Porgy And Bess

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.

George Gershwin's folk opera has been a source of inspiration for countless jazz musicians. This 1959 recording with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen (who had replaced guitarist Herb Ellis the previous year) features some of Peterson's most impassioned and bluesy playing. With the addition of a drummer, he was liberated from rhythm duties to become the trio's dominant solo voice. Producer Norman Granz, who frequently featured Peterson in his Jazz at the Philharmonic all-star tours of the 1950s, had the musicians work out the arrangements in the studio with a minimum of rehearsal. That freshness of conception can still be sensed today.

Oscar Peterson & Joe Pass - Porgy And Bess (1976) {Pablo OJCCD-829-2 rel 2006}
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© 1976, 2006 Pablo Records / Fantasy / Universal | OJCCD-829-2 / 00025218682923
Jazz / Bop / Clavichord / Guitar

To me, what Peterson did with the clavichord is brilliant. At times it sounds like a funky fretted instrument, maybe a mandolin. It's neither harpsichord nor piano. Historically, clavichord predates both. By pressing the keys harder, the player can actually bend strings like a blues guitarist. But clavichord is not a loud instrument– even an acoustic guitar can overpower it. Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass are, of course, masters. The playing is top notch (the album was recorded in a single studio session). Harmonically they don't take Gershwin anyplace he hasn't been before, but their assured feel combined with the novel acoustic blend make this album a constant delight.

Tomes are available annotating the importance of this recording. The musical and social impact of Miles Davis, his collaborative efforts with Gil Evans, and in particular their reinvention of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess are indeed profound. However, the most efficient method of extricating the rhetoric and opining is to experience the recording. Few other musical teams would have had the ability to remain true to the undiluted spirit and multifaceted nuance of this epic work…

Tomes are available annotating the importance of this recording. The musical and social impact of Miles Davis, his collaborative efforts with Gil Evans, and in particular their reinvention of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess are indeed profound. However, the most efficient method of extricating the rhetoric and opining is to experience the recording. Few other musical teams would have had the ability to remain true to the undiluted spirit and multifaceted nuance of this epic work. However, no other musical teams were Miles Davis and Gil Evans. It was Evans' intimate knowledge of the composition as well as the performer that allowed him to so definitively capture the essence of both…