Video of the Day 6 November 2011: Larry Adler and Oleta Adams, “Embraceable You”
Larry Adler had a strong affinity for George Gershwin’s music–they were young virtuosos in the same time and place, New York in the 1930s, making big waves in the world, and quintessentially American in their music and their bouyant, self-confident optimism. This piece was recorded in 1994, when Adler was 80, under the direction of producer George Martin, well-known for his work with the Beatles among many others. The singing, by Oleta adams, is sublime; the finished recording was released under the title “The Glory of Gershwin”, and it reached #2 in the UK Albums Chart in 1994.
Listen to the glistening beauty of Adler’s tone in the high register, and the casual mastery with which he moves from one vibrato to another. This guy could play.
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With all respect to Toots Thielemans’s music, ideas, approach I dislike his tone. And more pitty that most of modern chromatic players are Toots’ followers and in the matter of tone too. Larry Adler had much better tone than most modern jazz chromatic players (with exception of Bill Barret and Stevie Wonder, both of them have great tone).