Summertime - Guy Mintus Trio - A Gershwin Playground (ENJA Records)
GUY MINTUS
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JAZZWISE Premiere:
Guy Mintus Trio: Summertime - A Gershwin Playground (ENJA Records)
Streaming: https://linktr.ee/guymintus
Guy Mintus: Piano, Vocals
Omri Hadani: Bass
Yonatan Rosen: Drums
Credits:
Mix & Mastering: Uwe Schwidewski
Recording Engineer: Zvika Hirshler
Recorded at the Jerusalem Music Centre, January, 2020
Videography: Omri Levy
Photography: Ella Barak
Art & Styling: Guy Mintus
Graphic Design: David Winckelmann
Produced by Guy Mintus & Matthias Winckelmann
Liner Notes:
“After two albums of mainly original music, it felt right to take on the challenge of making a personal artistic statement through a canonic body of work. George Gershwin’s catalogue was a very natural choice as I have known some of the songs on this album since I was 10 years old. I am continuously astounded by how relevant, multi-layered and full of possibilities Gershwin’s music remains. For me, the definitive guideline in creating the interpretations on this album (as well as its cover photo) has been the lyrics. Bringing these songs into my trio's singular “playground” while telling the stories conveyed through each song in our own musical language has been a real joy.
I was also astounded to learn that, in 1935, Gershwin refused to premiere Porgy & Bess at the Metropolitan Opera because the Met would not allow Black performers at the time. That decision by the composer ensured that the opera could only be presented with Black vocalists. As an Israeli musician who spent seven years in New York dedicating my life to the Black American art form called Jazz, I very much stand behind this kind of advocacy.
The performance of Rhapsody in Blue is dedicated to the memory of the “Jewish Ex-Concentration Camp Orchestra” at the Displaced Persons Camps of Landsberg and Feldafing.
Guy Mintus, September 2020”