David Lively - I Got Rhythm (2018) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

American concert music is often associated in the public imagination with the ragtime and jazz that had such an influence on it. In this recording dedicated to 20th-century American composers, David Lively hope you will find Billie Holiday’s timbre, Marilyn Monroe’s sexy voice, Miles Davis’s plaintive wail, his grandmother’s vernacular, the fun of a good ballgame he remember as a kid. The American dream is alive and kicking.

"This recording took on unsuspected importance for me as my work on it progressed, but how could it be otherwise?

The expatriate has no home to go back to but the one in his heart. In mine live these incredibly vivid vignettes of American life, of American soul. Returning to them was a travel to the past, my country’s and my very own. Herein you will find our dances, our ballads, expression of joy, sorrow and love.

It was also the opportunity to give tribute, my personal vision of how jazz and folklore infused our music for piano from its earliest manifestations to the most recent masterpieces.

Special pleasure for me was to revisit the works of two great composers I had the unique opportunity to work with, Aaron Copland and especially Elliott Carter who had become a wonderful friend, friendship that sprang from a freak encounter in the Paris subway!

I left the States for Debussy and Ravel at the age of sixteen, but I must admit, roots are ever there, strong and firm. In this recording, I hope you will find Billie Holiday’s timbre, Marilyn Monroe’s sexy voice, Miles Davis’s plaintive wail, my grandmother’s vernacular, the fun of a good ballgame, the gusto of a square dance I remember as a kid.

The American dream is alive and kicking, nostalgia is abound, all the more intense as we dream of what never truly existed. Have a great trip!" (David Lively)

Tracklist:
01. Maple Leaf Rag
02. Souvenir de Porto Rico, Marche des Gibaros, Op. 31
03. The Banjo, American Sketch, Op. 15
04. Etude No. 21: Some Southpaw Pitching
05. Songbook: IV. Fascinating Rhythm
06. Songbook: IX. My One and Only
07. Songbook: II. Do-Do-Do
08. Songbook: XVII. That Certain Feeling
09. Songbook: XV. Sweet and Low Down
10. Songbook: XI. Oh, Lady Be Good!
11. Songbook: III. Do It Again
12. Songbook: XIV. Swanee
13. Songbook: XVIII. Who Cares?
14. Songbook: VI. I’ll Build a Staircase to Paradise
15. Songbook: VIII. The Man I Love
16. Songbook: V. I Got Rhythm
17. Four Blues: I. Freely poetic
18. Four Blues: II. Soft and languid
19. Four Blues: III. Muted and sensuous
20. Four Blues: IV. With bounce
21. Excursions, Op. 20: I. Un poco allegro
22. Excursions, Op. 20: II. In slow blues tempo
23. Excursions, Op. 20: III. Allegretto
24. Excursions, Op. 20: IV. Allegro molto
25. Five Chromatic Dances: IV. Hoedown
26. Two Thoughts About the Piano: I. Intermittences
27. Two Thoughts About the Piano: II. Caténaires
28. The Garden of Eden: The Serpent’s Kiss-Rag Fantasy (Excerpts)

Composers:
Albright, William (1944-1998)
Barber, Samuel (1910-81)
Bolcom, William (b.1938)
Carter, Elliott (1908-2012)
Copland, Aaron (1900-90)
Gershwin, George (1898-1937)
Gottschalk, Louis Moreau (1829-69)
Ives, Charles (1874-1954)
Joplin, Scott (1867-1917)

Personnel:
David Lively, piano