Track Listing
Click tracks with speaker icon to listen| 1 | Ain't It De Truth? (Harold Arlen / E.Y. Harburg) | 3:15 |
| 2 | Tess's Torch Song (Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler) | 3:57 |
| 3 | I Must Have That Man! (Jimmy McHugh / Dorothy Fields) | 3:30 |
| 4 | Bambalele (Traditional (Brazilian)) | 1:27 |
| 5 | I Wish I Were in Love Again (Richard Rodgers / Lorenz Hart) | 3:00 |
| 6 | Supper Time (Irving Berlin) | 2:50 |
| 7 | Ill Wind (You're Blowin' Me No Good) (Harold Arlen / Ted Koehler) | 5:05 |
| 8 | Beat My Dog (Jay Leonhart) | 2:17 |
| 9 | On a Turqoise Cloud (Duke Ellington) | 3:22 |
| 10 | More Than You Know (Vincent Youmans / Edward Eliscu & Billy Rose) | 3:32 |
| 11 | See What I Wanna See (Michael John LaChiusa) | 2:12 |
| 12 | He Loves and She Loves (George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin) | 3:45 |
| 13 | I Double Dare You (Jimmy Eaton / Terry Shand) | 2:23 |
| 14 | Lose That Long Face (Harold Arlen / Ira Gershwin) | 3:07 |
News & Reviews
- Thursday, January 12, 2012
Audra McDonald Returns to Broadway As The Gershwins' "Porgy and Bess" Opens
The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, starring Audra McDonald as Bess, Norm Lewis as Porgy, and David Alan Grier as Sporting Life, officially begins its Broadway run at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City. Time magazine calls it a "don't-miss theater event." This marks Audra McDonald's tenth turn in a Broadway production. She is the winner of four Tony Awards and has recorded four solo albums for Nonesuch.
- Monday, October 24, 2011
NY Times: Audra McDonald—"One-of-a-Kind Musical Super-Talent"—Earns "Unbroken Wave of Adoration" at Carnegie Hall
Audra McDonald brought her US tour to a place where the four-time Tony Award winner is quite at home—the New York City stage—when she performed at Carnegie Hall Saturday night. The New York Times' Stephen Holden calls McDonald "a one-of-a-kind musical super-talent" who received "an unbroken wave of adoration" from the Carnegie Hall crowd. This echoes the Los Angeles Times' recent concert review, which says: "Audra McDonald is amazing ... one in a million."
About this Album
Following the birth of her daughter, Audra wanted to do an album that expressed the joy she was feeling. She decided to devote a CD to songs from the 1930s and early '40s: a time when music provided the kind of uplift and optimism that people so badly needed.
The new album includes selections by such classic songwriters as Harold Arlen, Vincent Youmans, Rodgers & Hart, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, and George & Ira Gershwin, with new arrangements that evoke the era. Continuing her longstanding commitment to new composers, Audra has also included songs by Michael John LaChiusa and Jay Leonhart. Happy Songs follows two previous widely successful releases for the label, How Glory Goes (2000) and her label debut, Way Back to Paradise (1998).
Audra made her Carnegie Hall solo debut on November 2, 2002, performing selections from Happy Songs with a full band. An earlier New York performance had prompted New York Times critic Stephen Holden to proclaim Audra “a meteoric talent with a promise comparable to that of the young Streisand.”
Credits
MUSICIANS
Audra McDonald, vocals
Ted Sperling, conductor
Violin: Suzanne Ornstein, concertmistress; Cecelia Hobbs, Laura Oatts, Andrew Stein (soloist on 6, 7, 11), Belinda Whitney, Xin Zhao
Viola: Michael Nicholas, Debra Shufelt
Cello: Adam Grabois, Clay Ruede
Bass: Peter Donovan
Woodwinds: Lawrence Feldman, clarinet, alto saxophone, flute; Rick Heckman, clarinet, tenor saxophone, oboe, English horn, flute; Paul Sundfor, clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, flute, piccolo; Mark Thrasher, clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, baritone saxophone; Walter Weiskopf, clarinet
Trumpet: Craig Johnson, Larry Lunetta, Brian O'Flaherty
Trombone: Michael Boschen, Mark Patterson, Jack Schatz
French Horn: Chris Komer
Drums/percussion: William Hayes, David Ratajczak
Harp: Grace Paradise
Guitar/banjo: Kevin Kuhn
Piano/celeste: Lee Musiker, Ted Sperling
Vocal trio: Leo Daignault, Steven Freeman, David Engel
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Tommy Krasker
Recorded by Joel Moss
Recorded August 2001 at The Hit Factory, New York City
Assistant Engineers: Michael McCoy and Richard Johnson
Additional recording May 2002 at Sound on Sound Studios, New York City
Assistant Engineer: Bart Migal
Edited by Jan Folkson at Avatar Studios
Mixed by Tom Lazarus at Classic Sound Inc., New York City
Mastered by Scott Hull at Classic Sound Inc., New York City
Music Preparation: Donald Oliver, Chelsea Music Service, Inc.; and Emily Grishman Music Preparation
Orchestral Contractor: John Miller
Design by Jeri Heiden, SMOG
Cover image: Original Photograph: Washington, D.C., Greyhound Bus Terminal on the Day Before Christmas in the Waiting Room, 1941 by John Vachon; Photograph of Audra McDonald by Katie Murray; Digital composite by Showbran; Bruce Fizzell, consultant
Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz
