RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Get Happy - Virtuoso showtunes for piano
Blue Skies (Irving Berlin, arr. Dick Hyman) [1:21]
I Got Rhythm (George Gershwin, arr. Earl Wild) [2:18]
Eliza in Ascot (Lerner & Loewe, arr. Stefan Malzew) [4:59]
Lover (Rodgers & Hart, arr. Alexis Weissenberg [3:24]
Begin the Beguine (Cole Porter, arr. Cy Walter) [3:56]
Johanna (Stephen Sondheim, arr. Christopher O’Riley) [2:28]
Carousel Waltz (Rodgers & Hammerstein, arr. Stephen Hough) [6:18]
March of the Siamese Children (Rodgers & Hammerstein, arr. Stephen Hough)
[3:57]
Blue Moon (Rodgers & Hart, arr. André Previn) [2:16]
Cheek to Cheek (Irving Berlin, arr. Dick Hyman) [2:08]
Embraceable You (George Gershwin, arr. Earl Wild) [3:13]
Meditation on “Laura” (David Raksin, arr. Marc-André Hamelin)
[5:21]
Bess, You Is My Woman Now (George Gershwin, arr. David Saperton) [5:52]
Fascinatin’ Rhythm (George Gershwin, arr. Earl Wild) [1:33]
So in Love (Cole Porter, arr. Greg Anderson) [4:30]
My Favorite Things (Rodgers & Hammerstein, arr. Stephen Hough) [3:15]
Hello, Young Lovers (Rodgers & Hammerstein, arr. Stephen Hough) [2:27]
Get Happy (Harold Arlen, arr. Stephen Prutsman) [4:54]
Jenny Lin (piano)
rec. 31 May-2 June, 2012, Sono Luminus Studios, Boyce, Virginia, USA
STEINWAY & SONS 30011 [64:05]
“Get Happy,” Jenny Lin’s new recital told me. “Come
on,” I said back. “Make me”. Then it did.
Yes: “Get Happy” gets me happy. I’ve tried it on several
occasions, even almost medicinally once in a very bad mood. It works. Doctors
should prescribe it. The medicine is not at all mysterious: take classic Broadway
show-tunes like “Blue Skies”, “Begin the Beguine”,
“Blue Moon” and “My Favorite Things” mix in a few
other delicious morsels from musicals and movies. Then pare them down for
the piano and dress them up in glittering costumes designed by performers
who live and breathe jazz. Finally hand the whole thing over to Jenny Lin,
one of the best new pianists of the century so far. How could it fail to make
me happy?
Here’s Earl Wild’s high-octane, sporty rewrite of “I Got
Rhythm”; here’s jazz legend Dick Hyman riffing on Irving Berlin’s
“Cheek to Cheek”; here’s Stephen Hough’s frankly fantastic
transcription of the Carousel Waltz. Jenny Lin asked a few of her friends
to contribute, too, and they provided still more riches. Stephen Prutsman
is tasked with “Get Happy”, of which Lin says in the booklet,
“One has to feel like Liberace when playing this!” Marc-André
Hamelin supplies a wonderfully introspective Meditation on the main
theme from Otto Preminger’s classic film Laura. This is not the
same side of Hamelin which one hears in his finger-shredding études;
instead of giving pianists nightmares this short work should steal into their
dreams.
In Jenny Lin’s hands, the hour passes like a gift from the gods of happy.
She’s got it all: a voracious appetite for lesser-known music, total
technical command of even the most difficult music, a keen emotional ear,
and a spirit of adventure and good cheer. She sounds completely at ease in
this idiom, her fingers unbroken by the cascades of notes which composers
like Earl Wild poured all over the page. More importantly, she has a great
sense of fun, wit, and, oh, what’s the word? Happiness. That’s
the word.
The recording engineers (from the Sono Luminus label) have brought a flattering
sound to their piano. Listen: I can’t promise that this album is a medically
viable substitute for, say, antidepressants or a loving companion, but it
really is an outright joy. It’s something every piano collection should
have. For sixty-four minutes, you’ll really believe it’s nothing
but blue skies from now on.
Brian Reinhart
“Get Happy”? The title sounds bossy, but it isn’t, because
the album works like a charm.
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