Our Love Is Here to Stay

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Guitarist/vocalist John Pizzarelli, son and protégé of renowned guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, opens up on this 1997 release with a sophisticated set. In addition to his usual trio of brother Martin Pizzarelli on bass and Ray Kennedy on piano, Pizzarelli employs the Don Sebesky New York All Star Band on this session. That orchestra evokes rich textures with its four-trumpet, five-trombone, five-woodwind and two-French horn lineup. "Our Love Is Here to Stay" received a nomination for Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocals at the 1998 Grammys. Other highlights include "Dream," "Rhythm Is Our Business" and "Say Hey Kid." --John Swenson

Tracks:

S' Wonderful
Our Love Is Here To Stay
Liza
The World Is Mine
They Can't Take That Away From Me
Isn't It A Pity?
Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
Embraceable You
What Causes That?
He Loves And She Loves/How Long Has This Been Going On
They All Laughed
The Girl I Love
Someone To Watch Over Me

Amazon.com

Pure Gershwin was Michael Feinstein's first album, and it remains one of his best. It may not have the production values of his later Gershwin tributes, Nice Work if You Can Get It (1996) and Michael & George (1998), but it simply and directly presents Feinstein in his piano-bar days, singing to his own tasteful accompaniments with occasional contributions from bass and drums and a second piano. Establishing the patterns for his later albums, he sings unjustly neglected verses to familiar songs, uncovers some never-before-recorded gems ("The World Is Mine," "What Causes That"), and provides song-by-song notes. Longtime friend Rosemary Clooney guests on "Isn't It a Pity?" --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

you cant beat an Ira lyric........2007-01-05

this is good...and just to hear a REALLY GREAT "Isn't A Pity" duet with Rosie is well worth the price of admission. I REPEAT: just to hear a REALLY GREAT "Isn't A Pity" duet with Rosie is well worth the price of admission. listen & enjoy some great american music. you cant beat an Ira lyric.

A Wonderful CD.......2005-05-19

PURE GERSHWIN is just that, pure!. Feinstein interprets Gershwin the way it was meant to be performed. This is pure delight!

Quiet and elegant.......2003-04-20

Michael Feinstein's thin voice is compensated by his apparent enthusiasm for the material and a spare arrangement of piano, bass, and drum that gives this recording the ambiance of an intimate piano bar. Before hearing this disc, I knew only Gershwin's biggest hits, so many of the numbers here were new to me and increase my appreciation of that great American composer.

Disappointed.......2003-04-10

I bought this cd because I am a huge Gershwin enthusiast and am always on the lookout for versions of one of my favorite pieces, "Liza". I'd heard a lot of buzz about Feinstein and the supposed wonderfulness of his Gershwin interpretations, so I thought I would give this album a shot.

I was extremely disappointed. Feinstein seems to suck the life out of Gershwin's compositions, a feat I would have previously thought impossible. Though I concede that vocalists are free to reinterpret songs (many to a great success, as in Louis Armstrong's and Ella Fitzgerals's enjoyable versions of Gershwin), I think Feinstein's lazy tempos "loungy" voice make the tracks on this album boring and annoying.

I have loved to listen to and sing these songs my entire life. I just wanted to warn listeners who perhaps, like myself, enjoy George Gershwin's music for its beautiful clarity and energy (as easily experienced through Gershwin's own recordings, early interpretations by artists such as the Astaires, and even recent broadway "Crazy For You") that they will not experience any feeling of the sort from Michael Feinstein.

Amidst all the gushing that has recently been done over him, I found Michael Feinstein to have attempted to murder "Liza" and the other songs on this album. He merely displays a very unexceptional voice and poor interpretive taste. Fans beware, Feinstein proves that it is possible to make a bad cd of Gershwin songs. I'd recommend listening elsewhere.

they can't take that album away from me.......2002-05-09

they say the third time's a charm, but in this instance, it is the first time -- michael feinstein's first gershwin album -- that is the charm. this album is by far better and more listenable than the next two -- "feinstein sings gershwin" and "nice work if you can get it".

the listenability of this album may stem from the fact that it is a bare-bones arrangement, with two pianos, a bass and drums, a la a jazz trio, with no embellishment, so michael feinstein's then sincere and unsophisticated voice is the featured instrument.

i heartily recommend this album, as every song on it is a gem and feinstein's voice is more appealing than on the two later albums, when he jazzed it up with what sounds like an echo chamber and other electronic enhancements and he seems to be doing the songs by the numbers.

feinstein's version of "liza," slowed down to ballad form and plaintively phrased, is the best i have ever heard. the duet with rosemary clooney on "isn't it a pity," again brings out the best of feinstein's then-new voice and shows why george's (clooney) aunt is rightfully considered a jazz legend.

the combined "he loves and she loves/how long has this been going on" is another melodic/poignant highlight, while the album's finale, "someone to watch over me," is a stirring anthem to wanting and needing someone and is done with vocal and instrumental passion; it brings this collection of songs to a fitting crescendo.

for a lawyer's kid from columbus, ohio who started out cataloguing gershwin estate material for the reclusive ira and then began singing the songs for family and friends, michael feinstein has done all right for himself. he has become the recognized interpreter of the gershwin legacy, sort of the same way his pseudo-cousin, john, jr. feinstein, has become the recognized interpreter of the bob knight legacy... .

michael feinstein may have hit a home run his first time up with this album, and it may be his best, as it is the purest and most joyful celebration of gershwin tunes, while the others are fancier, more jazzed up and ponderous and less appealing.

Tracks:

I Got Plenty O' Nuttin
He Loves And She Loves
A Woman Is A Sometine Thing
They Can't Take That Away From Me
Let's Call The Whole Thing Off
Strike Up The Band
Things Are Looking Up
They All Laughed
A Foggy Day
How Long Has This Been Going On?
Summertime
Love Is Here To Stay
There's A Boat Dat's Leavn' Soon For New York
'S Wonderful
I Was Doing All Right
Oh, Lady Be Good!

Amazon.com

When Ella and Louis recorded a series of albums together for Verve in 1956 and 1957, George Gershwin's songs were a constant theme, including a double LP of Porgy and Bess that delighted Ira Gershwin. This 1998 compilation pulls together material from those recordings to celebrate a union of jazz's greatest singers with a songwriter who had been an essential resource for jazz since the 1920s. The chemistry is consistently inspired, with Armstrong's gravelly voice, perfect rhythmic sense, and still-eloquent trumpet providing a fine complement to Fitzgerald's consummately smooth delivery and extraordinary range. Also included are Ella and Louis's own takes on Gershwin from contemporary sessions, including Fitzgerald's Jazz at the Philharmonic version of "Oh, Lady, Be Good!" (from At the Opera House) that includes Lester Young, Coleman Hawkins, and Stan Getz among the tenor saxophonists. Collectors will want the CD reissues of the original albums to get a complete picture of the Fitzgerald and Armstrong partnership, or Fitzgerald's own extended encounter with Gershwin in the Songbook series; nevertheless, this is a delightful introduction to an inspired collaboration. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

A Fabulous Compendium.......2006-06-01

I can't help but wonder what would have happened if Ella and Louis were born in the `70s or `80s. Does anybody think that either of them would have stood a snowball's chance in Hell of being recognized for their immense talents? We live in a television age, a video-friendly age, an age that puts physical appearance before talent; that puts followers ahead of leaders. With her comparably plain looks, would anybody glance twice at Ella, or listen enough to realize her gift? Would Louis' ebullience be enough to propel him into the limelight, or would he be forced to succumb to producers and commercial sponsors? It's a sorry comment on today's music marketplace to consider that two of the most talented musicians of this century might not have even got their due if they were born too late, but we must be grateful that they came along when they did. We also must be willing to go back and listen as often as we can, so that we don't lose track of musicianship as grand and wonderful as theirs was.
Ella and Louis Sing Gershwin is a collection that is cobbled together from various other releases, including Porgy and Bess, Louis Armstrong meets Oscar Peterson, and of course, the duo's two sublime, rapturous duet albums and Ella's Gershwin songbook. Each of these albums is a work of art in and of itself, so any compilation of their fruits simply cannot be anything but brilliant. I will admit that I bought this because I believed it to contain unique material, so I was initially disappointed to discover that it recycled material from familiar sources, but when the music is this good, how can I complain? "They Can't Take That Away From Me" is the definitive version of the tune, as is "Love Is Here to Stay," and "S'Wonderful." From the intimacy of a four-piece combo to full-blown orchestral arrangements, the collection runs a wide dynamic range. Nelson Riddle's touch is particularly apparent on "S'Wonderful," with an arrangement that suggests the dynamic majesty of his work on Frank Sinatra's "I've Got You Under My Skin." You don't have to pay homage when you listen, but it is hard not to be awed, especially from today's perspective. We surely do not have a modern-day equivalent of Louis and Ella, so I suggest that you make the best of the situation and enjoy this collection for the wonder that it is. A+ Tom Ryan

This is a wonderful CD that would make a great gift.......2006-03-03

This is a really nice studio recording of all the favorite Gershwin songs plus some that are not heard that often. Check out "They all laughed": I heard it on the KJZZ radio and ran straight to the Borders looking for the CD. "Things are looking up" is also a great song that I haven't heard before.

Gershwin At His Best! "Nobody Sings Like Ella!".......2003-09-05

When Ira Gershwin first heard these, his comment was, "Now I know how really good our songs were..." When you hear these songs next to any other CD, You can be certain, that "Nobody sings them like Ella & Louie!"

After listening a dozen times in the car, I realized my depression was being lifted! When I got to "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, and A Foggy Day in London Town", I was singing along! Those are the 2 Highlights for me, alongside the early ones, "I Got Plenty of Nuttin, Summertime, There's A Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York and I Was Doin All Right!" The real winners are those in which Louie plays the tune on his horn first before or after singing...1,4,11,13,15...On 15, he sings, "I was doin all right, but Now I'm doin a little Better!"