Van Basten II Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 As i mentionned in another thread i'm currently listening to my freshly acquired Jazz Crusaders boxset. Among the pieces that i enjoyed was the way they did Brahms' lullaby. Which they did it in a fine swinging way So i thought about making a thread about famous or less famous classical pieces that have been done with success by jazz musicians. Other example that come to mind, i remember Jackie Terranson doing Ravel's Bolero that got some air time on local jazz outlets. Uri Caine made a few great albums with Mahler's music also. Another great jazz cover is Aldo Romano doing Verdi's Va Pensiero, Sull' Ali Dorate, in a free jazz way on the album Intervista. So, what are your favourite covers of this style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 (edited) ike quebec's bossa nova soul samba has two nice "classical covers", things by Liszt and Dvorak iirc; one that i didn't like that much is brahms lullaby on Clark Terry's Moodsville Quartet Album with Junior Mance... i also like Uri Caine's Mahler album Edited November 26, 2007 by Niko Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 I think Strayhorn's arrangement of the Nutcracker worked out very well, reflecting the personalities of the players without losing the essence of the original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Two that come to mind immediately: the Gerry Mulligan Sextet version of Claude Debussy's 'La Plus Que Lente' the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band version of Edvard Grieg's 'Anitra's Dance' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 I think Strayhorn's arrangement of the Nutcracker worked out very well, reflecting the personalities of the players without losing the essence of the original. That's a big favorite of mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christiern Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Covered? Or just played by? Was Landa Wandowska covering Scarlatti every time she played one of his compositions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 mjq concierto de aranjuez on space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel A Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Wayne Shorter did a version of Sibelius' Valse Triste on Soothsayer. Gary Burton and pianist Makoto Ozone did an album with (as I recall) several classical pieces, among others the Prélude from the lovely Tombeau de Couperin by Maurice Ravel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Covered? Or just played by? Was Landa Wandowska covering Scarlatti every time she played one of his compositions? now tell us you didn't get what he meant... besides i think he wanted to exclude stuff like benny goodman doing Mozart's clarinet concerto... (and classical musicians and their relationship to the music they are playing and "what their message is" beyond the level of "this sounds good" is an issue deserving lots of discussion on its own imho) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 most obvious choice ever Miles Davis doing Concerto de Aranjuez (and he also did something by De Falla with Gil Evans iirc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukeCity Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 When he was still in the Cuban band Irakere, Paquito D'Rivera did a funky, gospel 12/8 version of the Adagio from Mozart's clarinet concerto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Hawkins Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Dave Burrell's 'La Vie de Boheme' is pretty cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Other oldtime classics: Jimmie Lunceford 'Chopin Prelude No. 7' and 'Sonata by Beethoven' Eddie South and Stephane Grappelli's improvisation on Bach's Concerto en RĂ© Mineur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chas Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 (edited) Vivaldi's Four Seasons was done by Raymond Fol in 1965 for Philips ( on CD as part of Gitanes Jazz in Paris series ) Edit to add : Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf by Jimmy Smith in 1966 ( arrangements by Oliver Nelson ) . Edited November 27, 2007 by Chas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Oliver Nelson and Jimmy Smith's version of Prokoviev's 'Peter and the Wolf' was a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cannonball-addict Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 recently I've seen this phenomenon occuring in several places. I saw Ornette play the Bach Cello Suite #1 with his three bass band + Denardo. Tony Falanga plays the famous arco part on bass. This was particularly riveting as I saw Ornette do it once before in another concert on the East Coast. If anyone has a recent live bootleg of an Ornette show with this band, please send me a PM. Also, the pianist Helen Sung (who happens to be the 2007 Winner of the Mary Lou Williams Piano Competition, an inaugural student in the Monk Institute's Jazz Perfomance program when it was at NEC and a former very serious classical pianist) just made a beautiful record on Sunnyside on which she covers/plays variations on the music of the lesser known 19th century Spanish composer Isaac Albeniz. This CD is not something I'm working in my role as a publicist - I was just so blown away by the CD and then again seeing her live in DC at Blues Alley - I felt I should make mention of her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Uri Caine made a few great albums with Mahler's music also. Uri Caine also has a jazz-inspired or at least jazz-infused Goldberg Variations. Maybe I should give that a spin today, since I have been listening to the Gould 1955 and 1981 Variations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 There are two fun compilations on the French Saga Jazz label: http://www.sagajazz.com/uk/album.php?idalbum=48 http://www.sagajazz.com/uk/album.php?idalbum=49 Volume 1 01 Interprétation Swing du 1er mouvement du Concerto en ré mineur Eddie South 02 Bach Goes to Town Benny Goodman 03 Beethoven Riffs On John Kirby 04 Sonata by L. van Beethoven Jimmie Lunceford 05 Spanish Kick (Carmen Habanera) Charlie Barnet 06 The Quintette Plays Carmen Raymond Scott 07 Bizet Has His Day (Marche des Rois) Les Brown 08 Minute Waltz John Kirby 09 Triste (Tristesse) Herman Chittison 10 I’m Always Chasing Rainbows) Buddy Rich 11 Valse in C-sharp Minor Hazel Scott 12 My Reverie Artie Shaw 13 The Maids of Cadiz Benny Goodman 14 Sextette Donald Lambert 15 Goin’ Home Art Tatum 16 Humoresque Art Tatum 17 Martha Connie Boswell 18 Anitra’s Dance John Kirby 19 In the Hall of the Mountain King Will Bradley 20 Danse norvégienne Django Reinhardt 21 Ebony Rhapsody Duke Ellington 22 Liebestraum Nat King Cole 23 Liebestraum Spike Jones 24 Hungarian Rag Conway’s Band Volume 2 01 Elegie Art Tatum 02 Spring Song Tommy Dorsey 03 Mozart Matriculates Benny Goodman 04 Barcarolle (Tales of Hoffman) Charlie Barnet 05 Caprice XXIV Paganini Benny Goodman 06 Prelude in C-sharp Minor Op. 3 Eddie Lang 07 Russian Rag Jim Europe 08 Bolero Benny Goodman 09 Pavanne (The Lamp Is Low) Erroll Garner 10 Flight of the Bopple Bee James Moody 11 Arabian Nightmare John Kirby 12 Song of India Tommy Dorsey 13 Melody in F Art Tatum 14 Melody in F Tommy Dorsey 15 Schubert’s Serenade Herman Chittison 16 Blue Danube Les Brown 17 Blue Danube Pat Flowers 18 Arab Dance Claude Thornhill 19 Bounce of the Sugar Plum Fairy John Kirby 20 Anvil Chorus Glenn Miller 21 Pilgrim’s Chorus Donald Lambert 22 Let’s Dance Benny Goodman 23 Desecration Rag Felix Ardnt 24 Operatic Rag Joseph Moskovitz Also I started this thread about jazz musicians doing Bach some time ago: http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=36658 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 King Ubu beat me to those SagaJazz compilations. Couple more classics: The L.A. Four version of Maurice Ravel's 'Pavane Pour Une Infante DĂ©funte' The Teddy Charles album 'Russia Goes Jazz' (United Artists) where compositions by Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and Kachaturian get a jazzy treatment by an All Stars group that include Howard McGhee, Eric Dolphy, Zoot Sims, Jimmy Giuffre, Pepper Adams and others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyhersom Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 umm ... Gershwin? Also, Dave Matthews Bach, MJQ Bach, J. Moran (Tombeau de Couperin) and Coryell (Pavane) for Ravel. Kessel does Carmen (Bizet), and seems like I've seen some Villa-Lobos somewhere. Oh yeah, some guy named Brubeck for yr Mozart fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 am i the only person alive(?) who digs kenton's wagner recording? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMP Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Roland Kirk does "Swan Lake" on one of his Mercury albums, and Gerry Mulligan (with Art Farmer and Jim Hall) does a Chopin piece on "Night Lights" (Phillips). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomastreichler Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 The Classical Jazz Quartet, consisting of Stefon Harris, Kenny Barron, Ron Carter and Lewis Nash, did three albums, covering Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Bach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Hawkins Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 Not sure about Kenton doing Wagner , but Donald Lambert doing the overture to 'Tannhauser' is fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alocispepraluger102 Posted November 27, 2007 Report Share Posted November 27, 2007 mcferrin's bach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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