Track Listing

1. Overtue/Gershwin Medley
2. I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise
3. Who Cares
4. Funny Face
5. Love Walked In/Love Is Sweeping the Country
6. Swanee
7. Porgy and Bess Medley
8. Lady Be Good

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67683 in Music
• Brand: Austin
• Released on: 2007-03-06
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .16 pounds

Amazon.com
In this decade of twin musical obsessions--for fond revisits to classic American composers and for all things '80s--it's a wonder Patti Austin hasn't stolen the show with a Great American Songbook set sooner. Her '80s duets--"How Do You Keep the Music Playing" and "Baby Come to Me" among them--remain indelible, and she's already proved she's a worthy interpreter with 2002's justly praised For Ella. Plus, her voice on Avant Gershwin, rich and to the rafters, suggests she's been ready to give this material a spin for decades. From the first moments of "I Got Rhythm," part of the opening "Overture/Gershwin Medley," Austin swings through these songs with the ease and exuberance of a born showman; you can practically see her onstage in a slinky evening gown, arms outstretched, head back, eyes squeezed shut, surges of electric sound all around her. Her "Porgy & Bess Medley" benefits from a manufactured breeziness that suits "A Woman Is a Sometime Thing" and "Summertime" especially well, and her "Swanee" saunters closer to modern sensibilities by replacing the "mammy" of the original with a simple "momma." In addition to Austin's energy, the spirit of jazz gives these numbers juice. The WDR Big Band, which Austin has worked with previously, comes at a tune with a blend of boisterousness and sophistication, and Austin has a way of melting right in. She convincingly makes a case that she may have been born a bit late, but she was made to sing these songs. --Tammy La Gorce

Customer Reviews

A new, adventurous departure.
Over the last decade, Patti Austin has gone back to her jazz roots, singing tunes from the Great American Songbook. Her 2002 CD, "For Ella", a tribute to the great Ella Fitzgerald, received a Grammy nomination. And on her latest album, "Avant Gershwin", she belts it out Broadway style, interpreting the music of George and Ira Gershwin.
The silken voiced diva has released a fine collection of some of the most celebrated and loved Broadway jazzy tracks, to which she brings her very special vocal magic, originally recorded by some male jazz legends.
This album is a work of great depth.
Her voice illuminates every song. Even though we have heard the same tunes sung to us so many times...Her heart is felt in every note as she soars to the highs of the heavens and smoothly flows to the lows.
Anyone with Patti Austin' s great voice and the support of a record label could easily have recorded an album of straightforward George Gershwin covers and called it a day, but Austin is not one to play it safe.
On "Avant Gershwin" she reshapes and reconfigures the old standards in exciting new ways.
She also makes a bold statement with the "Porgy & Bess Medley" by selecting all songs sung by male characters save the classic "Summertime".
To hear Patti deliver on Jake's put down "A Woman Is a Sometime Thing" or Sportin' Life's sly "There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon For New York" forces the listener to reconsider the more submissive roles assigned to Bess and the other female characters.
Her sultry turn on "Love Walked In", with minimal piano accompaniment, uncovers an almost angst-filled facet to the song.
With expert backing by the WDR Big Band of Cologne (Germany), led by Michael Abene, she swings" Lady Be Good", "Swanee", and "Who Cares" as hard-bop numbers, replete with inspired scatting.

This Is A Grammy Winner for "Best Jazz Vocal Album" - 50th Annual Grammy Awards
"When you look at the body of work from the Gershwins, it is kind of frightening. It is like they were sent by God to drop off a package and send them back in another two hundred years to do something magnificent. We just scratched the surface of their body of work, and isn't that fascinating?" ~ Patti Austin, All About Jazz ~

Recorded live and released in March of 2007, "Avant Gershwin," won the "Best Vocal Jazz Album" at the recent 50th Annual Grammy Awards. Congratulations to Patti Austin and everyone involved in this great CD for a well-deserved recognition. I am a long-time fan of George and Ira Gershwin's music and lyrics and who could do more than justice to their ingenious works than a fine jazz singer and also one of my all-time favorites, Patti Austin? I've been a long-time fan since the early eighties and have collected some of her best recordings most notably her collaborations with George Benson, James Ingram, Bob James and Quincy Jones.

This is a great tribute to the exceptional songwriting and composing talents of the Gershwin Brothers. Some of their well-loved gems are featured in this CD starting off with "Overture/Gershwin Medley," a Grammy-nominated-track for the "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist," down to "Lady Be Good." For someone who has been singing since age five, Patti Austin made her renditions more special with her wealth of experience in jazz singing and scatting. She brings freshness of style to these time-tested standards thereby making this album as one of the best Gershwin tributes ever recorded. The beautiful chart arrangements by Michael Abene and excellent musicianship of WDR Big Band (same band who backed her on for Ella) are contributing factors that made this album worthy of a Grammy nomination and the much-coveted award. Each song is taken to a higher level of appreciation for she has the ability to turn a timeless standard into a remarkably impressive gem of a song with a new twist. I'm sure the Gershwins in Heaven must be beaming with joy!

My choice cuts include a medley of "Love Walked In/Love Is Sweeping The Country" and a less-famous and seldom-recorded song but is surely a beauty, "Who Cares?" I first heard it from Kate Smith on one of my late father's collection of records. Tony Bennett also recorded it with Ralph Sharon Trio on Essential George Gershwin and ditto with Michael Feinstein on Nice Work If You Can Get It: Songs by the Gershwins. Her smooth take on "Summertime," one of the songs from "Porgy And Bess Medley," is simply gorgeous.

This Grammy-winning CD in its entirety is a sheer beauty and pure perfection. I wholeheartedly recommend it for a lovely listening experience.

Beyond Hip
This CD blew me away. Patti's swinging, loving, and fresh interpretations of these songs forced me to jump out of my seat and cheer. The Cologne based WDR Big Band (featuring Frank Chastenier on piano, John Goldsby on bass, and Hans Dekker on drums) swings just as hard as Patti. Michael Abene's charts groove like crazy. Gold star for you, Ms. Austin. Five of them, in fact--big, sparkling, Grammy-shaped stars that light up the sky.

Robin Goldsby is the author of Piano Girl: A Memoir, and is the solo piano artist featured on Songs from the Castle and Twilight.