May 23, 2010
Brand New Moods is a blog worth visiting and revisiting, for its discriminating selections of music postings. One of the best of this recently overhauled blog's postings was a three part presentation of different versions of George Gershwin, DuBose Heywood and Ira Gershwin's opera, "Porgy and Bess". No fewer than ten versions appear on the website for your listening pleasure, ranging from the Houston Grand Opera cast recording to a duet session between Oscar Peterson and Joe Pass. The most famous versions are there as well - Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald's 1957 version, and Miles Davis and Gil Evans' version from the next year.
"Porgy and Bess" was first produced in 1935 and was intended to be an "American Folk Opera". Since then, a number of songs from the show have become classics. "Summertime" is probably the best known, and "I Loves You PorgY" is also a standard.