Bess

This amazing document, recorded at the Styriarte Festival in Graz, Austria in June and July, 2009, and conducted by the renowned Nikolaus Harnoncourt, reestablishes Gershwin’s masterpiece as the great American folk opera it was meant to be in the first place – the “American Wozzeck.” . With New Zealand star Jonathan Lemalu as Porgy, Isabelle Kabatu as Bess, and Gregg Baker – who sang the role at the Met in 1985 and at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1986 – as Crown, the performance emphasizes the work’s enormous theatrical and musical qualities, gives it the importance it always deserved, and sets it squarely alongside the greatest pieces ever created for the concert hall.

Two classic albums on one CD, 2012 new digital remaster with full original album art in booklet. Oscar Peterson's 1962 album, Oscar Peterson Plays: West Side Story, features the pianist and his trio with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen, reinterpreting compositions from the classic 1961 film version of the Broadway musical. This is a highly engaging album that showcases Peterson's trio at their finest, with some truly inventive takes on such songs as "Somewhere," "Tonight," and "Maria." Oscar Peterson's 1959 album, Play Porgy & Bess, features the pianist and his trio (with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen) explore ten of the stronger themes from George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess. It is true that Peterson's version of "Summertime" will not make one forget the classic rendition by Miles Davis with Gil Evans but, as is true with all of these performances, Peterson makes the melodies sound like his own. "It Ain't Necessarily So" and "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin"' are among the more memorable selections.

Miles Davis - Porgy and Bess (1958) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition Analog Collection SICP 1205}
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© 1958, 2006 Sony Music Japan / Columbia | SICP 1205 | DSD | HQD High Quality Disc
Jazz / Cool / Experimental Big Band / Trumpet

Of all Gil Evans' orchestral scores for soulmate Miles Davis, PORGY AND BESS is his richest and most ambitious–a watershed of modern jazz harmony which served to secure Davis' pop star stature and define his brooding mystique. Inevitably, even non-jazz listeners own a copy of PORGY AND BESS or SKETCHES OF SPAIN.

The Modern Jazz Quartet - Plays George Gershwin's Porgy & Bess (1966) {Atlantic Jazz Masters–Rhino 8122-75445-2 rel 2004}
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© 1964-65, 2004 Atlantic / Rhino / Warner | 8122-75445-2
Jazz / Cool / Bop / Third Stream

The Modern Jazz Quartet, a group legendary for it's feats during their heyday in the cool bop period of jazz music, shares with the listener a brilliant effort encompassing their impression of composer George Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess." Acclaimed by Encyclopedia Britannica as "the greatest American musical drama ever written," The Modern Jazz Quartet perform it at the highest level of creative flair to pay homage to a marvel of composition with the utmost degree of sincerity and respect. This is a piece that Gershwin took a full 11 months to compose and nine months to orchestrate, all based on the initial inspiration from a drama written by playwright Dorothy Heyward. Opening up the score is Gershwin's dazzling and seductive tune "Summertime," a landslide mark of musical brilliance.