Bess

Flaming Bess was formed in 1969, in Düsseldorf. There was the usual club gigs, and personnel changes, before finally recording an album. It just took them ten years. This was 1979's "Tanz Der Götter". A highly regarded album, and very much influenced by other symphonic music of it's time. The second release, 1980's "Verlorene Welt", had a more rock-oriented approach, and featured Marlene Krükel on vocals. This would be the last recording from the band for 15 years. In 1995, they resurfaced with "Fata Morgana". Apparently, this was not just an attempt at recapturing past glory. They had kept up with changes in the music scene, and produced a progressive album to fit the times…

Miles Davis - Porgy and Bess (1958) {1997 Columbia Remaster}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC+CUE+LOG -> 325 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 133 Mb
Full Artwork @ 400 dpi (jpg) -> 29 Mb
© 1997 Sony Music / Columbia / Legacy | CK 65141
Jazz / Experimental Big Band / Cool / Modal / Bop

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.

Like MILES AHEAD, Evans' band on PORGY AND BESS de-emphasized the traditional reed section in favor of a tuba, three French horns, two flutes and two saxophones. The resulting chords and overtones are dark, alluring and mysterious. Thus the opening brass-cymbal bluster of "The Buzzard Song" gives way to a mid-eastern carpet of flutes and deep brass as Davis' poignant trumpet speaks in split tones and yearning cadences, bursting with blues feeling; a tuba soon picks up the theme as muted trumpets are followed by tolling trombone/French horn chords.

Miles Davis - Porgy and Bess (1958) {2006 DSD Japan Mini LP Edition Analog Collection SICP 1205}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 297 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 122 Mb | Full Artwork
© 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.

Percy Faith made some excellent albums containing orchestral instrumental treatments of the music from Broadway shows in the 1950s, and here are two of them on one CD. Both were highly ambitious projects for their composers, George Gershwin and Frank Loesser, respectively. Porgy & Bess, of course, was Gershwin's "folk opera," a commercial disappointment in 1935 that grew in stature until, when a film version was released in 1959, the record stores were swamped with recordings of it. Faith matched the ambitions of the score, employing two large orchestras and some notable soloists. Faith brought something of a swing sensibility to his arrangements, but he preserved those gorgeous Gershwin melodies and gave a feel of the passion and tragedy of the story…

A rare Japanese-only album - one that presents familiar songs from Porgy & Bess, but delivered in a completely sublime setting - just the bass of George Mraz and the piano of Roland Hanna - opening up with a sense of flow that really transforms each tune into a very special creative moment! Mraz is at his best here - with that round yet sharp tone that makes some of his 70s performances so wonderful - and Hanna complements his playing beautifully with his own balance of force and lyricism - maybe more sometimes on the left hand than usual, but also never slavishly tied to rhythm - just carrying a bit more of the sound without the drums.

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.