Continuing its Great American Songbook series, Acrobat Records releases a two cd set that focuses on the music on arguable the greatest American composer, George Gershwin. Choosing a “definitive” or “representative” version of Gershwin material is daunting at the very least, but this album is an impressive run through the gauntlet, although no matter what you’re going to get arguments over selections.
The album starts with a 1920 (!) version of “Sawnee” from Al Jolson, along with a stomping take of Fred and Adele Astaire on “Fascinating Rhythm.” Ella Fitzgerald justifiably gets a good number of deliverys, including “Maybe” with Ellis Larkins dueting on piano and “Bess” with Louis Armstrong from the classic ’57 session with Russ Garcia. Billie Holiday is in great form with Teddy Wilson on “Things are Looking Up” and “The Man I Love” and is richly raspy on a late period “Our Love Is Here to Stay.” Intriguing ringers include “Wonderful” by a sultry Julie London, “Sam and Delilah” by Lee Wiley, a sassy “Do It Again” by a vampy Eartha Kitt and a riveting “It Ain’t Necessarily So” with a young Aretha Franklin with the Ray Bryant combo.
Of the instrumentals, Red Nichols delivers a bouncy “Strike Up the Band,” Nelson Riddle swings on “Fidgety Feet” and complete deliveries of both “Rhapsody in Blue” and “American In Paris” with the famous 1929 Victor Symphony Orchestra performance of the latter and Leonard Bernstein’s grandiose 1959 rendition of the former. These 2+ hours of music represent a musical high light of Western Civilization possibly never to be equaled. And that’s necessarily so!