Art Deco Trio, Iain Farrington, Kyle Horch, Peter Sparks - Gershwinicity (2021) [Official Digital Download 24/88]

SOMM RECORDINGS is delighted to announce the debut recording of composer-pianist Iain Farrington’s Art Deco Trio, featuring 15 new instrumental arrangements blending classical and jazz influences of songs by George Gershwin.

In 2012, Farrington played piano in the London Olympic Games’ opening ceremony in a comic performance of Chariots of Fire with Rowan Atkinson (as Mr. Bean) and the LSO conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. His Beethoveniana – a thrilling distillation of Beethoven’s nine symphonies into a seven-minute piece for 323 BBC orchestra musicians, the BBC Singers and two dancers – was a highlight of the locked-down 2020 BBC Proms.

Taking its name from the defining style of the Gershwin era, the Art Deco Trio – Peter Sparks (clarinet), Kyle Horch (alto and soprano saxophones) and Farrington (piano) – “mixes elegance and clean lines with the exuberance and bold colours” of its distinctive signature.

The disc takes its title from Farrington’s “fantasia” on five Gershwin standards stamped through with infectious rhythmic energy and the most memorable of melodies. First heard in shorter form at the 2018 BBC Proms, Gershwinicity is a dazzling celebration of one the 20th century’s most popular songwriters.

The melody-filled material ranges from early hits such as I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise and The Man I Love to the late, lasting classics They All Laughed and Our Love is Here to Stay.

Gershwin’s stage masterpiece Porgy and Bess is represented by arrangements of Summertime and It Ain’t Necessarily So, alongside Broadway favourites (The Man I Love, I Got Rhythm) and rarities (Fidgety Feet, I’ve Got a Crush on You).

Iain Farrington’s arrangements of Holst’s Ode to Death – “the pick of the piece” (BBC Radio 3’s Record Review) – and Fauré’s Requiem were heard on In Remembrance (SOMMCD 0187). Lauded by the British Music Society as “a very fine performance and recording in every respect”, MusicWeb International declared it “an album that will have enduring value into the future”.

Tracklist:
1. Art Deco Trio – I Got Rhythm (From "Girl Crazy") (02:02)
2. Art Deco Trio – They All Laughed (From "Shall We Dance") (03:57)
3. Peter Sparks & Iain Farrington – The Man I Love (From "Strike Up the Band") (03:31)
4. Art Deco Trio – Nice Work If You Can Get It (From "a Damsel in Distress") (03:46)
5. Kyle Horch & Iain Farrington – Summertime (From "Porgy and Bess") (07:56)
6. Art Deco Trio – They Can't Take That Away From Me (From "Shall We Dance") (04:51)
7. Iain Farrington – Fidgety Feet (From "Oh, Kay!") (03:20)
8. Kyle Horch & Iain Farrington – Love Is Here to Stay (From "the Goldwyn Follies") (05:06)
9. Art Deco Trio – I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise (From "George White's Scandals") (04:07)
10. Iain Farrington – Do It Again (From "the French Doll") (03:51)
11. Kyle Horch & Iain Farrington – It Ain't Necessarily So (From "Porgy and Bess") (02:42)
12. Peter Sparks & Iain Farrington – Someone to Watch Over Me (From "Oh, Kay!") (04:52)
13. Kyle Horch & Iain Farrington – I've Got a Crush on You (From "Treasure Girl" & "Strike Up the Band") (03:45)
14. Peter Sparks & Iain Farrington – But Not for Me (From "Girl Crazy") (02:49)
15. Art Deco Trio – Gershwinicity (After Gershwin) (14:18)


Thanks to the Original customer!