Jerome Kern Treasury

As Good As It Gets

Of the four greatest American songwriters--Gershwin, Kern, Porter, and Rodgers--Jerome Kern is my personal favorite. This is a fine selection of Kern songs, ranging from very well-known hits to songs I had not previously known. John McGlinn is the best living impresario for this kind of music. This is his best album, which is high praise indeed. The arrangements are impeccable and the performances outstanding.

I have an extensive collection of classical music and the Great American Songbook. Applying the proverbial desert island test, this CD is unquestionably one of the five I'd like to have with me. November 12, 2008

OUT-OF-PRINT GEM NOW AVAILABLE FROM ARKIVMUSIC . . . .

Before his first complete "solo" score for 1912's THE RED PETTICOAT, Jerome Kern co-wrote the music for or contributed songs to at least 26 different Broadway musicals and/or reviews, starting with AN ENGLISH DAISY in 1904. In his liner notes to "Jerome Kern Treasury," Miles Kruger writes: "During the ensuing twenty-seven years, Kern, more than any other composer, was to alter the entire nature of the American Musical Theatre." And, "Jerome Kern has the distinction of having composed for every major lyricist of his time, with the solitary exception of Lorenz Hart. His career inspired George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, and an entire generation of composers who came later."

There probably is no one who was more active in the restoration and recording of American stage works than John McGlinn, whose superb series of "authentic," complete recordings for EMI/Angel - ANNIE, GET YOUR GUN/ANYTHING GOES/BRIGADOON/KISS ME, KATE/SHOW BOAT/SITTING PRETTY - speak for themselves. In addition, he has produced recordings of overtures by Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Jerome Kern, as well as recordings of songs by Porter, Kern, Rodgers & Hart, and Kurt Weill, sung by the likes of Kiri Te Kanawa, Thomas Hampson, and Frederica von Stade. And let us not fail to mention the delightful "Busby Berkeley Album." For this album, he has arranged Kern's work " . . . in virtual chronological order, with selections from his very first complete Broadway score of 1912 to his last in 1939." - Miles Kruger

Singing these wonderful Kern songs with great panache are George Dvorsky, Thomas Hampson, Jeanne Lehman, Robecca Luker, Lydia Mila, Hugh Panaro and the London Simphonietta Chorus. Backing them up is the London Sinfonietta, thoroughly savoring the tasty original orchestrations by Robert Russell Bennett and " . . . of the legendary Frank Saddler, Bennett's predecessor and mentor. Saddler was the first great Broadway orchestrator, and scored the early works of Kern, Porter, Gershwin (and practically everybody else)." ( - John McGlinn) And how wonderful it is to hear "real" orchestrations, instead of the watered-down synthesized stuff so pervasive on today's Great White Way.

With its comprehensive liner notes and complete lyrics, ". . . this album is not only a musical biography of the composer, but also a chronicle of the development of the Broadway musical itself." ( - Kruger) Standards like "The Last Time I Saw Paris," "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," " The Folks Who Live on the Hill," "She Didn't Say Yes," "The Song Is You," and "Till the Clouds Roll By" share the bill with less-familiar fare like "In Egern on the Tegern See," "The Bullfrog Patrol," and "Whip-Poor-Will." And just wait until you hear the London Sinfionietta swing the "Harlem Boogie-Woogie."

Surprisingly, aside from SHOW BOAT and SITTING PRETTY, only three other of Kern's Broadway scores are available in acceptable recordings: the 1952 studio recording of ROBERTA reissued by DRG, the 1958 off-Broadway revival of LEAVE IT TO JANE on Aei, and the 1975 revival cast recording of VERY GOOD EDDIE, also on DRG. Miles Kruger writes: "THE CAT AND THE FIDDLE, with much of its bewitching dialogue underscoring included, deserves to be properly recorded more than any other unrecorded show." After listening to this recording, you'll probably - like me - wish that about for all of Kern's shows.

Highly Recommended. And thanks to ArkivMusic, this long-deleted gem is once again available, complete with original cover art and those wonderful liner notes and lyrics. Order it today!
July 22, 2007

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