[ Harmonia Mundi with complete catalogue / 2 CD ]
Release Date: Friday 8 January 2016
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Grammy-nominated Steven Richman and the sensational Harmonie Ensemble New York recreate Henry Mancini's trend-setting jazz score for 'Peter Gunn' and revive the original orchestrations of George Gershwin favourites including 'Rhapsody in Blue' made by the composer and by Ferde Grofé in the 1920s and 1930s. In 'Music for Peter Gunn' alongside ace old-school improvisers Lew Soloff [trumpet] and Lew Tabackin [sax], they place their own stamp on these iconic orchestrations in the first recording since Henry Mancini's own in 1958.
"This is a wonderful disc in every respect. Paul Whiteman clarinet/sax player Al Gallodoro passed away a few weeks after this recording was made, at the ripe old age of 95. You'd never guess his age from his playing: whether in the raucous opening glissando of Rhapsody in Blue or in the numerous solo licks elsewhere, he rocks, plain and simple." (10/10 ClassicsToday April 2010 on Gershwin)
"Richman's spot-on sense of pacing, balance and emphasis guarantee that every Grofé-conjured utterance receives discerning and shapely animation. The ensemble and solo playing likely would bowl over both the composer and Whiteman." Gramophone on Gershwin
"[Mayorga's] playing is assured, with an appealing flexibility. And the contribution of Steven Richman's Harmonie Ensemble New York is a delight: beautifully recorded (you can actually hear the banjo for once), crisply played, and stylistically spot-on...Altogether, a fascinating and hugely enjoyable disc."
(BBC Music on Gershwin)