Complete score by George Gershwin, Lyrics By Ira Gershwin, Libretto by DuBose and Dorothy Heyward.

Principal Vocals - Mel Torme', Frances Faye, Betty Roche, George Kirby, Johnny Hartman, Sallie Blair, Frank Rosolino, Loulie Jean Norman, Joe Derise, Bob Dorough, The Pat Moran Quartet,
Piano - Duke Ellington, Claude Williamson, Ralph Sharon, Bryce Rhode
Trumpet - Maynard Ferguson, Cat Anderson, Ray Linn, Frank Beach, Buddy Childers, Clarke Terry, Willie Cook, Uan Rasey, Ray Nance, Howard McGhee, Don Fagerquist
Trombones - Tommy Pederson, Lloyd Ulyate, Joe Howard, Herbie Harper, John Saunders, Frank Rosolino, Bob Envoldsen, Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman
Flutes - Herbie Mann, Sam Most, Dichk Healey
Clarinet - Bill Holman, Dick Healey
Sax - Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope, Bill Holman, Errol Buddle, Paul Gonsalves, Jimmy Hamilton, Harry Carney
Guitar - Erroll Buddle, Sal Salvador
Bass - Drums - Stan Levey, Alvin Stoller, Irv Kluger, Nick Stabulas, Sam Woodyard
Timpani - Alvin Stoller, Irv Kluger
Vibes & Chimes - Jack Brokensha, Alvin Stoller, Irv Kluger
Violin - Felix Slatkin, Irma Neumann, Erno Neufeld, Eudice Shapiro, Paul Shure, Marvin Limonick, Isreal Baker, Marshal Sosson, Gerald Vinci, Nathan Ross,
Viola - Alvin Dinkin, Paul Robyn
Cello - Eleanor Slatkin
French Horns - John Cave, Vince DeRosa
Tuba - Albert Pollan

Arranger Russ Garcia coordinated the many facets of this project, bringing together several dozen singers and musicians for the 49 individual selections that comprise the work It was decided to add a narration, written by Al Moritz and spoken by Al Collins, and while this is occasionally awkward, it does place Gershwin's composition into a solid context which does much to enhance the listener's appreciation of the total work.

The best way to discuss the album, which follows the entire libretto of this folk opera is to pinpoint certain highlights: Cat Anderson's vibrant trumpet in the Duke Ellington performance of Summertime on side one; Betty Roche's lovely vocal of that same song, reprised several times; trombonist Frank Rosolino's singing Debut in the role of Jake, doing hip justice to A Woman Is A Sometime Thing and It Takes A Long Pull To Get There, accompanied by the tight, swinging sound of the Stan Levey Sextet; and the brief but charming work of Joe Derise as The Money Man, backed by the Australian Jazz Quintet, with Herbie Mann on flute.

It may be difficult to buy the idea of Mel Torme' as the crippled black begger Porgy, but his work on the album is full-bodied and consistently good, ranging from a raffish I've Got Plenty Of Nothin' to a pair of intense love pecans to Bess, played by Frances Faye. She has less to do on the album than Torme' but she soars spectacularly on her featured numbers, bringing special strength and feeling to Bess (I Is Your Woman) Oddly enough, the duets between Torme' and Faye never resound as well as one would like, but their individual work is first rate.

George Kirby does It Ain't Necessarily So and There'a A Boat Leavin' Soon For New York in light casual style, while Johnny Hartman brings considerable power to his two featured songs If God Wants To Kill Me and Red Headed Woman.

Other vocal work is superior, with some choral harmonies (on Gone Gone Gone and Good Mornin') exquisite; only once does the Pat Moran Group lapse into doo-wop-du-bop figures, dating the production of this album.

Instrumentationn varies from cut to cut, giving the album great variety and allowing special moments for groups ranging from the upbeat "picnic band" (Bill Holman, Frank Rosolino, Don Fagerquist, Buddy Childers, Alvin Stoller, and Betty Roche doing scat vocals) to the full-strength big band, contributing an especially strong passage at the end of side one.

Amazingly, the many ingrediants of this production are interwoven in such a way that finished work sounds like a unified performance and not a potpurri. Credits here goes to arranger and producer Red Clyde.

But the complexity of the recording and the necessity of following a complicated libretto make Porgy And Bess the kind of record that demands careful listening, more than once, to bring out its many rich qualities.

The time is well worth investing

-maltin