Icon: Yehudi Menuhin & Stephane Grappelli

Yehudi Menuhin & Stephane Grappelli: violin

This 4 CD set containing all the recordings that the two legendary violinists Yehudi Menuhin and Stéphane Grappelli made for EMI is a further release in the EMI Classics ICON series. The classical violinist Yehudi Menuhin and the jazz musician Stéphane Grappelli collaborated on six LPs of semi-improvised jazz duets of popular songs between 1973 and 1983. The albums were called: Jealousy, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, Tea for Two, Strictly for the Birds, Top Hat and For All Seasons. Yehudi Menuhin has been acclaimed as one of the greatest and best-loved classical violinists of the 20th century, as well as an outstanding educator, humanitarian and citizen of the world. Stéphane Grappelli has long been an iconic figure in the jazz world, largely through his partnership with the gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt and their participation during the 1930s in the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. These two very different violinists first came together to appear on a TV show in the UK on Christmas Day 1971. Despite their initial doubts about the collaboration, the partnership blossomed and the two men became close friends as well as musical colleagues. The 4 CDs contain 86 songs, many by the great American songwriters George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter, as well as jazz standards like ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’, ‘Lullaby of Birdland’ and ‘Crazy Rhythm’. There are also 13 items composed by Grappelli himself, several of which were written specially for Menuhin. The song ‘I didn’t know what time it was’ by Richard Rodgers on CD 2, recorded in Holland in October 1977, is being released here for the first time. The accompaniments range from solo guitar or piano via trios and small ensembles to full orchestras involving woodwind, strings and brass. Among the skilled jazz musicians accompanying Menuhin and Grappelli are the pianists Alan Clare, Max Harris and Laurie Holloway; guitarists John Etheridge, Martin Taylor and Ike Isaacs; bass players Lennie Bush, Pierre Michelot and Jack Sewing, and drummers Ronnie Verrell and Alan Ganley. Arrangements are mostly by Max Harris, but those from the LP called Top Hat are by Nelson Riddle.

Price: $32.98