This latest single sees Gary Palmer doing what he does best: turning great melodies into gorgeous sonic experiences. One of the things that the saxophone is well suited to, in the right pair of hands at least, is being able to replicate and, dare I say, enhance what would be the vocal line of a song. And so it is with this iconic Gershwin tune, his saxophone wandering between the lyrical structure and the musical melody to seductive effect. Gary Palmer is the right pair of hands, indeed.
Covers are tricky things, you either have to replicate the original, which invites questions about what that might bring to the musical table, or you completely reinvent it, opening yourself up to accusations of thinking that you can improve something already considered outstanding. Gary Palmer succeeds because he can do both, steering a ship through the middle ground between respect and inventiveness.
It’s an outstandingly clever course to steer. Then again, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it!
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