1998, p. 28
- ↑ Review of Leo Stanley's album at Allmusic (English)
- ^ Bill Bennett: Review of the album in JazzTimes
- ↑ Cook & Morton, Penguin Guide to Jazz, 6th Edition, 2003. P. 705