Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls
| Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Compilation album by | |
| Released | 1993 |
| Recorded | November 1992, February and June 1993 |
| Studio | The American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York City |
| Genre | Jazz, classical |
| Length | 60:08 |
| Label | Nonesuch Records |
| Producer | Max Wilcox |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide | A−[2] |
Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls is an album of piano rolls recorded (with one exception) by George Gershwin. It was released by Nonesuch Records in 1993.
Recording[edit]
Gershwin recorded these piano rolls between 1916 and 1927. Several rolls use overdubbing, so that Gershwin is in effect playing a four-handed piece solo.
The final selection, "An American In Paris", was recorded by Frank Milne in 1933. Milne worked as a roll-editor with Gershwin in the 1920s, and edited several of the rolls reproduced on this disc. So skilled was Milne as a roll editor, the liner notes suggest that he may not have actually "played" "An American In Paris" at all—in the same way that a musician can write sheet music, Milne was able to prepare roll masters by marking the lines on special graph paper that would be used as a template for the holes punched in the actual piano roll.
The piano rolls were played back on a 9-foot Yamaha Disklavier grand piano, augmented by a 1911 Pianola operated by Artis Wodehouse. The Pianola allows for the operator to add "live" effects with piano footpumps and expression levers.
Reception[edit]
Allmusic awarded the album with 4.5 stars and its review by Scott Yanow states: "George Gershwin made 130 piano rolls between 1916 and 1927. Certainly such tunes as "Novelette in Fourths," "So Am I," and "Idle Dreams" are long forgotten but worth reviving."[3]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sweet and Lowdown" | George Gershwin (Lyric: Ira Gershwin) | 3:30 |
| 2. | "Novelette in Fourths" | George Gershwin | 2:24 |
| 3. | "That Certain Feeling" | George Gershwin (Lyric: Ira Gershwin) | 2:45 |
| 4. | "So Am I" | George Gershwin (Lyric: Ira Gershwin) | 4:14 |
| 5. | "Rhapsody in Blue" | George Gershwin | 14:22 |
| 6. | "Swanee" | George Gershwin (Lyric: Irving Caesar) | 2:17 |
| 7. | "When You Want 'Em You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em" | George Gershwin (Lyric: Murray Roth) | 1:57 |
| 8. | "Kickin' the Clouds Away" | George Gershwin (Lyric: Ira Gershwin, Buddy DeSylva) | 3:20 |
| 9. | "Idle Dreams" | George Gershwin (Lyric: Arthur Jackson) | 2:59 |
| 10. | "On My Mind the Whole Night Long" | George Gershwin (Lyric: Arthur Jackson) | 2:30 |
| 11. | "Scandal Walk" | George Gershwin (Lyric: Arthur Jackson) | 3:15 |
| 12. | "An American in Paris" | George Gershwin | 16:36 |
Personnel[edit]
- George Gershwin – piano rolls reproduced on Yamaha Disklavier DCF111S player piano
- Artis Wodehouse - Pianola (piano roll playback & artistic interpretation)
- Max Wilcox – producer, engineer
References[edit]
- ^ Allmusic Review
- ^ Christgau, Robert (2000). "George Gershwin". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. Macmillan Publishers. p. 115. ISBN 0312245602.
- ^ Allmusic Review: Gershwin Plays Gershwin: The Piano Rolls accessed 19 April 2010
