I Have the Room Above Her

Amazon.com
Paul Motian is a sterling example of a musician reaching new heights in their later years. Nearing 75, the drummer and composer continues to explore the innerworkings of the small combo. Frisell and Lovano have worked with him since the beginnings of their careers, decades ago. The interplay of this bass-less trio is remarkably sympathetic, as Frisell's guitar alternates between rhythmic underpinnings and atmospheric flights. There is a buoyancy to the music, whether it's on the gospel structure of "The Bag Man" or the bird-like "Dance" (a piece Motian recorded in the seventies for his album of the same name). The title track is the gorgeous ballad by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, and underscores the traditional idioms which have contributed to Motian's unique voice. --David Greenberger

Michael Parillo, Modern Drummer, July 2005
The Picasso of jazz drummers, Paul Motian reveals his mastery in sly and disorienting ways.

I Have the Room Above Her

I Have the Room Above Her,Paul Motian,Bill Frisell,Joe Lovano,Ecm Records,Jazz,Modern Creative,Pop

Average customer rating: I'm sorry to have to say this Hats off please! Musicans Who Listen to Each Other "The most legitimate of all poetical tone is melancholy." EA Poe great music for straight ahead jazz lovers

I Have the Room Above Her Paul Motian , Bill Frisell , and Joe Lovano Manufacturer: Ecm Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music ECM Classical | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music ECM Jazz & World | ECM Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall Shades of Jade East/West Jumping the Creek Garden of Eden ASIN: B0006TN8XQ Release Date: 2005-02-08

Tracks:

1. Osmosis Part III
2. Sketches
3. Odd Man Out
4. Shadows
5. I Have The Room Above Her
6. Osmosis Part I
7. Dance
8. Harmony
9. The Riot Act
10. The Bag Man
11. One In Three
12. Dreamland

Amazon.com

Paul Motian is a sterling example of a musician reaching new heights in their later years. Nearing 75, the drummer and composer continues to explore the innerworkings of the small combo. Frisell and Lovano have worked with him since the beginnings of their careers, decades ago. The interplay of this bass-less trio is remarkably sympathetic, as Frisell's guitar alternates between rhythmic underpinnings and atmospheric flights. There is a buoyancy to the music, whether it's on the gospel structure of "The Bag Man" or the bird-like "Dance" (a piece Motian recorded in the seventies for his album of the same name). The title track is the gorgeous ballad by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein, and underscores the traditional idioms which have contributed to Motian's unique voice. --David Greenberger

Customer Reviews:

I'm sorry to have to say this.......2007-01-10

Despite my highest regards for all involved with this CD, I could not find myself enjoying it. Maybe that was not the idea -- as may be the case with all the black covered CDs that have been turned loose on us recently. But I still cling to the Ellington dictum that: It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. This is jazz, and this is why the jazz market is so dismal. Sorry guys, back to the great American songbook. Listen to some Zoot Sims. For that matter, listen to any of these guys on other albums. I know this was a favorite with some, but I have a mainstream soul.

Hats off please!.......2006-10-14

This has got to be one of the best contemporary music albums out there. From start to finish this is just pure entertainment and a joy to the senses. Jazz is, of course, the thread that holds the pieces together. But those pieces can easily be avant garde, classical (contemporary), electronic and/or folk 'n' roll. Melody and abstraction colide and live happily ever after in this disc. Highly recommended!

Musicans Who Listen to Each Other.......2006-04-22

Paul Motian, I Have the Room Above Her (5*)
(Paul Motian, drums; Joe Lovano, tenor sax; Bill Frissell, guitar)

This is exceptional music played by experienced and inventive artists --musical brothers who listen to each other intently. The tunes have melodies but you won't be humming them to yourself afterwards. Nonetheless, they are melodic in the best sense of the word. Motian, Lovano and Frissell, all major musicians, have played together so long by now that they fit each other like glove to hand, making intensely musical statements on every cut of this album.

Motian, 75, is amazing. He doesn't eschew rhythm on these cuts but rhythm is clearly secondary. He drops the rhythmic drive that is central to the work of the great bop and post-bop drummers and instead produces a susurrus of displaced and subtle accents. His drumming is a matter of nudging and whispering, sounds wash up against the horns and disappear and reappear again.

What can you say about Lovano and Frissell? Though I have favorites among albums by Lovano, I've never heard him play badly. This is one of his very best, showing to the fullest his intelligent lyricism. His tone, occasionally an issue for me, is quietly gorgeous here. Frissell, playing in a context like this, adds hermetic, surprisingly lyrical solos as well. A+ for all three of them!
Dave Keymer
Modesto CA

"The most legitimate of all poetical tone is melancholy." EA Poe.......2005-11-14

A superb performance by three exceptional players which seem telepathically linked. These three men can create lakes of notes, sea of notes where you can swim freely with your mind, where you can get lost. The sense of a big space is something that you can immediatly perceive from the first notes of this recording. And it's not a mere case because you have here two of the best players when atmosphere time comes, Bill Frisell (with his nice ambient, chorused, bell like guitar tone ... and with his nice open, unresolved and suspended chords) and Paul Motian (delicate and creative in his approach to the drum set). They can create here at their best, without the firm pulse of a double bass (there isn't one at all by the way). So here they litirally paint scenaries in space, they create watercolours of notes, sounds tapestries on which Joe Lovano superimpose melodies and comments like words, sentences, thoughts with nice melancholy. This is a spectacular recording even from an hiend enthusiast point of view. The stage is big, very dimensional, the listening session very satisfying. Few tunes break for a little the sense of pace of the recording, for instance the third, "Odd man out" which speaks a more earthly language. Or the standard tune "I have the room above her" ... more romantic and less spacial, less ethereal. Or also in "Dance" which as the title state, we find ourselves obviously more in a "free, atonal jazz" type of context, with more rhythmic figures going on, more impulse, a sense of urgency. But with "Shadows" for example we are again shoot in space. Let your thoughts run freely while you enjoy the delicate and intimate atmospheres, these three master musicians can create. "The most legitimate of all poetical tone is melancholy." Edgar Allan Poe

great music for straight ahead jazz lovers.......2005-09-30

i had a hard time finding this. a great album

Average customer rating: An American Treasure DON'T DESPAIR. IT'S BEEN REISSUED!!!!! An American tragedy.... Gorgeous! Defective disc.

Show Boat (1988 Studio Cast): Von Stade; Hubbard; Hadley; McGlinn Frederica von Stade , Jerome Kern , Jerry Hadley , Bruce Hubbard , Teresa Stratas , David Garrison , Leslie Fyson , John McGlinn , and London Sinfonietta Manufacturer: Angel Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Chamber Music | Forms & Genres | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General Contemporary | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Hadley, Jerry | ( H ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Von Stade, Frederica | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music General | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Classic Musicals | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Revivals | Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music Traditional Vocal Pop | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Broadway & Vocalists | Styles | Music General | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music Broadway & Musicals | Broadway & Vocalists | Box Sets | Stores | Music Similar Items: Carousel (1987 Studio Cast) Pal Joey: 1995 Original New York Cast Recording Lady, Be Good! (1992 Studio Cast Recording) Kiss Me, Kate (1948 Original Broadway Cast) Oh, Kay! (1994 Studio Recording) ASIN: B000002SJL Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

1. Overture
2. Show Boat: Act One, Scene One - Cotton Blossom: Niggers all work on d Mississippi... (Stevedores, Gals, Queenie, Steve, Pete, 1st Mincing Miss, 2nd Mincing Miss, Beaux, Girls & Boys)
3. Show Boat: Act One, Scene One - Cotton Blossom: 'Andy!!!...' (Parthy, Windy, 1st Mincing Miss, 2nd Mincing Miss)
4. Show Boat: Act One, Scene One - Cap'n Andy's Ballyhoo: 'Here comes the Show Boat parade!...' (Boy, Girls, Boys, Andy, Parthy)
5. Show Boat: Act One, Scene One - Cap'n Andy's Ballyhoo: 'Hey Julie...' (Pete, Julie, Steve, Parthy, Andy, Ellie)
6. Show Boat: Act One, Scene One - Cap'n Andy's Ballyhoo: 'It's a man...' (Ellie, Ravenal, Vallon)
7. Show Boat: Act One, Scene One - Where's the Mate for Me?: Who cares if my boat goes upstream... (Ravenal, Magnolia)
8. Show Boat: Act One, Scene One - Make Believe: Only make believe I love you... (Ravenal, Magnolia, Vallon)
9. Show Boat: Act One, Scene One - Ol' Man River: 'Oh, Joe!...' (Magnolia, Joe, Men)
10. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Two - Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man: 'What cher doin' all by yourself, Miss Nola?...' (Queenie, Magnolia, Julie, Joe, Servants)
11. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Three - Life on the Wicked Stage: Why do stage struck maidens clamor... (Ellie, Girls)
12. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Three - Till Good Luck Comes My Way: The man who ventures with chance... (Ravenal, Men)
13. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Four - Mis'ry's Comin' Aroun': Mis'ry's comin' aroun'... (Queenie, Women, Joe Magnolia, Julie, Men, Solo Bass)
14. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Four - Mis'ry's Comin' Aroun': 'Take her up, Rubberface!...' (Andy, Julie, Steve, Magnolia, Parthy, Ellie, Windy)
15. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Four - Mis'ry's Comin' Aroun': 'Hello, Windy...' (Vallon, Andy, Magnolia, Steve, Julie, Windy, Ellie, Parthy)
16. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Four - Mis'ry's Comin' Aroun': 'You needn't all look at us...' (Steve, Colored Chorus, Andy, Parthy, Magnolia, Ellie, Frank)
17. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Four - Mis'ry's Comin' Aroun': 'Looks like a swell...' (Andy, Parthy, Frank, Ravenal, Julie, Magnolia, Steve, Joe)

Tracks:

1. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Five - I Would Like to Play a Lover's Part: Her face is fair to look upon... (Boys, Girls, Ellie, Frank)
2. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Five - I Might Fall Back on You: Little girl, you are safe with me... (Frank, Ellie, Girls)
3. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Five - Queenie's Ballyhoo: 'Is de theatre fillin' up, Cap'n Andy?...' (Queenie, Andy, Colored Chorus)
4. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Six - Villain Dance
5. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Seven - You Are Love: 'That you, Nola?...' (Ravenal, Windy, Magnolia, Parthy)
6. Show Boat: Act One, Scene Eight - Finale Act One: Oh tell me, did you ever!... (Firls, Boys, Chorus, Andy, Women, Men, Negro Women, Magnolia, Parthy, Vallon, Pete)
7. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene One - At the Fair: When we tell them about it all... (All, 1st Barker, Boys, Girls, Chorus, 2nd Barker, Men, 3rd Barker)
8. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene One - Why Do I Love You?: I'm walking on the air, dear... (Magnolia, Ravenal, Chorus, Andy)
9. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene One - In Dahomey: Dyunga doe!... (Dahomey Villagers, White Chorus)
10. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Three - Convent Scene: Alma Redmptoris Mater... (Nuns, Mother Superior, Ravenal, Kim)
11. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Four: 'All right, Jake...' (Jim, Jake, Julie)
12. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Four - Bill: I used to dream... (Julie)
13. Show Boat: Magnolia's Audition - Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (Reprise): Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly... (Magnolia)
14. Show Boat: Magnolia's Audition - Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (Reprise): 'Whaddaya say, boss?...' (Frank, Jim, Magnolia, Jake)
15. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Six - Trocadero Opening Chorus: Let's make the new year... (Chorus)
16. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Six - Apache Dance
17. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Six - Goodbye, My Lady Love: So you're going away... (Frank, Ellie)
18. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Six - After the Ball: 'Ladies and Gentlemen...' (Jim, Drunk, Andy, Magnolia, A Man, All)
19. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Seven - Ol' Man River (Reprise): Ol' Man River... (Joe)
20. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Seven - Hey, Feller!: When you yen for a gent... (Queenie, Chorus)
21. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Eight - You Are Love (Reprise): 'That you, Nola?...' (Ravenal)

Tracks:

1. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Nine: Cottom Blossom (Reprise): Cotton Blossom... (Chorus)
2. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Nine - It's Getting Hotter in the North: Now up in the northern land... (Kim, Chorus)
3. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Nine - It's Getting Hotter in the North: 'Say, Cap'n Andy...' (Frank, Ellie, Andy)
4. Show Boat: Act Two, Scene Nine - Finale Ultimo: 'Hello, Gay...' (Andy, Hope, Ravenal, Girl, Man, Magnolia, Old Lady, Chorus)
5. Show Boat: Appendix - Pantry Scene (Act One, Scene Two; deleted - 1927): 'What cher doin' all by yourself, Miss Nola?...' (Queenie, Magnolia, Julie, Joe, Servants)
6. Show Boat: Appendix - Waterfront Saloon Scene (Act One, Scene Three; deleted - 1927): 'Number four, black!...' (Voice (off), Ravenal, Loungers, Gambler)
7. Show Boat: Appendix - Yes, Ma'am (Act One, Scene Three; unused - 1927): Bet your hat... (Girls, Ellie)
8. Show Boat: Appendix - Kim's Imitations (Why Do I Love You?): (Act Two, Scene Nine; Ziegfeld Production - 1927): Why do I love you?... (Kim, Chorus)
9. Show Boat: Appendix - Dance Away the Night (Act Two, Scene Nine; London - 1928): Music in the air... (Kim, Girls, Boys)
10. Show Boat: Appendix - A Pack of Cards (Act One, Scene Six?; unused - 1927): One night as I sat by my fireside so weary... (Magnolia)
11. Show Boat: Appendix - The Creole Love Song (Act One, Scene Seven; unused - 1927): 'That you, Nola?...' (Ravenal, Windy, Magnolia)
12. Show Boat: Appendix - Out There in an Orchard (Act Two, Scene Four; unused - 1927): There was a sun sinking slowly in the west... (Julie)
13. Show Boat: Appendix - Gallivantin' Aroun' (Universal Film - 1936): Liza Matilda HIll... (Magnolia, Chorus)
14. Show Boat: Appendix - I Have the Room Above Her (Universal Film - 1936): 'Seems to me I've seen that stocking someplace...' (Ravenal, Magnolia)
15. Show Boat: Appendix - Ah Still Suits Me (Universal Film - 1936): 'Joe! Dere you go again!...' (Queenie, Joe)
16. Show Boat: Appendix - Nobody Else But Me (Act Two, Scene Nine; 1946 Revival): I was a shy, demure type... (Kim, Chorus)

Amazon.com

John McGlinn's sprawling, monumental three-CD set is about all the Show Boat any listener could ever ask for. In an obvious labor of love, McGlinn reconstructs the show as it ran on opening night, November 15, 1927, including every song, the original orchestrations, and all underscored dialogue. The most significant restoration is the dark choral number "Mis'ry's Comin' Aroun'," as Show Boat's serious subject matter helped establish its place as the most important turning point in the history of American musical theater. McGlinn also adds an appendix that includes songs cut before opening night and every song subsequently written for the show's many productions, most notably the love duet "I Have the Room Above Her," written for the 1936 film. (The recording is also available in a one-disc reduction called the "Broadway Show Album.")

Rest assured this 221-minute blockbuster is not just dry scholarship; it's also terrific listening, with McGlinn conducting a dynamic London Sinfonietta and a strong cast including Frederica von Stade as Magnolia, Jerry Hadley as Ravenal, Teresa Stratas as the tragic Julie, Bruce Hubbard as the worldly wise Joe, Karla Burns as Queenie, and David Garrison and Paige O'Hara as the comic couple Frank and Ellie. And of course the songs by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II are among the most glorious ever written: "Ol' Man River," "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man," "Make Believe," "Why Do I Love You," "Bill," "You Are Love," and "Life upon the Wicked Stage." Also included are exhaustive production notes, a history of the show, a detailed synopsis, and a libretto. John McGlinn's Show Boat is a staggering achievement and a recording for the ages. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

An American Treasure.......2007-03-03

When PBS showed the 1989 Paper Mill Playhouse production of Showboat, my five year old daughter fell in love with musical theater. To this day we never miss a production of Showboat, West Side Story, Music Man, Oklahoma or the rest of the great American musicals. These 3 discs are the closest you can ever hear to the original in 1927 and the recordings are leaps and bounds above any movie version or revival cast. Listening to Bill or Make Believe you almost want to cry at what Kern and Hammerstein were able to create.

I defy anyone to come up with another Broadway production that has three songs in a row better than Make Believe, Ol' Man River and Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man (West Side Story's Maria, America and Tonight are the best three in a row of a movie musical) and it's a shame that no movie version of Showboat can compare to this version. The first act is full of songs that are as good as any ever sung on a stage and I can't think of another production with a first act that compete against the big 3 plus Cotton Blossom, Where's The Mate For Me, Life On The Wicked Stage, Till Good Luck Comes My Way, Misry's Comin' Aroun', You are Love, Act One finale and Why Do I Love You?. You just don't want to have the music stop.

If you don't like opera you won't like this version. Sung the way Kern and Hammerstein wrote them, you can't help but feel the operatic nature of these songs. Tough noogies because Showboat is above all an opera disguised as a Broadway play and no sweetening should be allowed.

The four leads are all superb, Frederica von Stade as Nola especially. The booklet contains the complete libretto and allows a different way to appreciate the music.

If you buy just one version of Showboat you need this one. If you have other versions of Showboat you need this one. As a matter of fact, anyone with ears to hear needs this version. A true American treasure.

DON'T DESPAIR. IT'S BEEN REISSUED!!!!!.......2006-11-16

One of the great recordings of musical theatre ever. Although it's no longer available on EMI Angel, it was reissued in October, 2006, as an EMI Classic's "Great Recordings of the Century." It's been "Digitially Remastered at Abbey Road Studios from the Original Masters" and "noise-shaped via the Prism SNS system for optimum sound quality." If ART remastering does for this recording what it has done for other EMI Classics in my library, then it should sound superb. However, I understand the booklet is not as detailed as the one in the original 3-disc release.

Thank you, EMI.

I would hope other labels would follow suit and remaster and reissue other examples of classic American musical theater. It would be a pity if our children, grandchildren, and future generations were unable to savor "110 in the Shade" or "Little Mary Sunshine" or . . . . . . . . . (fill in the blanks.)

An American tragedy...........2006-02-06

This is the first of the great American musical plays, and probably remained unchallenged until the mid-1950s when West Side Story appeared. The term "musical comedy" does not apply. The few laugh lines are subsumed by the terrible sense of loss and disaster that work throughout the story. At its core is homelessness, the destruction wrought by racism, bad choices, human weakness, and reconciliation. The cast?--this was one of the few crossover recordings I've ever heard that actually worked. The trio of Jerry Hadley, Frederica von Stade, and Teresa Stratas is a marvel; Stratas in particular seems to have had a patented Dark Cloud that shadowed her. It's perfect for Julie Dozier Laverne. And the late Bruce Hubbard brings a magnificent dignity and voice to Joe--his singing of "Ol' Man River" amy not efface Paul Robeson, but can stand beside it.

Gorgeous!.......2005-08-26

Simply gorgeous! The most unforgetable music and the best voices! An album for all time!
M. J. Conrades

Defective disc........2005-08-15

I received this item on July 27, 2005. I played it on my portable CD player and found out that Disc 2 of the set was defective. It kept on skipping on my CD player. So, I returned it for a refund.

Average customer rating:

I Have the Room Above Her Paul Motian , Bill Frisell , and Joe Lovano Manufacturer: Universal ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music General | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music ASIN: B000793APG Release Date: 2005-03-07

Tracks:

1. Osmosis, Pt. III
2. Sketches
3. Odd Man
4. Shadows
5. I Have the Room Above Her
6. Osmosis, Pt. I
7. Dance
8. Harmony
9. Riot Act
10. Bag Man
11. One in Three
12. Dreamland

Pop Music:

1. Incredible Jazz Guitar
2. Joyous Encounter
3. Looking Up
4. Midnight Blue [Original recording remastered]
5. Mingus Ah Um [Original recording remastered]
6. Moanin' [Original recording remastered]
7. Modern Times
8. Momentum
9. Monk's Dream [Original recording remastered]
10. Moon Beams

Pop Music