''Pure Gershwin'' is a 1987 album by American vocalist

Michael Feinstein Michael Jay Feinstein (born September 7, 1956) is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an archivist and interpreter for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for cel ...

of songs composed by

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

. This was Feinstein's debut studio recording. It was Feinstein's first album of Gershwin's music, his two other all-Gershwin albums are '' Nice Work If You Can Get It: Songs by the Gershwins'' (1996) and '' Michael & George: Feinstein Sings Gershwin'' (1998).

Reception

The

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

review by William Ruhlmann awarded the album four ½ stars and said Feinstein's reading of Gershwin was "near perfect", and his piano playing excellent.

Track listing

# "

'S Wonderful "S Wonderful" is a 1927 popular song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics written by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced in the Broadway musical ''Funny Face'' (1927) by Adele Astaire and Allen Kearns. The song is considered a standard and h ...

" - 3:54 # "

Love Is Here to Stay "Love Is Here to Stay" is a popular song and jazz standard composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin for the movie '' The Goldwyn Follies'' (1938). History "Love Is Here to Stay" was first performed by Kenny Baker in '' The Gol ...

" - 3:53 # "

Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away) Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)" is a song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn. It was introduced in 1929 by Ruby Keeler (as Dixie Dugan) in Florenz Ziegfeld's musical ''Show Girl''. The stage performances wer ...

" - 5:24 # "The World Is Mine" - 2:56 # "

They Can't Take That Away from Me "They Can't Take That Away from Me" is a 1937 popular song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. It was introduced by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film ''Shall We Dance'' and gained huge success. Overview The song is performed b ...

" - 3:36 # " Isn't It a Pity?" - 7:03 # "

Let's Call the Whole Thing Off "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" is a song written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film ''Shall We Dance'', where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as part of a celebrated dance duet on roller skates. The shee ...

" - 2:43 # "

Embraceable You "Embraceable You" is a jazz standard song with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was written in 1928 for an unpublished operetta named ''East Is West''. It was published in 1930 and included in that year's Broadway mu ...

" - 4:33 # "What Causes That?" - 3:19 # "

He Loves and She Loves "He Loves and She Loves" is a 1927 song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics written by Ira Gershwin. It replaced the song " How Long Has This Been Going On?" in the Broadway musical ''Funny Face''. It was introduced by Adele Astaire and Allen ...

"/"

How Long Has This Been Going On? "How Long Has This Been Going On?" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, for the musical ''Funny Face'' in 1927. History According to Ira Gershwin in his book ''Lyrics on Several Occasions'', after the premiere of ...

" - 5:49 # "

They All Laughed ''They All Laughed'' is a 1981 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, John Ritter, Colleen Camp, Patti Hansen, and Dorothy Stratten. The film was based on a screenplay by Bogdanovich ...

" - 3:03 # " The Girl I Love" - 4:30 # " Someone to Watch over Me" - 4:15 All music composed by

, and all lyrics written by

Ira Gershwin Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...

, additionally

Gus Kahn Gustav Gerson Kahn (November 6, 1886October 8, 1941) was an American lyricist who contributed a number of songs to the Great American Songbook, including "Pretty Baby", " Ain't We Got Fun?", " Carolina in the Morning", " Toot, Toot, Tootsie (Go ...

provides lyrics on "Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away)"

Personnel

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

*Ted Hawke -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

*Jim Hughart -

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

*David Ross - piano *Morgan Ames -

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the record sleeve, sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner n ...

*Herb Eiseman - producer *Dennis Sands -

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

*Rosemary Clooney -

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung accompaniment, wi ...

, "Isn't it a pity"

References

{{Authority control Asylum Records albums Michael Feinstein albums 1987 albums