This 16-song compilation is as enjoyable a
Gershwin pastische as you're likely to find from a major label. The jazz interpretations of
Gershwin material here cut across styles and periods, from the '30s (
Count Basie,
Billie Holiday) and '40s (
Benny Goodman Sextet) thru the '80s (
Dexter Gordon,
Marcus Roberts). The notes by
Will Friedwald give about as vivid an account of
Gershwin's attitude toward, and embraced by, the jazz community as any ever written to accompany a project of this kind, and it pays special attention to the relationship between
Benny Goodman and the composer's work, dating back at least to 1930 when the clarinetist was still playing in an orchestra pit on Broadway.
Goodman's 1945 rendition of "I Got Rhythm," featuring one of his hottest solos on record, leads the collection off. Other highlights include
Sarah Vaughan's 1950 version of "Nice Work If You Can Get It," which ends on an extraordinary re-composed melody; the 1956
Ruby Braff-
Coleman Hawkins rendition of "'S Wonderful"; "Our Love Is Here to Stay" as reinterpreted in bebop style by
J.J. Johnson in 1957; and
Marcus Roberts' solo piano version of "Someone to Watch Over Me," and
George Benson's soulful version of "Summertime." The
Roy Eldridge All-Stars, from a 1973 live performance, close out the disc with a hot jam of "Somebody Loves Me," featuring
Al Grey on trombone, guitarist
Joe Pass,
Tommy Flanagan at the piano, and
Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis on tenor sax, each of whom gets a solo.