Americana - Adams, Bernstein - HBDirect Classical

This new compilation represents over 75 minutes of the very best of Simon Rattle's recordings of American music presented in his unique, exciting and dynamic way. Featured on the album are works by Bernstein, Gershwin, Ellington, Adams and other great American composers of the golden Jazz Age.

Notes & Reviews:

Personnel: Regina Carter (violin); Michael Collins (clarinet); Bobby Ray Watson (alto saxophone); Joe Lovano, Joshua Redman (tenor saxophone); Clark Terry (trumpet); Geri Allen, Peter Donohoe (piano); Lewis Nash (drums).

Recording information: CTS Studios, London, England (1986-1999); EMI Abbey Road Studios, London, England (1986-1999); Symphony Hall, Birmingham, England (1986-1999).

A compilation of earlier released recordings done under the supervision of British classical conductor Simon Rattle, Americana collects pieces by American composers (and one Russian), and is notable for its seamless cohesiveness (it doesn't feel like an anthology at all, but more like a logical, free-flowing sequence) and for being called Americana and not including a single Aaron Copland piece. The emphasis here is on American jazz, and compositions by Duke Ellington and George Gershwin are featured prominently in jazz-classical fusions that work at least as much as they don't. The 16-minute version of Gershwin's classic "Rhapsody in Blue" included here is revealing, and a wonderful exploration of theme at the juncture of jazz and classical; when it works, it opens doors, and when it doesn't, well, it simply fails to swing. Portions of Igor Stravinsky's "Ebony Concerto" are included here because of the American jazz sensibilities at the center of the composition, and it works perfectly. Another impressive selection is an obscure Ellington piece called "That Doo-Wah Thing," which manages to do what is so difficult in grafting classical and jazz together: It swings. Combining jazz and classical seems like an easy thing, but it seldom works well, maybe because jazz, with its unbreakable roots in the blues, is too much like Mark Twain's immortal character, Huck Finn, and is a notoriously hard one to dress up all nice and fancy. Still, Americana raises interesting possibilities. ~ Steve Leggett

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Works Details

Bernstein, Leonard : Story of my life :: Overture

Conductor: Simon Rattle
Ensemble: Birmingham Contemporary Music Group
Running Time: 5 min. 21 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Written: 1953

Gershwin, George : Rhapsody in Blue

Performers: Peter Donohoe (Piano); London Sinfonietta (Piano)
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Ensemble: London Sinfonietta
Running Time: 16 min. 7 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Written: 1924

Bernard, Felix : The Dardanella Blues, song

Performer: London Sinfonietta
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Ensemble: London Sinfonietta
Running Time: 3 min. 2 sec.
Period Time: Modern

Donaldson, Walter : Makin' Whoopee

Performer: London Sinfonietta
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Ensemble: London Sinfonietta
Running Time: 3 min. 40 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Form: Vocal

McPhail, Lindsay : San, for voice & piano (or orchestra)

Performer: London Sinfonietta
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Ensemble: London Sinfonietta
Running Time: 3 min. 12 sec.
Period Time: Modern

Bernstein, Leonard : Prelude, Fugue and Riffs

Performers: Michael Collins; Michael Collins (Clarinet); London Sinfonietta (Piano); Peter Donohoe (Piano)
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Ensemble: London Sinfonietta
Running Time: 7 min. 49 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Written: 1949

Stravinsky, Igor : Ebony Concerto :: III

Performers: London Sinfonietta (Clarinet); Michael Collins; Michael Collins (Clarinet)
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Ensemble: London Sinfonietta
Running Time: 3 min. 29 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Form: Concerto
Written: 1945

Strayhorn, Billy : Take the A Train

Performers: Joe Lovano (Tenor Saxophone); Joshua Redman (Tenor Saxophone); Lewis Nash (Drums); Clark Terry (Trumpet); City Of Caterpillar (Double Bass); Geri Allen (Piano); Peter Washington (Double Bass); Regina Carter (Violin); Bobby Watson (Double Bass)
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Running Time: 9 min. 10 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Written: 1941

Ellington, Duke : Sophisticated Lady, song

Performers: Geri Allen (Piano); City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Double Bass); Lewis Nash (Drums); Peter Washington (Double Bass); Bobby Watson (Double Bass)
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Notes: This work was written in collaboration with Irving Mills (1894 - 1985), Mitchell Parish (1900 - 1993).
Running Time: 5 min. 16 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Written: 1933

Henderson, Luther : That Doo-wah Thing (after Ellington & Mills :: It Don't Mean a Thing)

Performers: City Of Caterpillar (Double Bass); Peter Washington (Double Bass); Bobby Watson (Double Bass); Joe Lovano (Tenor Saxophone); Clark Terry (Trumpet); Joshua Redman (Tenor Saxophone); Geri Allen (Piano); Lewis Nash (Drums); Regina Carter (Violin)
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Running Time: 9 min. 7 sec.
Period Time: Modern

Gershwin, George : Porgy and Bess :: Summertime

Performers: Harolyn Blackwell (Voice); The London Philharmonic Orchestra (Soprano)
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Running Time: 3 min. 27 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Form: Opera/Operetta
Written: 1935

Gershwin, George : Porgy and Bess :: It Ain't Necessarily So

Performers: Damon Evans (Tenor); The London Philharmonic Orchestra (Tenor)
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Running Time: 3 min. 31 sec.
Period Time: Modern
Form: Opera/Operetta
Written: 1935

Adams, John : Short Ride in a Fast Machine, fanfare for orchestra

Performer: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Simon Rattle
Running Time: 4 min. 22 sec.
Period Time: Contemporary
Written: 1986

Americana - Adams, Bernstein, Ellington, et al / Rattle

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