So many songs from
George Gershwin
's
folk
opera
Porgy & Bess
have become
standards
that
jazz
fans likely take them for granted. But
Mark Masters
' large ensemble arrangements of selections from this work are anything but typical.
"Summertime"
showcases virtuoso solos connected by often wild interludes in a
post-bop
setting frequently marked by changes in tempo.
"A Woman Is a Sometime Thing"
suggests a throwback to the era of
Duke Ellington
and
Count Basie
, but with a modern flavor. Tenor saxophonist
Billy Harper
Tim Hagans
(on muted trumpet) shine in
"Gone, Gone, Gone,"
in a chart which alternates between a mournful air with lush backgrounds and an
avant-garde
fury.
"It Ain't Necessarily So"
has a swaggering flavor with almost vocal-like solos. Also groundbreaking is the leader's inventive scoring of
"I Loves You, Porgy,"
featuring baritone saxophonist
Gary Smulyan
,
Don Shelton
on alto flute, along with
Hagans
Harper
. This CD should be considered one of the landmark interpretations of
to come along since
Gil Evans
' famous recording with
Miles Davis
decades earlier. ~ Ken Dryden