| Oscar Peterson Plays Porgy & Bess | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1959 | |||
| Recorded | October 12, 1959 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 49:11 | |||
| Label | Verve Records | |||
| Producer | Norman Granz | |||
| Oscar Peterson chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings | [2] |
Oscar Peterson Plays Porgy & Bess is a 1959 studio album by Oscar Peterson, playing selections from George Gershwin's 1935 opera, Porgy and Bess . [3]
All songs composed by George Gershwin, with all lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Dubose Heyward, unless otherwise indicated.
Recorded October 12, 1959, Los Angeles, California:
George Gershwin was an American composer, pianist and painter whose compositions spanned both popular 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 standard "I Got Rhythm" (1930), and the opera Porgy and Bess (1935), which gave birth to the hit "Summertime".
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 of the same name.
Porgy and Bess, the opera by George Gershwin, has been recorded by a variety of artists since it was completed in 1935, including renditions by jazz instrumentalists and vocalists, in addition to operatic treatments.
Catfish Row, originally titled Suite from Porgy and Bess, is an orchestral work by George Gershwin based upon music from his famous opera Porgy and Bess. Gershwin completed the work in 1936 and it premiered at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia on January 21 of that year, with Alexander Smallens conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. Gershwin played the piano part, including the piano solo in the opening moments. This piece preserves some of the darkest and most complex music Gershwin ever wrote.
"It Ain't Necessarily So" is a popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song comes from the Gershwins' opera Porgy and Bess (1935) where it is sung by the character Sportin' Life, a drug dealer, who expresses his doubt about several statements in the Bible. The song's melody also functions as a theme for Sportin' Life's character. This song came under direct critique from composer Hall Johnson for depicting African Americans as unfaithful.
Porgy and Bess is a 1976 album by pianist Oscar Peterson and guitarist Joe Pass featuring music from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. This is the only album on which Peterson plays the clavichord.
Louis Armstrong Meets Oscar Peterson is a 1957 studio album by Louis Armstrong, accompanied by Oscar Peterson.
On the Town with the Oscar Peterson Trio is a live album by jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, released in 1958.
Oscar Peterson in Russia is a 1974 live album by Oscar Peterson, accompanied by Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, recorded in the Soviet Union.
The Jazz Soul of Oscar Peterson is a 1959 album by the Oscar Peterson Trio, described by Allmusic as "a swinging, straight-ahead affair featuring superb playing throughout."
Buddy DeFranco and Oscar Peterson Play George Gershwin is a 1954 album by Buddy DeFranco, accompanied by the Oscar Peterson trio, of songs composed by George Gershwin. Billboard in 1955 wrote: "The flashy talents of clarinetist DeFranco and pianist Peterson jell neatly here in the well-arranged ork setting. [...] The fact that they play Gershwin isn't important, since both men reduce the material at hand into what has become their personal cliches."
Porgy & Bess is a 1997 album by jazz saxophonist Joe Henderson, released on Verve Records. It contains Henderson's arrangements of music from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess.
Oscar Peterson Plays the George Gershwin Songbook is a 1959 album by pianist Oscar Peterson of compositions written by George Gershwin. Peterson had recorded many of the pieces for his 1952 album Oscar Peterson Plays George Gershwin.
Side by Side is a 1994 studio album by pianist Oscar Peterson and violinist Itzhak Perlman.
Porgy and Bess is an album by Harry Belafonte and Lena Horne, released by RCA Victor in 1959. It features songs from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess. Belafonte and Horne sing two songs together: "There's a Boat That's Leavin' Soon for New York" and "Bess, You Is My Woman Now". The album was re-issued on a 2-CD set in 2003 together with Jamaica by BMG Collectables in Stereo.
The Modern Jazz Quartet Plays George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess is an album by American jazz group the Modern Jazz Quartet performing the score to George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess recorded in 1964-65 and released on the Atlantic label.
"I Got Plenty o' Nuttin' " is a song composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 "folk-opera" Porgy and Bess (1934). The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, and Ira Gershwin. It is one of the most famous songs from the opera and it has been recorded by hundreds of singers and music groups.
Porgy and Bess is a 1959 album by Sammy Davis Jr. of selections from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess co-starring Carmen McRae. Davis is accompanied by orchestras conducted by Buddy Bregman and Morty Stevens, sometimes supported by the Bill Thompson singers. McRae is featured on three of the ten songs, "Summertime", "My Man's Gone Now" and the only duet, "I Loves You, Porgy", all three backed by an orchestra directed by Jack Pleis. "The record is piled to the sky with strings, harps, choruses, and pillowy orchestration," writes Tim Sendra on Allmusic, but "credit[s] Sammy and Carmen for holding up their end of the deal."
The collaborations between Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong have attracted much attention over the years. The artists were both widely known icons not just in the areas of big band, jazz, and swing music but across 20th century popular music in general. The two African-American musicians produced three official releases together in Ella and Louis (1956), Ella and Louis Again (1957), and Porgy and Bess (1959). Each release earned both commercial and critical success. As well, tracks related to those albums have also appeared in various forms in multi-artist collections and other such records.
Oscar Peterson Plays George Gershwin is a 1952 album by pianist Oscar Peterson of popular songs written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin.
