Porgy and Bess

1	The Buzzard Song 4:07
2	Bess, You Is My Woman Now 5:10
3	Gone 3:37
4	Gone, Gone, Gone 2:03
5	Summertime 3:17
6	Oh Bess, Oh Where's My Bess? 4:28
7	Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus) 4:39
8	Fisherman, Strawberry and Devil Crab 4:06
9	My Man's Gone Now 6:14
10	It Ain't Necessarily So 4:23
11	Here Come de Honey Man 1:18
12	I Loves You, Porgy 3:39
13	There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York 3:23
14	I Loves You, Porgy Bonus Track / Take 1, Second Version 4:14
15	Gone Bonus Track / Take 4 3:40

Barnes & Noble

With a handful of brilliant collaborations and one full-length masterpiece, Miles Ahead, under their belts, trumpeter Miles Davis and arranger Gil Evans were ready to see if lightning would strike twice. It did. Their 1957 adaptation of selections from George Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess is a masterwork that exhibits the best of both musical partners. Gorgeous songs like "Summertime," "Bess You Is My Woman Now," and "My Man's Gone Now " bring out all the unmatched lyrical qualities that had already made Davis a living legend. Up-tempo versions of ''Here Come De Honey Man," and "There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon For New York" also find the trumpeter blowing radiant, beautifully constructed improvisations. Evans was also in peak form, his trademark writing for a brass-heavy, pianoless ensemble featuring arresting tonal colors that made judicious use of tuba and woodwinds. Evans was just as effective thinking big, as in his dramatic climax to "My Man's Gone Now," or scaling down, best exemplified in his brilliant seven-note motif that circles around "Summertime." And Davis and Evans were smart enough to know that it wouldn't be jazz without a cooking rhythm section: "Gone, Gone, Gone" becomes a mini-feature for drummer Philly Joe Jones, whose inspiring playing takes an already glorious project a few notches skyward. Steve Futterman

All Music Guide

Tomes are available annotating the importance of this recording. The musical and social impact of Miles Davis, his collaborative efforts with Gil Evans, and in particular their reinvention of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess are indeed profound. However, the most efficient method of extricating the rhetoric and opining is to experience the recording. Few other musical teams would have had the ability to remain true to the undiluted spirit and multifaceted nuance of this epic work. However, no other musical teams were Miles Davis and Gil Evans. It was Evans' intimate knowledge of the composition as well as the performer that allowed him to so definitively capture the essence of both. The four dates needed to complete work on Porgy and Bess include contributions from several members of his most recent musical aggregate: Julian "Cannonball" Adderley (alto sax), Paul Chambers (bass), and Jimmy Cobb (drums). Although the focus and emphasis is squarely on Davis throughout, the contributions of the quartet on "Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)," "I Loves You, Porgy," and "There's a Boat That's Leaving Soon for New York" are immeasurable. They provide a delicate balance in style and, under the direction of Evans, incorporate much of the same energy and intonation here as they did to their post-bop recordings. There is infinitely more happening on Porgy and Bess, however, with much of the evidence existing in the subtle significance of the hauntingly lyrical passages from Danny Banks' (alto flute) solos, which commence on "Fishermen, Strawberry and Devil Crab." Or the emotive bass and tuba duet that runs throughout "Buzzard Song." The impeccable digital remastering and subsequent CD reissue -- which likewise applies to the Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings box set -- only magnifies the refulgence of Porgy and Bess. Likewise, two previously unissued performances have been appended to the original baker's dozen. No observation or collection of American jazz can be deemed complete without this recording. Lindsay Planer