Mack the Knife and Other Berlin Theatre Songs of Kurt Weill

• Main performer: The Sextet of Orchestra U.S.A.
• Booklet languages: English
• Time: 34:52
• Release Date: 1966

Review

Third Stream, Gunther Schuller's well-intentioned but commercially doomed idea of forcing contemporary classical music to cohabit with hard bop, produced but a handful of fine recordings, most notably the classic 1960 Atlantic "Jazz Abstractions" and this 1964 sextet outing under the stewardship of trombonist Michael Zwerin. The choice of Kurt Weill's sleek and elegant compositions was astute: the bittersweet harmonies of Weill (who ultimately emigrated to the USA from Germany) lend themselves particularly well to jazz soloing, and accordingly an outstanding rhythm section featuring the Modern Jazz Quartet's John Lewis (an enthusiastic advocate of Third Stream from its inception) and Connie Kay and bassist Richard Davis is on hand to support some splendid horn work from Thad Jones, Nick Travis, Jerome Richardson and most notably Eric Dolphy, whose wild bass clarinet leaps on "Alabama Song" are a pure joy to hear, and proof that the saxophonist's harmonic concept, while undeniably "out" for the standard-based harmonic repertoire of bop was most definitely "in" the wider scheme of musical thought that Third Stream aspired to. ~ Dan Warburton, Rovi

Performances

Composer	Title	Time
Kurt Weill	Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny), opera (Alabama Song)	5:25
Kurt Weill	Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny), opera (Havana Song)	6:19
Kurt Weill	Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny), opera (As you Make Your Bed)	5:29
Kurt Weill	Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera (Mack the Knife)	5:07
Kurt Weill	Bilbao-Song, for voice & piano (from "Happy End")	3:49
Kurt Weill	Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera (Barbara Song)	5:08
Kurt Weill	Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), opera (Pirate Jenny)	3:35

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