Album guide
Portraits in Blue
- Composer
- Gershwin
- Released
- 1995
- Label
- Sony Classical
- Forces
- Piano, Orchestra
- Personnel
- Marcus Roberts and orchestral ensembles
James Chirillo begins Rhapsody in Blue alone on banjo before Ted Nash answers with the famous clarinet entrance.
From there the arrangement moves through Ellington-like ensemble writing and a New Orleans second line, using Roberts’s trio alongside the Orchestra of St Luke’s and Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra.
Hear both
The classical side contains only the source pieces used on the album, in album order. The jazz side presents the complete album whenever a dependable copy can be embedded.
The listening queues above follow the same order. The classical player omits tracks that are not based on a classical original.
Spotify’s player is here for convenience; the full track listing below remains available to everyone.
Source works
The album’s complete track listing, with each classical source identified and original compositions marked plainly.
- Rhapsody in Blue - InstrumentalRhapsody in Blue
- Yamekraw - InstrumentalNon-classical source
- I Got Rhythm Variations - InstrumentalNon-classical source