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Andre Previn (1929 - 2019)


soulpope

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It's curious he never did a country music album.  The man did everything else, which presents a problem for record stores and guys like me.  I've got Previn LPs in three shelf locations for jazz, easy listening, and film music -- and in another room with the classical albums.  And then there's the pop albums with Dory Previn.     

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I took note of his non-jazz activites only in passing. My first exposure to him came via his mid-40s recordings for Eddie Laguna's Sunset label reissued on Black Lion in the 70s and I was suitably impressed after having bought this LP new at the time. My Fair Lady came quite a bit later (sometime after after the Jim Flora-illustrated ^_^ Rogers-Previn Collaboration on RCA and Previn/Freeman's Double Play on Contemporary). I know some will shrug many of these recordings off as too much technique (and not enough heartfelt "keyboard fumbling" or so ... ;)) but anyway ... IMO he had chops. And looking at the jazz corner of his Discogs entries now I realize there are a couple more I'll have to check out when the occasion presents itself.

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8 hours ago, medjuck said:

i've been trying to figure out via the internet which came first: jazz, classical or film music.  But looks like he was a prodigy in all of them fro the beginning.  (I first noticed him as the pianist on Shelly Mann's My Fair Lady.) 

Simplified and generalized timeline:  Film music was first.  There was some overlap between his jazz work and his film work.  "Classical" - conducting and composing - came later.  Previn still occasionally played jazz along the way during the classical phase.  

Edited by Teasing the Korean
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5 hours ago, brownie said:

Love his 'Collaboration' with Shorty Rogers. One of the best West Coast recording...

I agree, a very good recording.

 Previn had a diverse and truly amazing musical career.

Though not related to the music, it was interesting to see that over the course of his long life he had five wives. 

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On 2/28/2019 at 2:44 PM, sgcim said:

I saw him conduct Walton's 2nd Symphony at Carnegie Hall; great performance. I enjoyed reading his autobiography, "No Minor Chords", also.

Wasn't aware that he had written an autobiography. Thanks for the heads-up on that, sgcim. 

He certainly led an interesting life!  Was there anyone who moved so fluidly and convincingly between different musical worlds?!?!?

 

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Thinking about it, Previn made the first jazz and the first classical records I owned. When I was about ten my parents gave me an EP of him playing Fats Waller and about the same time I bought a cassette of him conducting Prokofiev's Classical Symphony and Seventh Symphony. Thanks Andre! I daresay he got a lot of people into music beyond pop, he was so unpretentious and approachable.

Are many Americans familiar with his brief comedy career?

 

Edited by crisp
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