Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Andr: We Got It Good And That Ain

170

Andr: We Got It Good And That Ain

By

View read count
Andr: We Got It Good And That Ain
André Previn’s piano brings us theme and variations on songs associated with composer Duke Ellington. Bassist David Finck provides subtle accompaniment and lyrical interludes.

The pieces themselves are like old friends. And here they’re treated with respect. So sit down, my friends, and tell me how you’ve been lately.

The titles from Ellington’s blues-based songs represent lyrics by themselves. The ideas live through those melodies. "I got it bad." "Do nothin’ till you hear from me." "It don’t mean a thing."

And Billy Strayhorn’s melodies poke at your psyche. "Isfahan," "Chelsea Bridge," and the bouncier "Take the ‘A’ Train" lay out the melody as if you’re hearing it at your high school class reunion. Is that gray hair I see? Each one has mellowed with age. A distinctive new beauty comes with this maturity.

Previn includes Ellington’s loping "Serenade to Sweden" with natural and impressionistic landscape images. His rubato, solo piano offering of "Come Sunday" resonates beautifully on the Bösendorfer "Imperial" grand piano. The pianist’s treatment of "Things Ain’t What They Used To Be" prances with a quirky step. Previn’s choice in using a different formula for this standard brings excitement to the forum. A combination of lush ballads and lyrical airs honors the Ellington songbook conclusively, as two sensitive artists portray the tunes with deep respect.

Track Listing

Take the

Personnel

David Finck: bass; André Previn: piano.

Album information

Title: We Got It Good And That Ain't Bad | Year Released: 2000 | Record Label: Deutsche Grammophon

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.