George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions Rhapsody in Blue (1924) and An American in Paris (1928), the songs "Swanee" (1919) and "Fascinating Rhythm" (1924), the jazz standards "Embraceable You" (1928) and "I Got Rhythm" (1930), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935), which included the hit "Summertime".
Sarah Lois Vaughan was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine Grammy Awards. She was given an NEA Jazz Masters Award in 1989. Critic Scott Yanow wrote that she had "one of the most wondrous voices of the 20th century".
The 19th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 19, 1977, and were broadcast live on American television (CBS). It was the seventh and final year Andy Williams hosted the telecast. The ceremony recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1976.
Porgy and Bess is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play Porgy, itself an adaptation of DuBose Heyward's 1925 novel Porgy.
David Frank Paich is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and secondary vocalist of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the band's three most popular songs: "Hold the Line", "Rosanna", and "Africa". With Toto, Paich has contributed to 17 albums and sold over 40 million records. He and guitarist and singer Steve Lukather are the only members to appear on every studio album.
Porgy and Bess is a studio album by jazz vocalist and trumpeter Louis Armstrong and singer Ella Fitzgerald, released on Verve Records in 1959. The third and final of the pair's albums for the label, it is a suite of selections from the George Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess. Orchestral arrangements are by Russell Garcia, who had previously arranged the 1956 jazz vocal recording The Complete Porgy and Bess.
Ella à Nice is a 1982 album recorded live in 1971 by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by a jazz trio led by the pianist Tommy Flanagan. This recording remained unreleased until the early 1980s.
Martin Louis Paich was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kenton, Al Hirt, Art Pepper, Buddy Rich, Ray Brown, Shorty Rogers, Pete Rugolo, Ray Charles and Mel Tormé. His long association with Tormé included one of the singer's earliest albums, Mel Tormé with the Marty Paich Dek-Tette. Over the next three decades he worked with pop singers such as Andy Williams and Jack Jones and for film and television. He is the father of David Paich, a founding member of the rock band Toto.
Sarah Vaughan Sings George Gershwin is a 1958 studio album by Sarah Vaughan, of the music of George Gershwin.
Songs of the Beatles is a 1981 album by Sarah Vaughan, recorded in 1977 but not released for four years due to a recording contract problem. It contains songs written and originally performed by the Beatles, with contemporaneous pop and jazz arrangements. On "Something" Vaughan was accompanied by the Brazilian singer and musician Marcos Valle.
'Nuff Said! is an album by jazz singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone. It was recorded—excluding tracks 1, 8, and 11—at Westbury Music Fair, April 7, 1968, three days after the murder of Martin Luther King Jr. The whole program that night was dedicated to his memory. The album featured one of Simone's biggest hits in Europe, "Ain't Got No, I Got Life".
Naughty Baby is a live album by Maureen McGovern. It was recorded at Studio A at Clinton Recording Studios in New York City. The studio was converted into an intimate concert setting and invitations were sent to 150 guest.
Ella Fitzgerald Live at Mister Kelly's is a live album of a 1958 Ella Fitzgerald performance at Mister Kelly's, and released in 2007.
Live at Caesars Palace is a live album by the American singer Diana Ross, released in 1974. It was recorded during a 1973 performance at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace. It was the first of two live albums Ross recorded for Motown. It reached No. 64 in the USA.
Zoot Sims and the Gershwin Brothers is a 1975 studio album by American jazz saxophonist Zoot Sims, featuring the music of George and Ira Gershwin.
Oscar Peterson Plays Porgy & Bess is a 1959 studio album by Oscar Peterson, playing selections from George Gershwin's 1935 opera, Porgy and Bess.
Oscar Peterson in Russia is a live album by Oscar Peterson, accompanied by Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, recorded in the Soviet Union.
Porgy & Bess is a 1997 album by the jazz saxophonist Joe Henderson, released on Verve Records. It contains Henderson's arrangements of music from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. It was his final album as a leader.
In the City of Lights is the title of a live concert date by American jazz diva Sarah Vaughan, performing at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Recorded in 1985, the album was not released until 1999, almost a decade after Vaughan's death in 1990.
