Porgy and Bess

Jazz · 1958 · 13 tracks

Porgy and Bess

A lush, orchestral reimagining of Gershwin. Miles' trumpet acts as the lead singer amidst Gil Evans' dense, velvet-thick brass arrangements.

Orchestral peak

A cool, metallic trumpet line floats over a wall of velvet-thick brass, stepping into the spotlight to sing where a human voice should be. This collaboration does not merely adapt Gershwin; it translates his theater into a late-night dialogue between soloist and orchestra. You are pulled into a dense, shadowed space where the big band breathes as a single instrument, allowing a quiet, piercing melancholy to reshape these familiar melodies from the inside out.

Porgy and Bess · vs · Miles Davis

Storytelling+4.0σ

By stripping the opera of its original libretto, the lead horn assumes the expressive weight of a human voice to deliver a wordless, cinematic storytelling that plays out like a tragic film noir.

Tracklist · 13 Tracks

01

The Buzzard Song

4:07

02

Bess, You Is My Woman Now

5:12

03

Gone

3:39

04

Gone, Gone, Gone

2:03

05

Summertime

3:19

06

Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess

4:28

07

Prayer (Oh Doctor Jesus)

4:40

08

Fisherman, Strawberry and Devil Crab

4:07

09

My Man’s Gone Now

6:13

10

It Ain’t Necessarily So

4:23

11

Here Come de Honey Man

1:12

12

I Loves You, Porgy

4:07

13

There’s a Boat That’s Leaving Soon for New York

3:24

Moments Worth Waiting For

05SummertimeThe brass section on 'Summertime' swells and recedes like a single breathing organism, providing a dark, cushioned foundation for the soaring lead horn.

09My Man’s Gone NowA stark, bluesy mourning defines 'My Man’s Gone Now', where the tubas and French horns create a heavy, low-end funeral march.

03GoneThe rapid, driving percussion of Philly Joe Jones on 'Gone' breaks the album's contemplative mood with a sudden burst of kinetic energy.

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Reviews

Critic Consensus

Critics widely praised the album's rich, evocative atmosphere, warmly admiring the way the lush brass arrangements support the expressive, lyrical solo performances. Reviewers were deeply moved by the delicate, melancholy mood of the production, finding the reimagining of the familiar compositions to be both seamless and beautifully detailed.

The Rolling Stone Album Guide5/ 5 stars

Entertainment WeeklyA

AllMusic5/ 5 stars

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