The Memory Of All That: Gershwin On Broadway And In Hollywood

The Memory Of All That: Gershwin On Broadway And In Hollywood

Editorial Reviews
<"b00000ji717499"> Amazon.com
Mary Cleere Haran has built a well-deserved reputation as a top-notch interpreter of the classic American songbook, a minimalist stylist wonderfully in tune with her material. On this Gershwin collection, she and pianist Bennett balance classics ("The Man I Love", "Someone to Watch over Me") and obscure nuggets such as "Nashville Nightingale" and especially "I'd Rather Charleston," on which Haran wickedly mimicks Adele Astaire's no-nonsense nasal tones. While it's hard to single out any particular number, "Funny Face" might represent the singer at her best, her voice a silken thread delicately, lovingly wrapped around each word. Unfortunately the recording doesn't include Haran's funny, erudite between-songs patter, which those lucky enough to attend one of her shows delight in almost as much as in her flawless interpretations. --Elisabeth Vincentelli

<"b00000ji715001"> Billboard, May 22, 1999
Cabaret star Mary Cleere Haran has the right combination of tenderness, sophistication, theater stage and intimacy, and a sense of humor for the music by George Gershwin and lyrics mostly by Ira Gershwin. Richard Rodney Bennett is properly co-billed, having a vocal part to play, but, more important, being a one-man-band pianist of great skill. While it's great to hear Gershwin in all his original orchestrated glory, this album manages with less and still conveys the full spirit of a Gershwin... read more

<"b00000ji714999"> Album Description
The Memory of All That: Gershwin on Broadways and in Hollywood showcases timeless Gershwin classics such as 'S Wonderful, Funny Face, Fascinatin'Rhythm, and Lady, Be Good, as well as rarely performed material from the rich Gershwin songbook. The result is pure Gershwin and it's Haran and Bennett at their best, from their saucy rendition of I'd Rather Charleston and the delightfully whimsical They All Laughed to the soulful yearning of The Man I Love and the ragtime-inspired The Real American Folk Song. This studio recording captures the magic of Mary Cleere Haran and Sir Richard Rodney Bennett's critically acclaimed Gershwin Centenary Celebration performance at New York's legendary Algonquin Hotel