Portraits in Blue

Marcus Roberts (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 11, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002C17
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MiniDisc  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,683 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #56 in Music > Jazz > Traditional Jazz & Ragtime > Stride Piano

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The blues-est Rhapsody in Blue, March 19, 2003

By 

Marc Davis (Virginia Beach, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Portraits in Blue (Audio CD)

This has to be the most raucous, the most bluesy, the most improvisational Rhapsody in Blue ever recorded. And not all of the best improvisation is by Marcus Roberts. Wailing clarinets and wandering trumpets abound. And it is all in a spirit of the original, so much so that I believe jazz-loving Gershwin would have approved.

All of Gershwin's original music is there, but much of it is taken at unusual tempos -- speeded up, slowed down or synchopated -- with many additional minutes of improvisation that actually fit with the original. I'm usually a traditionalist, so I wasn't sure I really wanted to hear a 28-minute Rhapsody in Blue, figuring it probably had a lot of filler. It doesn't. This is music that makes me smile.

Oh yes, there are also two additional pieces, which are very good. The James P. Johnson piece is NOT stride piano, which threw me for a loop. But it IS a sort of answer to Gershwin's Rhapsody. Written just 3 years after the Gershwin original, it is also a multi-themed bluesy 20-minute mini-symphony. And there are the I Got Rhytm variations, which are catchy and inventive. But Rhapsody is what you're buying here, and it may be the best one I've ever heard.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old tune with a lot of new invention, February 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Portraits in Blue (Audio CD)

I wasn't expecting to be excited by another version of "Rhapsody" but thought it would be a good way get into Marcus Roberts... This version goes way beyond the classic. Ragtime, swing and a little Kansas City are all packed into this complete remastering. The results not only capture Gershwin's jazz/classical fusion but take the listener on a historical journey through jazz's pre-bebop days. Marcus excels at invention demonstrating continuously his complete mastery of piano influences, tones and colors.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars interesting version, March 23, 2009

By 

John A. Smith "smitty" (north fort myers, fl.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Portraits in Blue (Audio CD)

If you liked Roberts DVD Gershwin Night with Ozawa and the Berlin Philharmonic you will like this CD. He is a master at improvising. Sound is sharp and clear. Recommended.