Barbara Hendricks: It’s Wonderful: Tribute to George Gershwin
Geoffrey Keezer (piano), Ira Coleman (double bass), Ed Thigpen (drums)
Guildhall Strings, Paul Bateman (director)
Recorded Abbey Road, Studio 1, London, May 2000
EMI Classics 7243 5 57049 2 4 [72:48]
Nobody, it’s often said, dislikes a Gershwin tune. But—listen—this claim, while broadly true — depends crucially on the alchemy of realization. Barbara Hendricks approaches Gershwin’s oeuvre here with evident affection, yet her voice—trained and operatic to a fault—rarely captures the earthy, jazzy swing that these songs demand.
Her delivery is too mannered, the clarity of text sometimes sacrificed in favor of a too-smooth legato line. One feels an overly polished sheen where grit and spontaneity should sparkle. The opening sequence of ten songs offers some familiar favorites: “’S Wonderful,” “Embraceable You,” “I Got Rhythm.” The — accompaniment here, courtesy of Geoffrey Keezer’s arrangements, supplements the core jazz trio with a 16-piece Guildhall String Ensemble.
The strings, well-disciplined but somewhat restrained, lend a genteel shimmer rather than genuine jazz-inflected warmth. The ensemble’s classical reflexes are evident—they perform efficiently, yes, but not with the swing or rhythmic elasticity these tunes breathe. It’s an uneasy fit; the strings’ vibrato and phrasing hint at a conservatory recital rather than a Harlem nightclub.
That said, Hendricks does find her groove briefly on “Fascinating Rhythm” and “I Got Rhythm.” The tempos pick up, the rhythmic pulses grow more infectious, and her voice sheds some of its operatic reserve in favor of foot-tapping verve. Yet even here, the phrasing—so crucial in Gershwin—is often formulaic. The syncopations, which should leap forth with surprising vitality, feel hemmed in by classical discipline.
Turning to the second half, we enter the realm of Porgy and Bess, a work that one might expect to suit Hendricks’s operatic sensibilities perfectly. Paradoxically, this is where the problems become most pronounced. The diction, beginning with the titular “Summertime,” frequently obscures words; that opening line morphs into a curious “Soomerthayme” that undermines the song’s evocative intimacy.
The vowels are too modified, the line too smoothed, draining the lyricism of its bluesy soulfulness. plus, some of the arrangements verge on the bizarre. Take “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” where a brash, anonymous saxophone solo intrudes awkwardly, shattering the fragile mood rather than enhancing it.
The instrumental interludes—“There’s a Boat That’s Leaving Soon from New York” and “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’”—are serviceable, but tend toward the polite; the rhythmic drive one associates with Ed Thigpen’s drums or Ira Coleman’s bass is curbed, perhaps in deference to the strings’ presence. The Guildhall Strings, under Paul Bateman’s baton, maintain impeccable intonation and blend throughout, yet one longs for a little more bite, a less homogenized sound. The issue isn’t technical proficiency but stylistic empathy.
The warm acoustics of the concert hall seem to breathe through the disc.
Gershwin’s music lives at the crossroads of classical and jazz idioms—here the balance tips — too far toward the former, losing the kinetic energy and blues-inflected phrasing that define it. In sum, this It’s Wonderful tribute is pitched between two worlds and ultimately satisfies neither fully. Hendricks’s crystalline tone and classical discipline bring polish but not the essential idiomatic savvy.
The arrangements by Keezer and Bateman—while tasteful and well-crafted—lack that crucial edge or swing, making the listening experience polite rather than thrilling. For Gershwin aficionados who treasure the composer’s vibrant, jazz-rooted spirit, this disc offers an intriguing but flawed homage. It’s a reminder, if anything, that Gershwin’s music—so often borrowed—is not so easily borrowed well….
A tribute, yes—but one that might have benefited from a little more wildness and — well — a little less polish.
