ALBUM REVIEW: Gershwin Classics Get a Country Spin From Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill, and More

This is a brilliant idea for an album, and who better than singer, pianist, conductor, and nightclub owner Michael Feinstein to put it together? When he was 20, he worked as Ira Gershwin’s assistant and archivist for six years, and his debut album, Pure Gershwin (1987), is a collection of some of George and Ira Gershwin’s most memorable songs. He’s explored and honored the Gershwins’ music in albums from Nice Work if You Can Get It: Songs by the Gershwins (1996) to Michael & George: Feinstein Sings Gershwin (1998).

On Gershwin Country, he collaborates with some of country music’s biggest stars in a tribute to the Gershwins’ songs, offering interpretations to an even broader audience. “The best interpreters of lyrics today are country singers,” he explains. “The deeper habitation of a song comes from connecting lyrically to the story and telling it honestly and with simplicity. Country artists are the last bastion of that art.”

The vocalists, which include Dolly Parton, Rosanne Cash, Lyle Lovett, and Mandy Barnett — easily inhabit these songs and make them their own, producing duets with Feinstein that reveal the musical kinship between jazz and country.

The Time Jumpers, Nashville’s stalwart Western swing band, were made for a collaboration like the one they turn in on “Fascinating Rhythm,” with their Stéphane Grappelli-like fiddles and pattering swing rhythms, driven by shimmering steel guitar and Feinstein’s silken harmonies with former Time Jumper Vince Gill. This version is pure entertainment, and you can imagine Feinstein, Gill, and The Time Jumpers filling the dance floor either at one of Feinstein’s clubs in New York or Los Angeles or at 3rd & Lindsley, The Time Jumpers’ home venue in Nashville.

The album opens with Feinstein trading lead vocals and harmonies with Dolly Parton on a tenderly wrought “Love Is Here to Stay,” where bluegrass meets jazz meets pop. Most songs Alison Krauss sings turn to gold, and her duet with Feinstein on “Someone to Watch Over Me” is no exception; the exquisite pacing of this version allows Krauss to live languorously in her vocals, evoking the ache of the song and a young Judy Garland.

Brad Paisley and Feinstein trade some banter at the opening of “I Got Rhythm” before Paisley’s off lickety-split on a searing lead run that he picks up again on the instrumental bridge. He and Feinstein settle quickly into a swinging groove that leaves no doubt about the singers’ having happy feet, happy hands, and happy voices.

Lyle Lovett leads the charge on the gospel-inflected “Clap Yo’ Hands,” which floats a second-line rhythm propelled by accordion rolls; it’s a joyous celebration. Mandy Barnett lends her powerful torch singing to “How Long Has This Been Going On?”, while Rosanne Cash brings her sultry vocals to a duet with Feinstein on “I’ve Got a Crush on You.” We can easily imagine Cash sliding, twirling, and gliding across the floor of a jazz club backed by a big band.

Gershwin Country marries the best of country with the best of jazz, and the result is by turns stunning, gorgeous, and joyous.