Customer Reviews

Portraits in Blue

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I was lucky enough to take a chance on this. I was attracted by a review describing how the Rhapsody takes a strong turn toward jazz while maintaining (in and some ways improving on) the original spirit of the composition. WOW!

That's the first thing I thought when I heard it on Terence McKnight's show on WNYC in NY. I saw this guy play years ago with Wynton at Blues Alley in DC. He was phenomenal live and so is this disc.

If you like jazz and Rhapsody in Blue, this is a CD you should hear. It's irreverent and respectful at the same time. And if that sounds impossible, then you need to hear this version of Gershwin's masterpiece. I like the other tracks on the CD as well, but would buy it for Rhapsody in Blue alone.

Such a magnificent performer whose style captures your heart and takes you along this wonderful journey. A definite must have for any music lovers collection.

Get ready to be blown out of your socks. Improvisation liberates these classics, revealing perhaps how stuffy written music can be. Wonderfully engaging. Marcus shares his genius for interpretation.

There are three selections on this CD, two by Gershwin as arranged by Roberts (Rhapsody in Blue and "I Got Rhythm" Variations), and one by James P. Johnson as orchestrated by William Grant Still and arranged by Roberts (Yamekraw). The arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue is rather jolting. What Roberts has done to the piece is make it sound disjointed and jumbled, when the underlying appeal of the piece has always been the smooth way it combined elegance and swing.

Johnson's Yamekraw is pleasant, worth a listen or two, but probably not enough in and of itself to justify buying the CD.

After the disservice Roberts did to Gershwin's music at the outset of the disk, I did not have much hope for his take on the "I Got Rhythm" Variations, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a thoroughly enjoyable performance. Whether or not this one piece is enough to justify buying the CD is a judgment I cannot make for you, but I did want to warn unsuspecting readers away from buying this disk in hopes of getting an enjoyable performance of Rhapsody in Blue.

I enjoyed seeing the performance more than listening to the performance on the CD.