Andre Previn

This solo piano set from Andre Previn is a bit unusual for he recasts ten Harold Arlen compositions (all but "For Every Man There's a Woman" and "Cocoanut Sweet" are quite well-known) by reharmonizing the chords and modernizing the melodies…

Maurice Ravel - Daphnis et Chloe / Bolero
London Symphony Chorus & Orchestra / André Previn
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 318 MB | Full Artwork: 52 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: EMI # 7243 5 73034 2 2 | Country/Year: Europe 1998, 1980's
Genre: Classical | Style: Romantic

One of the most versatile musicians on the planet, André Previn has amassed considerable credentials as a jazz pianist, despite carving out separate lives first as a Hollywood arranger and composer, and then as a world-class classical conductor, pianist, and composer. Always fluid, melodic, and swinging, with elements of Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, and Horace Silver mixed with a faultless technique, Previn didn't change much over the decades but could always be counted upon for polished, reliable performances at the drop of a hat…

This was André Previn's second album after his long, symphonically enforced absence from jazz, and it sounds noticeably more fluid and relaxed than his first. No longer apprehensive about dusting off his old skills, Previn is delightfully confident and breezy (dig his sly turns on "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "C Jam Blues"), taking some chances as he re-phrases and paraphrases a collection of revivified standards, mostly Harold Arlen and assorted Duke Ellington. Even if Previn, that noted wit, sometimes sounds as if he is kidding the pants off these old tunes, it's great to hear him having such a good time playing jazz again. Mundell Lowe is Previn's new guitar partner, and Ray Brown returns on bass; both are right at home in this refined brand of chamber jazz grooving.

André Previn turned seventy in 1999. From Berlin refugee to multi-Oscar-winning film score composer, from great jazz pianist to chief conductor of both the London Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras, through four marriages including Mia Farrow and present wife Heather, with an honorary knighthood for his services to British music, his story is extraordinary. Previn's remarkable career reached a climax in September 1998 with the premier of his first opera, A Streetcar Named Desire. He also conducted the production at the San Francisco Opera, with Renée Fleming as Blanche.

Avid Jazz here presents four classic Andre Previn albums including original LP liner notes on a finely re-mastered and low priced double CD.
“West Side Story”… A 1959 recording of the classic Leonard Bernstein score featuring Andre Previn on piano accompanied by Red Mitchell on bass and Shelly Manne on drums. Take a listen and consider Bernstein’s thoughts from his book “The Joy Of Music” … ”A popular song doesn’t become jazz until it is improvised on, and there you have the real core of jazz improvisation”. “Collaboration”… Andre is joined by Shorty Rogers in an unusual collaboration where each arranger takes turns to lead off with three standard arrangements while the other follows with three original tunes based on the standards chords…

Sir André Previn's entire score for the Vincente Minnelli World War II epic 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse has been fully restored on this limited-edition disc. As the first cut of the film ran in excess of three hours, when it was whittled down to two and a half, much of Previn's soundtrack went with it…