Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Michael Feinstein: Michael & George: Feinstein Sings Gershwin

Michael Feinstein: Michael & George: Feinstein Sings Gershwin

By AAJ Staff
January 21, 2003
View read count

Michael Feinstein: Michael & George: Feinstein Sings Gershwin

Predominantly composed with the warm and familiar intimacy of his famed cabaret sets, Michael Feinstein’s latest release panders a bit to the popular and loses some credibility in the process. A noted expert on the life, times and music of Mr. Gershwin who has performed this material many times before, Feinstein fittingly joins the throngs paying tribute to the centenarian songwriter with this set of fifteen selections, including one on which George himself provides the instrumentation (by way of one of his famous piano rolls).

Though he may be known as the contemporary keeper of the Gershwin standard, Michael allows George’s legacy to flag somewhat. Instead of treating these timeless songs with the standard simplicity they deserve, Feinstein opts for touches of the bastardized "smooth jazz" format, including percussion tracks and other synthesized lines which actually deteriorate the album’s synthesis. Though most of the album is lovingly concocted and tasteful, the few divergences leave an aftertaste which may not be pleasing to the savvy Gershwin or Feinstein fan.

Track Listing

1. Embraceable You 2. Nobody But You 3. Love Is Here to Stay 4. Do It Again 5. Of Thee I Sing 6. Funny Face 7. Lonely Boy 8. Shall We Dance? 9. Oh, Gee! Oh, Joy! 10. Delishious 11. I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise 12. Love Walked In 13. Comes the Revolution 14. Soon 15. Swanee

Personnel

Michael Feinstein

piano and vocals

Album information

Title: Michael & George: Feinstein Sings Gershwin | Year Released: 2003 | Record Label: Concord Music Group

About Michael Feinstein

PREVIOUS / NEXT

A Fireside Chat With Herbie Hancock
< Previous

Payola: Legal Definitions
Next >

Become a Sustaining Member

Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.

Help Build the Future of All About Jazz

Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.

Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.

Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.