Smigmator, Jan, Mitch Winehouse: Smigmator - GERSHWIN - Winehouse - LP

120th anniversary of the birth of one of the greatest personalities in the history of popular music, musicals, jazz and swing, composer George Gershwin . The Czech swing singer Jan Smigmator and the British swing and philanthropist Mitch Winehouse, the father of the singer Amy Winehouse, also prepared their personal homage to this musical legend in the form of a joint album.

George Gershwin' s music connects the two singers so much that they decided to name the album prosaically “Smigmator - GERSHWIN - Winehouse“. The baptism of the exceptional international album will take place on the day of Gershwin' s birth on September 26, 2018 in Prague in Malostranská beseda, with the participation of both singers and special guests in the roles of godparents.

Both singers sing not only the most famous of Gershwin' s songs, but also the lesser-known ones, in the distinctive but at the same time stylish arrangements of pianist Vladimír Strnad accompanied by an international jazz band and string orchestra. The album will also feature songs from Gershwin' s famous opera Porgy And Bess, the American in Paris and such evergreens as Embraceable You, Nice Work If You Can Get It, ' S Wonderful, But Not For Me and more. “Together with Donna Byrne, we sang, for example, the duet Let' s Call The Whole Thing Off, which they recorded in 1957 for their joint album Ella Fitzgerald with Louis Armstrong. As for duets with Mitch Winehouse, let' s mention for example the song A Foggy Day (In London Town) telling about Mitch' s hometown, where it is said that there is no fog for a long time, “says Jan Smigmator.

Jan Smigmator invited not only the stars of the Czech jazz scene, but also several rare foreign guests to record the album. The invitation was accepted by the legendary American tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton, Slovak trumpet legend Juraj Bartoš, American jazz singer Donna Byrne, double bassist Vincenc Kummer, drummers Josef Vejvoda, Branko Križek, Vaico Deczi and Israeli jazz star Utsi Zimrink.

A unique booklet also demands a unique booklet, which is why Jan Smigmator asked the academic painter Oldřich Jelínek and graphic artist Tereza Melenová to design the album.

Content: In The Mood Of Rhapsody In Blue - intro A Foggy Day In London Town I' ve Got A Crush On You Let' s Call The Whole Thing Off Nice Work If You Can Get It Someone To Watch Over Me Our Love Is Here To Stay Porgy And Bess Medley - Summertime / It Ain' t Neseccarily So But Not For Me Oh, Lady Be Good They Can' t Take That Away From Me The Girl I Love (The Man I Love) ' S Wonderful By Strauss Fascinating Rhythm In The Mood Of Rhapsody In Blue - other