Piano Standards

Highlights include the immortal Serenade & Golden Days from The Student Prince, Beloved (from the film version of the Student Prince, and arguably Lanza's best English-language love song), Because You're Mine, If I Loved You, and the stirring Addio Alla Madre from Cavalleria Rusticana. If love songs seem a little over-represented at the expense of arias and (notably) Italian & Neapolitan Songs, then blame BMG for their habitual neglect of Lanza's more serious side. In any event, this is essentially a one-CD version of the three-CD set, The Mario Lanza Collection. All of the renditions are the same as on the earlier CD, as are the sound sources. With the exception of The Student Prince Serenade, most of the selections here have never sounded better.

Be aware, however, that several of the arias are in fact retakes of more familiar versions. Vesti La Giubba, for instance, is an alternate take from Lanza's May 1950 session, and although the tenor is in great voice, the orchestra lets him down on the climactic phrase by moving on before he has finished his High A on the word "infranto". The Flower Song is even more unrestrained than the familiar take - great fun, but not the kind of recording you'd want newcomers to Lanza to hear! (Lanza never quite "nailed" this aria, but his heart was in the right place.) La Donna E Mobile is the familiar 1950 version in the first half, but is replaced by an inferior retake in the second half, followed by an edited-in High B ending (on "pensier") from the original recording!

The only truly bad recording is the inexplicably popular With A Song In My Heart. Lanza is unfocused, and strains his way throughout the piece. Yours Is My Heart Alone is somewhat better, but is easily surpassed by the tenor's 1956 recording with the conductor Henri Rene (and currently unavailable on CD).

The "Greatest Hits" are here: the million-selling Be My Love, Loveliest Night of The Year and the aforementioned Because You're Mine. I have to confess to an aversion to the first two - Lanza was often a far better singer than these recordings suggest - but most fans, I'm sure, will continue to cherish them. Besides, what tenor since Lanza has ever sung Be My Love without straining his way through the wretched thing and then fudging the High C at the end? Lanza made it his own, and to be fair to the song, it is actually a very difficult piece to pull off, as Messrs Domingo, Carreras and Leech will no doubt attest. But that was also one of Lanza's most under-appreciated strengths - he made everything sound so easy. Listeners accustomed to the laborious efforts of most present-day tenors will be astounded by the freshness, ease, and sheer bravado of these performances.

You Taught My Heart to Sing
Average customer rating:

Beautiful and Inspirational

what is that creaking sound? The floor?

Relaxing at Home

This is really Charlap's album

Trust Charlap to pick a winner

You Taught My Heart to Sing
Houston Person , and Bill Charlap
Manufacturer: Highnote
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Nocturnes & Serenades

Live at the Village Vanguard

American Songbook

Kids: Duets Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola

Bill Charlap Plays George Gershwin

ASIN: B000GEU6O0
Release Date: 2006-08-01

Tracks:

You Taught My Heart To Sing
Namely You
Where Are You
Sweet Lorraine
If I Ruled The World
S'Wonderful
Where Is The Love
I Was Telling Her About You
Don't Forget The Blues
I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone

Amazon.com

A veteran tenor saxophonist whose reputation has never caught up to his exceptional talents, Houston Person rises to undeniable heights on this duo collaboration with Bill Charlap, a pianist whose reputation as an interpreter of the Great American Songbook has taken off through a series of topnotch albums but whose acute skills as an accompanist may be underapprecated. Even taking into account the familiarity they have attained through various encounters in New York, the chemistry Person and Charlap demonstrate here is pretty stunning. Person's classic deep tenor finds elegance and strength in a selection of songs that spans standards (Gershwin's "S'Wonderful"), Broadway (Leslie Bricusse's "If I Ruled the World"), pop ("Where is the Love," a hit for Donnie Hathaway) and jazz (McCoy Tyner's melodious title cut). And Charlap, making acute and witty digressions even as he smartly shadows the saxophonist, adds depth to the songs. An album in the same class as Stan Getz's series of duets with Kenny Barron, which is saying a lot. --Lloyd Sachs

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful and Inspirational.......2007-05-12

When the world lost the truly Great tenormen i.e., Lester Young, Chu Berry, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster many players and listeners were highly dismayed. It wasn't until a few years ago that I had the good fortune of discovering Houston Person that I could truly rejoice. Many people have oogled with augh over Coltrane and a mirade of others but none had the soul or love of the truly Great Ones I so much missed. There are many 'technicians' who can blow anything but few who can emit feeling and love. Houston Person is one who can and ranks high upon my list of those now gone and has done much to restore the tenderness and passions of the past for me. His work with Bill Charlap is not only beautiful but inspirational as well. For me this recording is the absolute finest example of love and tenderness I have experienced in many years of listening and playing. Not only the lead song You Taught My Heart To Sing, but Namely You, Where Are You and Sweet Lorraine all are further examples of what can happen when you get two perceptive and capable musicians together -- what a complimentary pair these two really are! They have brought a world that seems dreary and short on beauty a whole recorded session of sheer beauty and enjoyment that all seems well as the music plays on. You not only hear the results of two men who are really in tune with themselves and each other but their work unites you with the best there is within you and the world. This recording is, for me, priceless and would be the "ONE" most favored to take with me to that desert island -- provided there was the capability of somehow reproducing it there. All would be well with me and life in general. The manner in which these two great musicians listen and support one another is indeed remarkable and most enjoyable. I have purchased at least three or four copies of this disc and shared them with others. This one is a real treasure for those who enjoy music from the heart.

what is that creaking sound? The floor?.......2007-02-28

Whatever its merits, this recording, "engineered, mixed, and mastered" by the legendary Rudy Van Gelder, includes a bizarre level of ambient studio sounds that DO DETRACT from the music - such as a floor creaking, or someone moving around or I can't tell what. There is very little precedent for this kind of nonsense in a professional studio recording. Maybe they accidentally released a soundcheck instead of the master. Maybe it's a cutting edge 'warts and all' approach from a recording engineer with 50 years of work under his belt. Maybe nobody else heard these weird sounds except me.

Relaxing at Home .......2007-02-18

This is a nice soothing CD to help one relax after a day of work.

Many jazz recordings are dedicated to exploring new sounds. This one is much more traditional jazz, dedicated to preserving the legacy of jazz instead of creating new jazz alternatives. It is well recorded, and one can visualize being in a club listening to a jazz duo.

In my Opinion: Where is Love, I was Telling Her About You, are the highlights of the recording.

This is really Charlap's album.......2007-02-02

I have a few other things by Houston Person, who usually has a sound that reminds me of Gene Ammons - a big, bassy tenor sax sound. He is completely different here - breathy, a higher timbre, softer. He plays beautifully. However, this album is really all about Bill Charlap.

First of all, his piano is recorded beautifully. Second, he PLAYS beautifully. At first, I thought I detected some of Bill Evans in his sound, but then almost everyone has some of Evans. No, Charlap has his own sound and style. He plays more in the upper range of the instrument than Evans, a more open style of harmony.

The very first number, "You Taught My Heart To Sing" almost leaves you breathless. The playing is gorgeous. It has everything that it needs and nothing that it doesn't, to paraphrase a commercial.

Clearly, Charlap is a man to be listened to, and I for one will certainly be looking to purchase more of his recordings. For my money, he may be one of the two or three best of the current crop of jazz pianists.

Trust Charlap to pick a winner.......2007-01-09

Bill Charlap's collaborations with tenor sax players are some of the best examples of the continuing heritage of straight-ahead jazz. He has recorded with Scott Hamilton and Frank Wess with great success. And now he has given us a great session with traditionalist Houston Person. Newcomers to the world of jazz should listen to this release to learn why older fans flock to Charlap's performances and to experience the sounds that made jazz America's pop music 50 years ago.

September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill

Average customer rating:

some brilliant renditions, but can't quite all mix together
Cool and Camp
September Song Music of Kurt Weill
It's a long time between January and December
Ain't we Hip?!!?

September Songs: The Music of Kurt Weill

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill / Levine, Lenya, Armstrong, Gilford, et al
Lotte Lenya sings Kurt Weill's The Seven Deadly Sins & Berlin Theatre Songs
Weird Nightmare - Meditations on Mingus
Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill
Stratas Sings Weill

ASIN: B0000029WM
Release Date: 1997-08-19

Tracks:

Mack The Knife - Nick Cave
Ballad Of The Soldier's Wife - P.J. Harvey
Alabama Song - David Johansen
Youkali Tango - Teresa Stratas
Lost In The Stars - Elvis Costello
Pirate Jenny - Lotte Lenya
Speak Low - Charlie Haden
Oh, Heavenly Salvation - The Persuations
Lonely House - Betty Carter
Surabaya- Johnny - Teresa Stratas
Furchte Dich Nicht - Mary Margaret O'Hara
September Song - Lou Reed
Mack The Knife - Bertolt Brecht
What Keeps Mankind Alive? - William S. Burroughs

Customer Reviews:

some brilliant renditions, but can't quite all mix together.......2006-10-19

I like the spirit of this album, which is to let the music of Kurt Weill attach itself to the many worlds it came from. This was classical music that also used elements of popular music at the time, all with a very dark and almost mechanical tone. So it would seem fitting to have exquisite voices like Teresa Stratas rub elbows with darker elements like Nick Cave in this collection. There are also the jazz influences developed by Charlie Haden and Betty Carter.

In all, there are some brilliant interpretations of Weill here. I am a fan of Cave's "Mack the Knife" and David Johansen's "Alabama Song," and how can someone NOT like Lotte Lenya herself on "Pirate Jenny" and the drolling of the immortal William S. Burroughs talking through "What Keeps Mankind Alive?"

But other tracks feel to be just too short of brilliance. I love that Lou Reed tries to turn "September Song" into a kind of rock ballad, almost a VU "It Was a Pretty Good Year," but the rendition seems a little short of energy and falls flat after a while. Elvis Costello, though magnificent as an overall artist, just doesn't bring new life to "Lost in the Stars."

Perhaps the problem in the end that the choices were a little too much of the Top 40 Weill (if there really can be such a term). These are songs that have for a long time been regarded as the best of Weill, and it might have furthered the purpose of his music to find new gems and bring them into the sunlight.

Cool and Camp.......2006-08-24

This is a very biased review- I originally had much of Weill's work on cassette tape- way back in the olden days- before CD's- so I am already very partial to many of the tracks on this CD- I would recommend it not only to Kurt Weill fans, and the fans of the various artists featured, but I would also strongly recommend this to anyone who likes artsy, camp, fun burlesque, Bohemian European stuff. The record, even though performed by contemporary artists still retains much of it's zeitgeist, it evokes the era in which Weill was writing and it rounds out any great eclectic record collection. It's a great musical discovery for fans of all sorts of genres, and EVERYONE should own at least one recorded arrangement of "Mack The Knife". (You know, for parties and stuff!)

September Song Music of Kurt Weill.......2006-08-22

Songs from the film-documentary done by various artists. Excellent choice if you like Mr Weill's music. I saw the film and always wanted the CD. Now I have and I recommend it highly.

It's a long time between January and December.......2004-06-11

Kurt Weill is one of those composers who juggles Jewish angst with Catholic guilt: and possibly vice versa. As a collection, it is nonpareil. Each interpretation becomes a definitive reading of the "song". Lord, it is one of the best assemblies of contemporary artists going. Lou couldn't be better; Ms O'Hara, in fine form, performs her deranged puppet-dance to the X. OK. An unknown. Roping-in, such a postmodern figure as, well, you-know-who, to orate Weill's lyrics is never less than exceptional. An amazing collection. Is there a DVD?

Paul

Ain't we Hip?!!?.......2003-07-23

This is the avant version of these songs, everything done with that Downtown fingers-across-the-blackboard screech. They even got Johanson doing it, which is no less than amazing. The sole exception is the Persuasions' "O Heavenly Salvation", but one song does not an album make.

The mystery here is that there's a perfectly good compilation from the 80s, "Lost in the Stars: the Music of Kurt Weill", featuring many of the same songs--and, if I'm not mistaken some of the same performers. That's the one you want. Too bad it's OP.

Piano Jazz: McPartland/Costello
Average customer rating:

Some Absolutely Fantastic Songs

the artists speak & play directly to you

costello/mcpartland

Two great talents just hangin' out together!

Costello & McPartland's Piano: Great Combination

Piano Jazz: McPartland/Costello
Marian McPartland , and Elvis Costello
Manufacturer: Jazz Alliance
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Right Spectacle - The Very Best of Elvis Costello

The River In Reverse [CD/DVD Combo]

ASIN: B0009W5JIC
Release Date: 2005-07-12

Tracks:

Conversation
At Last
Conversation
My Funny Valentine
Conversation
Almost Blue
Conversation
The Very Thought Of You
Conversation
Gloomy Sunday
Conversation
You Don't Know What Love Is
Conversation
They Didn't Believe Me
Conversation
I'm In The Mood Again
Conversation

Amazon.com

This 2003 installment of the NPR show Piano Jazz pairs the affable, octogenarian pianist-host Marian McPartland with fellow Brit Elvis Costello; the once angry punk rocker, who worked with a wide range of artists, from the Mingus Big Band to the Brodsky String Quartet. Costello and McPartland, along with guest bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, discuss and play some American standard "blue ballads" and Costello's own tunes. McPartland's pillow-soft accompaniment smoothes out Costello's rough vocals and guitar on "At Last," and "The Very Thought of You." Costello's solo rendition of the Billie Holiday favorite "Gloomy Sunday" is matched by "Almost Blue," the song he wrote for jazz trumpeter Chet Baker, that was covered by his wife Diana Krall on The Girl in the Other Room. Costello closes with a vocal/piano take of one of his new songs, "I'm in the Mood Again," from his orchestrated CD, North, illuminating the mellow interior underneath his grizzled exterior. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Customer Reviews:

Some Absolutely Fantastic Songs.......2007-05-29

Quite simply filled with some majestic vocals from Elvis Costello and great playing by McPartland. The conversations are interesting the first few times, but will certainly be tuned out upon repeated listens.

The absolute stunner on this album is "My Funny Valentine". Costello just shimmers in this song and is one of the best versions I've ever heard of this old standard. This song alone is worth the paltry $10 to get this great album.

Highly Recommended.

the artists speak & play directly to you.......2006-07-17

Radio is an intimate medium when done well, and Mary McPartland makes her piano jazz conversations particularly intimate. This is a wonderful recording of two artists whose lives and interests overlap surprisingly much. Elvis speaks more openly than I've ever heard before -- though he is mellowing generally. Great music along with the conversation. A real surprise and delight.

costello/mcpartland.......2005-10-16

Musically very good and very interesting dialogue. McPartland's piano is excellent, belying her age. Elvis Costello has an extremely interesting voice but for some reason seems reluctant to let it flow, instead attempting chords out of his range.

Two great talents just hangin' out together!.......2005-10-06

It seems the 5 star rating is pretty unanimous on this one! Marian McP is a great interviewer and shows a great knowledge and appreciation of jazz, and Elvis fits right in and performs and sings beautifully! Plenty of great rare tunes you won't hear Elvis sing anywhere else too. Truly wonderful stuff. (And Steely Dan's Piano Jazz CD is just as excellent and satisfying too!) So stop readin' and start buyin'!

Costello & McPartland's Piano: Great Combination.......2005-09-12

Must-have for all Elvis Costello fans with first-time EC recordings like "At Last" and intelligent, fun conversation from McPartland's radio show.

An Anthology of Big Band Swing (1930-1955)

Average customer rating:

Very good swing collection
Decent Collection
A Memorable Collection, But Not Really For the Casual Fan
Swing, swing, swing
Well, almost all of us agree

An Anthology of Big Band Swing (1930-1955)
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Verve
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000003N3T
Release Date: 1993-10-26

Tracks:

Rockin' In Rhythm - Duke Ellington
The House Of David Blues - Fletcher Henderson
Saratoga Drag - Luis Russell
Savage Rhythm - Mills Blue Rhythm Band
Chant Of The Weed - Don Redman
St. Louis Blues - Dorsey Brothers
Rock And Rye - Earl Hines
Down South Camp Meeting - Fletcher Henderson
Avalon - Jimmie Lunceford
In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree - Claude Hopkins
The Darktown Strutters' Ball - Tiny Bradshaw
Polka Dot Rag - Noble Sissle
Stompin' At The Savoy - Isham Jones
Peg O' My Heart - Glenn Miller
One O'Clock Jump - Count Basie
Casa Loma Stomp - Casa Loma Orchestra
South Rampart Street Parade - Bob Crosby
Liza (All The Clouds'll Roll Away) - Chick Webb
Dunkin' A Doughnut - Andy Kirk
You Rascal, You - Louis Armstrong

Tracks:

Panassie Stomp - Count Basie
Transcontinental - Spud Murphy
Jamaica Jam - Teddy Powell
Okay For Baby - Benny Carter
Blues In The Groove - Jan Savitt
Murderistic - Jimmy Dorsey
Swingmatism - Jay McShann
Savoy - Lucky Millinder
Blue River - Jack Teagarden
Chicago - Muggsy Spanier
Fish Market - Roy Eldridge
Gambler's Blues - Stan Kenton
I've Got You Under My Skin - Woody Herman
Skyliner - Charlie Barnet
Million Dollar Smile - Lionel Hampton
Midriff - Duke Ellington
Bear Mash Blues - Erskine Hawkins
The Continental - Artie Shaw
The Blue Room - Tommy Dorsey
One O'Clock Jump - Benny Goodman

Customer Reviews:

Very good swing collection.......2006-04-01

While there was a renaissance of interest in swing in the 1990s, and while much of this was among a relatively younger --late 20s, 30s, 40s-- audience, swing CDs are increasingly out of print.
Decca and Brunswick recorded many important swing artists in the 1930s and 1940s, the period of focus in this collection.
We are fortunate that GRP has assembled a wide variety of performers on this collection. You have hot swing performers; and you also have more laid back performers such as Glen Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra.
The music on this collection swings! --Even the Glen Miller track is up-beat.
Some reviews in the discographical literature kvetch about the quality of anthologies. They always expect something more: more concentration on the major figures, more obscure tunes instead of hits. This collection definitely meets the bill; but the complainers might be disappointed that few artists are represented more than once. Count Basie is a worthy exception of course. If you liked what you heard in Ken Burns' "Jazz" series, you should get this collection. Given the shrinking amount of swing that is available these days, I would even recommend that "serious" collectors also get this one. Many of the artists here are unavailable in their own recordings.
Nearly all of the tracks are arranged in chronological order. In addition, there is a booklet of commentary that is so long, it hardly fits in the case.
My one disappointment was that there are no tracks with vocalists. For great swing with vocalists I would recommend that you pursue the Columbia (SONY) "His Great Vocalists" collections for Ellington, Basie or Goodman.

Decent Collection.......2005-02-19

It's not quite what I'd call an Anthology, but it's certainly a good collection. Each track is an excellent song and most of the major artists are represented. Not every track is danceable, for you swing dancers out there, but there's plenty of danceable numbers, including a couple you can practice your Bal-Swing to. Enjoyable collection.

A Memorable Collection, But Not Really For the Casual Fan.......2004-06-28

Strictly speaking, "swing" designates a style of performance in which the emphasis falls on the offbeat. Even so the term "big band swing" is a flexible one, and if your ideas about it center on the style of The Glenn Miller Orchestra you will likely be disappointed with this double disk collection, which ranges in tone from the strict tempos of the Deco era to the bop-inflected sounds popular in post-World War II America.

In the big band era, most popular ballrooms and dance clubs had a "house orchestra," and each strove to create a specific style that would set them apart in the highly competitive world of big band music--and overall this collection does a superior job of capturing both the broad differences and subtle nuances that made each band distinctly different from the rest, as well as giving the listener an overview of the form as it changed over time. Consequently, the selections here are not often the most popular, but rather most indicative.

The emphasis here is really more upon lesser known bands and then-popular but now forgotten releases, including such one-hit wonders as Casa Loma Orchestra, a house band that reached a brief popularity with the "Casa Loma Stomp." Even so, there are famous names aplenty, such as Duke Ellington, The Dorsey Brothers, Count Basie, Chick Webb, Louis Armstrong, Woody Herman, Bennie Goodman, Artie Shaw--and yes, even the inescapable and to my mind slightly overrated Glenn Miller, to name but the most obvious.

Hardcore fans are likely to regret the absence of certain artists and certain tunes--my own complaint is that Cab Calloway is absent from the collection, and it is unfortunate that Artie Shaw is represented by "The Continental" instead of "Begin the Beguine." It is also true that the sound quality, particularly re recordings from the early 1930s, is sometimes problematic; this, however, is inevitable, for early recording techniques were a far cry from current standards. Even so, you'd have to go some to find a collection that so effectively captures the wide array of styles seen in big band music over the course of 25 years of popularity.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Swing, swing, swing.......2003-12-13

This is a nice anthologie which is not typical for it features lsser known bands and lesser known songs. It has Don Redman's classic Chant Of The Weed, a RARE Spud Murphey & His Orchestra track! This cd is pure swing at it's best. My wife & I are swing dancers and there is palnty here for lindy hopping, shag, balboa, and jitterbug. Fun msuic for dancing or listening. A great place to start and the 1st disc gives you a nice sampling of where swings roots come from...

Well, almost all of us agree.......2002-11-07

This is a glorious collection. The cover art is indeed repugnant. And some of the recordings are a little hissy. But the performers sound pretty mean to me.

A good anthology covers the big numbers (though maybe not the biggest) and also uncovers mistakenly overlooked items. This does a good job on that, for the relative novice. And it also moderates between up-tempo and more relaxed performances, so it's not just constant swing. Another tip o' the hat--well-chosen selections. I had never heard of Lucky Millinder when I bought this, nor The Mills Blue Rhythm Band, nor the Casa Loma Orchestra. Those cuts alone made it worth the price--this stuff swings! And I found some new bands to investigate as well....never enough CDs on the shelf!