Francisco Correa : Songs from Beyond – Jazz song arrangements by John W. Duarte : CD

COLE PORTER: I Love Paris ; Let’s Do It; I’ve Got You Under My Skin; Just One of Those Things; Begin The Beguine; So In Love; Anything Goes; I Get a Kick out of You; Night and Day: VICTOR YOUNG: Stella By Starlight: ERROLL GARNER: Misty : DUKE ELLINGTON: Sophisticated Lady : BILLY STRAYHORN: Lush Life *: JOHNNY GREEN: Body and Soul: JEROME KERN: All the Things You Are; I Won’t Dance; The Way You Look Tonight; Ol’ Man River; Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.

Francisco Correa (with Daniela Rossi on 3 tracks marked *)

Deux – Elles : DXL 1215

Anyone who loves the classical guitar will no doubt have come across the many and varied books of popular songs arranged for our instrument by that wonderful writer/arranger John W. Duarte, as indeed I did when I was only a few years into playing (a shocking 50 years ago!!) One of the books was his 13 arrangements of music by that great composer Cole Porter, nine of which are here on this superbly recorded and played new album by Francisco Correa. Well, the arrangements are not easy (as I found out all those years ago), but they are very imaginative, always full of very creative ideas, whilst still retaining all the sounds that you would expect.

Of course the other composers’’ works will be just as well known to the majority of you even if you haven’t seen the Duarte arrangements, and I must be honest  to not having seen any of the three duet arrangements that wonderful Daniela Rossi helps Francisco Correa out with ( But I hope they may be published soon?)

So in essence, this is a great CD, beautifully recorded, and something that anyone who enjoys these tunes will get great pleasure from. Not only those, if you haven’t seen the published music for many of them, go and hunt them out, you won’t regret it!

Chris Dumigan