Encouraged from a young age by Stéphane Grappelli, Nigel Kennedy has developed into a fine jazz musician. He solidifies his reputation here with an intimate club session of Gershwin tunes. After kicking off with a lounge-y “Rhapsody in Claret and Blue”, the quartet holds a freer rein in “The Man I Love’”, while “Summertime” is stripped to its beautiful essentials. Songs from Porgy and Bess are performed with winning restraint, and the small snatches of harpsichord are strokes of genius. Kennedy even makes an impressive piano debut on “They Can’t Take that Away From Me” and “Fantasy”.
- Lorin Maazel, Harold Smoliar & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
- John Williams, English Chamber Orchestra & Daniel Barenboim
- Pierre Fournier, Berlin Philharmonic, George Szell & Rafael Kubelik
- Nicola Benedetti, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra & Kirill Karabits
- Albrecht Mayer, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra & Jakub Hrůša
- Alexander Markov, Armin Jordan, Claudio Scimone, Dmitriy Cogan, English Chamber Orchestra, John Eliot Gardiner, Maria João Pires, Orchestre National De L'Opera De Monte Carlo, Orchestre Philarmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande & Philharmonia Orchestra
- Anthony Collins, Bengt Forsberg, John Shirley-Quirk, London Symphony Chorus, Richard Hickox, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & Welsh National Opera Orchestra