I Got Rhythm: Live at the Jazz Showcase

by Sir Charles Thompson

Overview

Arguably, Joe Segal's Jazz Showcase is to Chicago what the Village Vanguard is to New York: the city's most legendary and prestigious jazz club (which isn't to take anything away from the Green Mill, the Bop Shop, and other well-respected Windy City jazz venues). The Jazz Showcase regularly attracts jazz's major names, so it isn't surprising that Delmark would record more than one Sir Charles Thompson album there. First came 2000's Robbins' Nest: Live at the Jazz Showcase, then, in 2001, Delmark recorded and released I Got Rhythm, which has the same subtitle. This swing-to-bop CD finds an 83-year-old Thompson joined by the same musicians who accompany him on Robbins' Nest; the veteran pianist forms an acoustic trio with bassist Ed de Haas and drummer Charles Braugham, and the trio becomes a quartet when saxman/clarinetist Eric Schneider is featured on seven selections. Not many surprises occur -- most of the standards that Thompson picks have been recorded countless times over the years, and his style of playing hasn't changed much since the '40s. But then, no one expects him to reinvent the wheel at 83. While I Got Rhythm is predictable, it is also pleasing. Thompson's chops have obviously held up well over the years, and he is as expressive on swinging up-tempo fare (including "Sometimes I'm Happy," the Gershwin Brothers' "I Got Rhythm," and Lester Young's "Jumpin' With Symphony Sid") as he is on lyrical, introspective performances of well-known ballads like "What's New" and Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" (one of the loveliest songs of the 20th century). Like Robbins' Nest, I Got Rhythm: Live at the Jazz Showcase falls short of essential, but is a solid effort that Thompson's hardcore followers will have no problem appreciating. ~ Alex Henderson

Product Details

Release Date:	03/02/2004
Label:	Delmark
UPC:	0038153053727
Rank:	248852

Tracks

1. I Got Rhythm
2. Autumn Leaves
3. All the Things You Are
4. Three Little Words
5. I Want a Little Girl
6. Just You, Just Me
7. Stardust
8. If I Had You
9. Jumpin' With Symphony Sid
10. What's New?
11. Sometimes I'm Happy
12. Second Balcony Jump

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Sir Charles Thompson   Primary Artist,Piano
Eric Schneider   Guest Artist,Clarinet,Sax (Alto),Sax (Tenor)
Eddie DeHaas   Bass
Charles Braugham   Drums

Technical Credits

Bert Kalmar   Composer
Billy Moll   Composer
Irving Caesar   Composer
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Murray Mencher   Composer
Johnny Burke   Composer
Jimmy Campbell   Composer
Jack Sohmer   Liner Notes
Gerald Valentine   Composer
Al Brandtner   Design
Ted Shapiro   Composer
Paul Serrano   Engineer
Jerome Kern   Composer
Joseph Kosma   Composer
Steve Wagner   Engineer,Digital Producer
Bob Haggart   Composer
Billy Eckstine   Composer
Jacques Prevert   Composer
Clifford Grey   Composer
G. Valentine   Composer
George Gershwin   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Lester Young   Composer
Robert G. Koester   Producer,Album Supervision
Jesse Greer   Composer
Reginald Connelly   Composer
Raymond Klages   Composer
Buddy Feyne   Composer
Mitchell Parish   Composer
Vincent Youmans   Composer
Harry Ruby   Composer
Hoagy Carmichael   Composer