Customer Reviews

Great Ladies Sing Gershwin

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4 star:		(4)
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This CD is a compilation of some of the nicest songs by the legendary team of George and Ira Gershwin. These songs were taken from nine various albums and interpreted by the most remarkable songbirds of all-time: Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, Dinah Washington, Shirley Horn and Betty Carter.

Ella, the queen of jazz, who needs no introduction, performs three of the eleven tracks, "Fascinating Rhythm," "Nice Work If You Can't Get It" and "They Can't Take That Away From Me."

Sarah, the divine one, delivers standout performances on "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off," "'S Wonderful," "Someone To Watch Over Me" and "Embraceable You."

Nina, the jazzy and soulful one, covers "I Love You, Porgy."

Dinah, the bluesy one who's better known for her rhythm & blues repertoire, sings "I've Got A Crush On You."

Shirley, the ballad singer and a talented pianist, performs "Our Love Is Here To Stay," one of the very last songs Gershwin composed.

Betty, the jazz singer/pianist with a husky-voice and has worked with the jazz greats Miles Davis and Quincy Jones, wraps it up with her rendition of "The Man I Love," one of the two bonus tracks, the other is Sarah Vaughan's "'S Wonderful."

This CD would have been great if not for the flaw on track #4. On the track listing, it's supposed to be Dinah singing "Summertime" but it's an instrumental version. Anyway, with all these great ladies in one CD, it's still worth listening to. The rest of the tracks overshadow this flaw. Nice work... ladies! Every performance is so remarkable and superb.

This was my first Gershwin purchase. The magnificent female voices captured his feelings. I was moved the first time I listened and am still moved the 3,000th time I listen to it. It sets a romantic, still mood. You'll know what I mean when you listen.

These are classic renditions of classic Gershwin from Verve Records. The only disappointment is The Dinah Washington rendition of Summertime is an instrumental, no Dinah singing, unless she's humming in the background. The trumpet solo is marvelous. She does sing "I've got a crush on you." No liner notes are provided. All you get is the singer, the title and the original album.

Great Ladies Sing Gershwin is an excellent, budget priced CD that gives people in all economic brackets the chance to have a fine sampler of great songbirds sings Gershwin tunes. The sound quality is excellent; and I really like that artwork, too.

Ella Fitzgerald, the First Lady Of Song, starts the whole thing off with a great interpretation of "Fascinatin' Rhythm;" her jazzy rendition works wonders for this classic ballad. Ella sings her heart out and this is all very impressive! I love that horn work, too. Sarah Vaughan weighs in next with a smashing interpretation of "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off." "Let's Call The Whole Thing Off" is a highlight of this album; Sarah gets a sublime piano arrangement to accompany her and the rest of the music isn't too shabby, either!

Nina Simone sings "I Loves You, Porgy" from Porgy And Bess;" Nina never sounded better and her excellent vocal talents make her rendition a splendid version of this classic ballad. Excellent! Listen also for a live track of the great Dinah Washington belting out "Summertime" which also comes from Porgy And Bess; Dinah does this one up right as she sings with panache, heart and soul. That horn solo is very beautiful as well.

Ella Fitzgerald comes back on "Nice Work If You Can Get It." "Nice Work If You Can Get It" is one of my very favorite Gershwin tunes of all time; and only Ella Fitzgerald could deliver this so well! Ella's voice is as clear as a bell and she really throws herself into her performance. In addition, Sarah Vaughan also returns with a rousing "'S Wonderful;" Sarah delivers this with all her might and it shows when you hear it. The musical arrangement is very elegant while Sarah makes her mark on "'S Wonderful."

Sarah Vaughan's "Someone To Watch Over Me" takes this classic Gershwin tune to new heights; she performs this with great sensitivity and the piano arrangement is really very pretty. Sarah's excellent sense of timing and her wonderful diction make her performance all the stronger! Sarah also sings "Embraceable You;" she makes this into a bright masterpiece!

Betty Carter ends the album with a beautiful take on "The Man I Love;" and this tune shines when Betty sings it! This is a fine ending for this album.

Overall, I really like this album. It brings together some of the greatest songbirds ever and when they sing Gershwin tunes it makes a very special album. I highly recommend this for fans of Gershwin music and people who like these recording artists will appreciate this album, too.

I dig it. I really dig it. Besides having wonderful blues motives, it's got that respectable classical sound to it. They certainly are great ladies, with the greatest voices of the 20th century. This CD accurately captures human emotion through music.

This is a great collection of songs but the track "Summertime" is not sung by Dinah Washington. It is an an amazing trumpet solo, i think is Louis Armstrong? Any way it is awesome.

Gotta love the classics...this is a great CD. I love to hear the old recordings of Shirley Horn, Dinah Washington and Ella Fitzgerald. They songs they sing are great too. I listen to them at work and people are always amazed that this type of music is still around. I'm always happy to remind them that these are the classics that won't ever go away.

Trumpeter in Summertime is probably Clark Terry. This cut is taken from "Dinah Jams" on Verve and from the information on that CD it appears Clark Terry is featured there. This CD is the best of the best - composer, selections, and singers.

This is one of the best vocal CDs I have ever heard. If you like lush vocals, rich musical arragements of old standards, you will really enjoy this CD. Sarah Vaughan's renditions of Let's Call the whole thing off is lively with an upbeat arrangement. Her "Someone To Watch over me" is the best I've heard her sing. I call it lush. If you like Sarah Vaughan, it's worth it to buy the CD just to hear her sing on these tracks. The trumpet solo on "Summertime" is a jazz aficianado's delight. Dinah Washington's fans will enjoy her on "I've Got a crush on you". She sings to a piano accompanyment with soft horns in the background. This is what we called in the "old days", ......"mellow out" music. Ella is just Ella, everything she sings, is uniques unto itself. She's vintage Ella on "Fascinatin' Rhythm", upbeat in typical ella style; soft & smooth of "They Can't Take That Away From Me". Buy this!!!!!!!!!!

This is a real good compilation of Gershwin's pieces in unforgettable voices. This compilation is exactly that I loved, may be there somebody who loves the hiss, and clickers; I don't. The master was a nice job, mixed well. You can hear in a 5.1 or 7.1 and you hear the feeling of the musicians, the great ladies, and of course, the Great Gershwin.