Piano Jazz: McPartland/Costello

Marian Mcpartlamd And Elvis Costelo, Elvis Costello, Marian McPartland

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 12, 2005)
• Original Release Date: July 12, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Jazz Alliance
• ASIN: B0009W5JIC
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #76,677 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

• This item is part of The Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This 2003 installment of the NPR show Piano Jazz pairs the affable, octogenarian pianist-host Marian McPartland with fellow Brit Elvis Costello; the once angry punk rocker, who worked with a wide range of artists, from the Mingus Big Band to the Brodsky String Quartet. Costello and McPartland, along with guest bassist Gary Mazzaroppi, discuss and play some American standard "blue ballads" and Costello’s own tunes. McPartland’s pillow-soft accompaniment smoothes out Costello’s rough vocals and guitar on "At Last," and "The Very Thought of You." Costello’s solo rendition of the Billie Holiday favorite "Gloomy Sunday" is matched by "Almost Blue," the song he wrote for jazz trumpeter Chet Baker, that was covered by his wife Diana Krall on The Girl in the Other Room. Costello closes with a vocal/piano take of one of his new songs, "I’m in the Mood Again," from his orchestrated CD, North, illuminating the mellow interior underneath his grizzled exterior. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Product Description

Japanese pressing. Victor. 2006. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Costello sings jazz standards beautifully, August 4, 2005

By	Juan C. Garay (Bogota, Colombia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is always a pleasure to hear intelligent conversation and nice music... And this CD has both!
It starts with a rendition of a rare old song, "At Last", which was originally recorded by Elvis Costello's father with the Joe Loss Orchestra. Then comes a chilling version of "Almost Blue", which he wrote for jazz trumpeter Chet Baker. There's also a series of blue ballads like "Gloomy Sunday" and "You Don't Know What Love Is" which express Elvis' dark side and one can relate to the sadness in the composer's own work (I started to notice that songs like "So Like Candy", which appears in his album Mighty Like A Rose, might derive from his familiarity with this repertoire). The album ends with the original "I'm in the Mood Again", which was a premiere at the time this conversation was recorded (2003).
Fans of Elvis Costello will be delighted by these curious tracks, since it is not common for Costello to devote a complete recital to jazz standards. His voice was soft and he was very melody-conscious at the time. As for Marian McPartland, she's simply charming! Oh, I wish she was my grandmother! Not only her piano playing is delicate, but her conversation is so warm that she brings out Costello's boyhood memories which I had never heard in any previous interview.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two great talents just hangin' out together!, October 5, 2005

By	Mediocre Films "mediocrefilms.com" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

It seems the 5 star rating is pretty unanimous on this one! Marian McP is a great interviewer and shows a great knowledge and appreciation of jazz, and Elvis fits right in and performs and sings beautifully! Plenty of great rare tunes you won't hear Elvis sing anywhere else too. Truly wonderful stuff. (And Steely Dan's Piano Jazz CD is just as excellent and satisfying too!) So stop readin' and start buyin'!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Costello & McPartland's Piano: Great Combination, September 12, 2005

By	M. Iskowitz - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Must-have for all Elvis Costello fans with first-time EC recordings like "At Last" and intelligent, fun conversation from McPartland's radio show.