Search - Clark Terry :: Porgy & Bess

Breath of Fresh Air

John Kelman | palatine | 09/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A classic piece of music re-done usuly has nothing but poor results, not on this record. From track one to done this record is non-stop entertainment. Framiler songs done in a way that will make you smile, and turn it up a notch on each track. A must have for anyone interested in Jazz."

Gorgeous music, heretical in some eyes

Benjamin Thomas | ukiah, ca United States | 07/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't often like remakes better than the original (12 Angry Men, for a movie example). I don't know that I would call this a remake as much as it is a variation on a theme. To explain, this album takes the Gil Evans arrangements that Miles made famous, even immortal forty-plus years ago, and takes them in a subtly different direction. For one, the solo instrument is a fluglehorn and not a trumpet and the richer, more sonorous sound changes the feel significantly.

And for another, Clark Terry isn't Miles Davis. I have to say that for myself, I LIKE Terry's playing better than Miles's in absolute terms, while acknowledging that Miles is the more important and innovative musician. (My favorite jazz genre is the swing-era small group. so there's a bias.)But the emotional content that Terry injects is, in my opinion, gentler and more varied, if less intense, that what Miles gave us. More nostalgic perhaps.

I also feel the connection more in this rendition to the lyrics of Gershwin's original songs, to the heartbreak and resilience of spirit that the opera celebrates."

Stunning

newzgrl | Baltimore | 09/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I heard a long selection from this CD on my local Baltimore NPR station-WYPR-the week it was released. The Porgy and Bess suite was absolutely stunning, evocative and for lack of a better word, beautiful. I'm online now to buy the CD..."