Reprinted from http://jazzwax.com
Between 1956 and 1964, at least 16 jazz interpretations of Porgy & Bess were recorded and released. Why the frenzy? Part of the reason was the opera's global popularity by 1955.
In 1952, Robert Breen directed and co-produced with Blevins Davis a revival of the George Gershwin opera in New York that eventually toured 29 countries in four years. The opera eventually wound up being performed in Leningrad and Moscow in December 1955—the first postwar U.S.-Soviet cultural exchange. An account of the event was written by Truman Capote for The New Yorker and later included in his book,The Muses Are Heard.
Within months of the news, arranger Russ Garcia set to work on a score that jazz-ified the opera. Recorded for Bethlehem, the album featured the best artists on the West and East coasts and set new standards for large-scale arranging, though the use of hipster disc jockey Al "Jazzbo" Collins to narrate the recording seems now like overkill.
Nevertheless, Porgy & Bess became an ideal jazz-classical canvas on which artists could express their improvised interpretations. Porgy & Bess recordings followed in quick succession, including albums by Buddy Collette, Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald (also by Russ Garcia), Mundell Lowe, Miles Davis (arranged by Gil Evans), Bob Crosby, Ralph Burns, Sammy Davis Jr. and Carmen McRae, Bill Potts, Hank Jones, George Rhodes, Rex Stewart, Billie Brooks, Diahann Carroll, Oscar Peterson and the Modern Jazz Quartet.
Perhaps the best (though the recordings by Miles Davis, Mundell Lowe and Buddy Collette are superb as well) was The Jazz Soul of Porgy & Bess, by Bill Potts and His Orchestra. Recorded in January 1959 for United Artists and produced by Jack Lewis (our Jazz Workshop friend), Potts broke free of the score's traditional constraints and added enormous inventiveness, punch and swing. On the session were Art Farmer, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Bernie Glow, Marky Markowitz and Charlie Shavers (tp), Bob Brookmeyer (v-tb), Frank Rehak, Jimmy Cleveland, Earl Swope and Rod Levitt (tb), Gene Quill and Phil Woods (as), Zoot Sims and Al Cohn (ts), Sol Schlinger (bar), Bill Evans (p), Herbie Powell (g), George Duvivier (b) and Charlie Persip (d).
The reason for this post, in addition to telling you about a worthy musical investment, are photographs by Lawrence N. Shustak from the booklet that accompanied an original limited edition version of the album. Many thanks to JazzWax reader David Langner for sending them along:
Bill Potts conducting...
Bill Potts...
Click image to enlarge and read photo caption...
Bill Evans...
George Duvivier...
Phil Woods (left), Art Farmer (right) and Zoot Sims...
Harry Edison (top) and Bob Brookmeyer...
Click image to enlarge and read photo caption...
Jimmy Cleveland (left) and Frank Rehack...
The in-demand East Coast sax section (from left): Sol Schlinger, Zoot Sims, Gene Quill, Phil Woods and Al Cohn...
Click image to enlarge and read photo captions...
Click to enlarge image and read photo caption...
JazzWax clip: Here's an audio clip from the album, featuring Sol Schlinger, Bill Evans, Gene Quill, Jimmy Clelveland and a fine sax section soli at the end...
Used with permission by Marc Myers
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