Rhapsody In Blue & The Man I Love – 1965
Dorothy Donegan
The always-remarkable pianist tears into Gershwin
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Dorothy Donegan (1922-98) may not be a household name but she was one of the most dazzling of all jazz pianists.
Art Tatum was very impressed by Donegan who began recording in 1942 but only began to gain the fame that she deserved in the 1980s.
Donegan was famous for her spontaneous song medleys and for being able to switch on a moment’s notice between styles including boogie-woogie, classical, swing, bebop, and freer moments, all of it with a smile on her face.
For her 1965 appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show, Donegan makes the most of her brief time on stage, quoting “Rhapsody In Blue” and then swinging hard on “The Man I Love,” playing on the level of Tatum and Oscar Peterson.
– Scott Yanow
Ella Fitzgerald