810 049-2

PORGY & BESS LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND ELLA FITZGERALD STEREO 810 049-2

1. Summertime 10. Oh, Doctor Jesus

2.1 Wants To Stay Here 11. Medley: Here Comes De
3. My Man’s Gone Now Honey Man
4.1 Got Plenty O’Nuttin’ Crab Man
5. Buzzard Song Oh Dev’s So Fresh An’ Fine
6. Bess, You Is My Woman (Strawberry Woman)
7. It Ain’t Necessarily So 12. There’s A Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon
8. What Do You Want Wid Bess? For New York
9. A Woman Is A Sometime 13. Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess?
Thing 14. Oh Lawd, I’m On My Way
Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by Du Bose Heyward and Ira Gershwin
® 1965 M.G.M. Records, Inc.
Distributed under license of M.G.M. Records, Inc., Los Angeles, USA (Verve Series)

CD is manufactured by PolyGram in Hanover, West Germany

Printed in West Germany by/lmprim6 en Allemagne par Neef, Wittingen • Made in West Germany
1. Summertime 4:55 10. Oh, Doctor Jesus 1:58
2.1 Wants To Stay Here 4:34 11. Medley: Here Comes De
3. My Man’s Gone Now 3:59 Honey Man
4.1 Got Plenty O’Nuttin’ 3:50 Crab Man
5. Buzzard Song 2:56 Oh Dev’s So Fresh An’ Fine
6. Bess, You Is My Woman 5:26 (Strawberry Woman) 2:51
7. It Ain’t Necessarily So 6:32 12. There’s A Boat Dat’s Leavin’
8. What Do You Want Wid Soon For New York 4:51
Bess? 1:59 13. Bess, Oh Where’s
9. A Woman Is A Sometime My Bess? 2:34
Thing 4:44 14. Oh Lawd, I’m On My
Way 2:56
Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by Du Bose Heyward and Ira Ger:
Orchestra Conducted by Russell Garcia
Published by Gershwin Publishing Corporation
© 1965 M.G.M. Records, Inc.
Distributed under license of M.G.M. Records, Inc., Los Angeles, USA (Verve Series)
O 2304479
After the premiere performance of Porgy and Bess at the snob aesthetics of the formal critics of the mid-Thirties have
Colonial Theatre in Boston on the night of September 30, been adopted by some jazz critics of the Sixties.
1935, J. Rosamond Johnson, a distinguished figure of Negro Writing in the New York Times ten days after the Broadway
music and theatre who had just played the role of Frazer, the premiere of Porgy and Bess, Gershwin explained why he
amiably fraudulent lawyer who did Porgy out of a dollar and preferred a theatre to an opera-house presentation. "I
a half in granting Bess a "divorce" from Crown, stood to one hoped," he wrote, "to appeal to the many rather than the
side and watched the throng of friends and jubilant well- cultured few." Unhappily, he was dead in less than two
wishers that closed in around George Gershwin. "I was years. It would have pleased him to know that the many
amazed at the modest manner in which he received many would, in time, include millions in all parts of the world
warm and hearty congratulations", Johnson later wrote. thanks to the broad distribution of the Samuel Goldwyn film
"Finally, when I got a chance to grasp his hand I whispered and the many international tours made by revival produc¬
to him, 'George, you've done it — you're the Abraham tions of the opera.
Lincoln of Negro music'. The next day at rehearsal, George Right now, somewhere, a critic is preparing the hundredth
said to me, 'Rosamond, I want to thank you for what you essay on what is wrong with Porgy and Bess. The odds are
said last night.' "Well," Johnson wrote, "... he had, with imposing that at some point he is going to be interrupted by
one broad sweep clarified and removed all doubt as to the a recording, a radio, or a TV set filling the air with one of the
possibility of using American Negro idioms in reaching the songs from this most popular opera. Or perhaps someone
heights of serious musical achievement." will simply pass under the window humming Summertime. It
Eleven nights later Porgy and Bess opened in New York to has become a habit with the many.
mixed notices (some of which are quoted here). The theatre - Frederick Warner
critics were generally favorable, the music critics were gener¬
ally reserved. Gershwin may well have wondered if he had About the Album:
indeed reached the "heights of serious musical achieve¬ In deciding to record Porgy and Bess, I felt that our best
ment." But, there was no doubt about his historic break¬ approach, since we were not recording the entire opera, but
through in using "American Negro idioms." instead only the best known excerpts, was to use only two
The present moment is a good time to remember Rosamond voices: thus, I decided that Ella Fitzgerald should sing all the
Johnson's generous praise of George Gershwin as an eman¬ female parts and Louis Armstrong all the male; in fact I
cipator in the American arts. Today in jazz circles it is chic to extended my license even further by having Miss Fitzgerald
write off Gershwin's "folk opera" as bad sociology, bad sing The Buzzard Song, which in the play was sung by a male.
opera, bad Negro music, and plain bad music. Ironically, the There isn't much one can add to the biographical material
already well known about Ella Fitzgerald, because she is the Das Compact Disc Digital Audio System Le systeme Compact Disc Digital Audio

tas
_n COMPACT
bietet die bestmogliche Klangwiedergabe permet la meilleure reproduction sonore possible a partir
best singer in the' world today of popular music and jazz. I -auf einem kleinen, handlichen Tontrager. d’un support de son de format reduit et pratique.
felt that this combination of jazz feeling for the melody and DIGITAL AUDIO
Die besonderen Eigenschaften der Com¬ Les remarquables performances du Compact Disc sont le
popular feeling for the lyric filled the requirements precisely pact Disc resultieren aus der einzigartigen Kombination resultat d’une combinaison unique du systeme numerique
von digitaler Wiedergabetechnik und Laser-Abtastung. et de la lecture laser optique.
as the Gershwins might have intended for a folk opera like Um die hohe Qualitat der Compact Disc zu erhalten, sollte Pour obtenir les meilleurs resultats, il est indispensable
Porgy and Bess. The inherent feel for jazz that George Ger¬ sie mit der gleichen Sorgfalt gelagert und behandelt wer- d’apporter le meme soin dans le rangement et la manipula¬
den wie die konventionelle Langspielplatte. tion du Compact Disc qu’avec le disque microsillon.
shwin possessed is obviously held by Miss Fitzgerald in full
Eine Reinigung erubrigt sich, wenn die Compact Disc nur II n’est pas necessaire d’effectuer de nettoyage particulier
measure, and Ira Gershwin's need for understanding of his am Rande angefaBt und nach dem Abspielen sofort wieder si le disque est toujours tenu par les bords et est replace
lyrics is equally fully understood and felt by Miss Fitzgerald, in die Spezialverpackung zuruckgelegt wird. Sollte die directement dans son boTtier apr6s I’ecoute. Si le Compact
Compact Disc Spuren von Fingerabdrucken, Staub Oder Disc porte des traces d’empreintes digitales, de poussiere
as evidenced by her singing the extremes of Doctor Jesus and I Schmutz aufweisen, ist sie mit einem sauberen, fusselfrei- ou autres, il peut etre essuye, toujours en ligne droite, du
Got Plenty O'Nuttin'. en, weichen und trockenen Tuch (geradlinig von der Mitte centre vers les bords, avec un chiffon propre, doux et sec
Louis Armstrong symbolically is Mr. Jazz for the world and zum Rand) zu reinigen. Bitte keine Losungs- Oder Scheu- qui ne s’effiloche pas. Tout produit nettoyant, solvant ou
ermittel verwenden! abrasif doit etre proscrit.
will continue to be so forever. He is the epitome of all that Bei Beachtung dieser Hinweise wird die Compact Disc ihre Si ces instructions sont respectees, le Compact Disc vous
jazz represents and though I constantly seem to be Qualitat dauerhaft bewahren. donnera une parfaite et durable restitution sonore.

emphasizing the term "jazz", Mr. Armstrong is also a great

The Compact Disc Digital Audio system II sistema audio-digitale del Compact Disc
human being with great feelings, and armed with this he offers the best possible sound reproduction - on a small, offre la migliore riproduzione del suono, inciso su un picco¬
attacks and conquers beautifully the demands that the folk convenient sound-carrier unit. lo e comodo supporto. La notevole realizzazione del Com¬
The Compact Disc’s remarkable performance is the result pact Disc e il risultato di un’unica combinazione: la riprodu¬
opera have placed upon him. Though he may not give it the of a unique combination of digital playback with laser optics. zione digitale con I’ottica laser. Per ottenere i migliori
trained voice that the other versions have, he gives it, I For the best results, you should apply the same care in risultati, nella conservazione e nel maneggio del Compact
storing and handling the Compact Disc as with convention¬ Disc si dovrebbe usare la stessa cura che per i dischi
think, far more poignancy, tenderness, and feeling — and
al records. convenzionali.
that, after all, is what a "folk" opera really should have. No further cleaning will be necessary if the Compact Disc is Non sara necessaria nessuna ulteriore pulizia, se il Com¬
Needless to say, all of the great trumpet solos in this album always held by the edges and is replaced in its case directly pact Disc verra sempre preso per il bordo e rimesso subito
after playing. Should the Compact Disc become soiled by nella sua custodia dopo I’ascolto. Se il Compact Disc
are also done by Mr. Armstrong, who has no peer on this fingerprints, dust or dirt, it can be wiped (always in a straight dovesse sporcarsi con impronte digitali, polvere o sporcizia
instrument for this kind of material. - Norman Granz line, from centre to edge) with a clean and lint-free, soft, dry in genere, potra essere pulito con un panno asciutto, pulito,
cloth. No solvent or abrasive cleaner should ever be used soffice e senza sfilacciature, sempre dal centro al bordo, in
on the disc. linea retta. Nessun solvente o pulitore abrasivo deve esse¬
If you follow these suggestions, the Compact Disc will re mai usato sul disco.
provide a lifetime of pure listening enjoyment. Seguendo questi consigli, il Compact Disc fornira, per la
durata di una vita, il godimento del puro ascolto.

WARNING: Copyright subsists in all recordings issued under this label. Any unauthorized broadcasting, public
performance, copying or re-recording thereof in any manner whatsoever will constitute an infringement of such
copyright. In the United Kingdom, licences for the use of recordings for public performance may be obtained from
Phonographic Performance Ltd., Ganton House, 14-22 Ganton Street, London W1V 1LB.

Printed in West Germany by/lmprim6 en AHemagne par Neef, Wittingen ■ Made in West Germany
810 049-2
 ^casting of this record

PORGY & BESS

Ella Fitzgerald And_Louis Armstrong

STEREO 810 049-2

Made in
GEMA W. Germany
DIGITAL AUDIO by PolyGram

[1 ] Summertime [2] I Wants To Stay Here [3] My Man’s Gone Now

[4] I Got Plenty 0‘Nuttin’ [5] Buzzard Song [6] Bess, You Is My Woman
[7] It Ain’t Necessarily So [8] What Do You Want Wid Bess?
[9] A Woman Is A Sometime Thing [10] Oh, Doctor Jesus
[11] Medley: Here Comes De Honey Man ■ Crab Man •
Oh Dey’s So Fresh An’ Fine [12] There’s A Boat Dat’s
Leavin’ Soon For New York [13] Bess, Oh Where’s
My Bess? [14] Oh Lawd, I’m On My Way <
Music by George Gershwin ,
Lyrics by Du Bose Heyward and Ira Gershwin
d(/J ,n © 1965 MGM Records, Inc.

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