Piano Perspectives
Original UK - London Label  # HAA 2002

1. Porgy & Bess Suite
2. Polka Dots & Moonbeams
3. Walkin My baby Back Home
4. These Foolish Things
5. Honeysuckle Rose
6. September Song
7. Body & Soul
8. I'll Be Seeing You

**

1. Lullaby Of Birdland
Recorded at Webster Hall, New York, December 20, 1955 Bass:  Richard Davis
2. Makin' Whoopee
Recorded at Webster Hall, New York, December 20, 1955 Bass:  Richard Davis
3. Blues In B Flat
Recorded at Webster Hall, New York, December 20, 1955 Bass:  Richard Davis
4. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
Recorded at Webster Hall, New York, December 20, 1955 Bass:  Richard Davis

5. How High The Moon
Recorded at Webster Hall, New York, December 20, 1955 Bass:  Richard Davis
6. Walkin' My Baby Back Home
Recorded at Capitol Studios, New York, December 21, 1957 Basses: Jim Bond and Kenneth Fricker
7. Body And Soul
Recorded at Capitol Studios, New York, December 21, 1957 Basses: Jim Bond and Kenneth Fricker
8. Honeysuckle Rose
Recorded at Capitol Studios, New York, December 21, 1957 Basses: Jim Bond and Kenneth Fricker

1. My Funny Valentine 
2. Love For Sale 
3. Bewitched 
4. September Song 
5. Dancing On The Ceiling 
6. Medley From "New Faces": Love Is A Simple Thing I'm In Love With Miss Logan Monotonous Bal Petit Bal Boston Beguine & This Is My Beloved Blue Moon

1. Porgy & Bess Suite - Don Shirley, Gershwin, G.
2. Love Is Here to Stay - Don Shirley, Gershwin, G.
3. But Not for Me - Don Shirley, Gershwin, G.
4. The Man I Love - Don Shirley, Gershwin, G.
5. Someone to Watch Over Me - Don Shirley, Gershwin, George
6. They Can't Take That Away from Me - Don Shirley, Gershwin, George 

??? The Porgy And Bess Suite includes the melodies from the following:
1) My Man's Gone, 2) I Got Plenty Of Nuttin', 3) It Ain't Necessarily So, 4) Strawberry Song, 5) Summertime, 6) That Can't Take That Away From Me, 7)I Love You Porgy, 8) Someone To Watch Over Me, 9) Bess You Is My Woman, 10) The Man I Love, 11) Love Is Here To Stay, 12) But Not For Me

An Improvisation Based on the Story of Orpheus in the Underworld
 

Includes Don Shirley, piano, Ken Fricker, bass, and Juri Taht, cello.
The version of "Water Boy" here is longer than the 45rpm hit version. The 45 was a shorter, complex edit of this LP track.

How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky)
I Understand My Ship
Time After Time
Love Walked In
It's The Talk Of The Town
Lady Be Good
I Cried For You
Russian Folk Song
Mack The Knife
Trust In Me/In Other Words

Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child 
Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen/Heaven
Were You There
Swing Low Sweet Chariot
My Lord It's So High
Take My Hand Precious Lord
In-A-My Soul
Go Down Moses
Even Me
God Be With You
Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho
When The Saints Go Marching In
It's Me
Standing In The Need Of Prayer
Let Us Break Bread Together
Every Time I Feel The Spirit

Side A
1. Anytime Any Day Anywhere, L. Wiley - V. Yong - W. Washington 
2. Dancing On The Ceiling, R-Rodgers - L. Hart
3. I Had Myself A True Love, H. Arlen - J.H. Mercer
4. Fools Rush In, R.Bloom - J.H. Mercer
5. Love Walked InG. Gershwin - I. Gershwin
Side B
6. Porgy And Bess Suite

Side A
1. Drown In My Own Tears (Hnery Glover)
2. Margie (B. Davis -- C. Conrad -- J.R. Robinson)
3. Stand By Me  (B.E. King -- E. Glick)
4. Willow Weep For Me  (Ann Ronell)
5. I Got Rhythm (G. Gershwin -- I. Gershwin)
6. Georgia On My Mind (H. Carmichael -- S. Gorrel)
Side B
1. The Lonesome Road (G. Austin -- N Shilkret)
2. At Last (M. Gordon -- H. Warren)
3. Amen (Don Shirley)
4. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe (H. Arlen -- E. Y. Harburg)
5. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) (J. Mercer - H. Arlen)
6. Just For A Thrill  (L. Armstrong - D. Raye)

Side 1: The Man I Love, (G.Gershwin - I. Gershwin)
Side 2: The Man I Love (Concluded), (G.Gershwin - I. Gershwin)
Side 3: Love is Here to Stay, (G.Gershwin - I. Gershwin)
Side 4: They Can't Take That Away From Me, (G.Gershwin - I. Gershwin)  

Side 1:
Side 2: I Can't Give you Anything But Love, (J. McHugh - D. Fields) Makin' Whoopee, (W. Donaldson - G. Kahn Bregman, Vocco & Conn)
Side 3: I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart, (D. Ellington - J. Redmond - I. Mills - H Nemo Mills) Side 4:

45 RPM RECORD Red Label Cadence Records 1445
Recorded April 21, 1964
Record Side A: If I Had A Hammer, Lee Hays - Pete Seeger Record
Side B: Ol' Man River (from the production "Show Boat)

Side 1
1. The Warning, by Don Shirely
2. Carry me Back to Old Verginny, by James A. Bland
3. Bridge over Troubled Water, by Paul Simon
4. The Shadow of your Smile, by Paul Francis Webster & Johnny Mandel
Side 2
5. Alfie, by Burt Bacharach & Hal David
6. Gershwin Medley, by George Gershwin 
7. By the Time I get to Phoenix, by Jim Webb

Side 1
1. I Can't Get Started
2. I Feel Pretty (from "West Side Story")
3.My Funny Valentine
4. Yesterday
5. I Cover the Waterfront
Side 2
6. Georgia on my Mind
7. Lullaby
8. Water Boy
9. One Man's Hand
10. By Myself
11. Happy Talk (from "South Pacific")

Side 1
1. I'll Drown In My Tears 
2. Climb Ev'ry Mountain 
3. Trilogy 
4. Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross, arranged by Don Shirley 
5. Glory Burdens Down Lord, arranged by Don Shirley 
6. When the Saints Go Marching In, arranged by Don Shirley
Side 2
7.I 've Been 'Buked, arranged by Don Shirley 
8. He's Got the Whole World In His Hands, arranged by Margaret Bonds 
9. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free 
10. Blowin' In the Wind 11. Dream Of a Time

Side 1
1. Tenderly
2. Something to Remember You By
3. What is there to Say
4. I'm in the Mood for Love
Side 2
5. These Foolish Things
6. I'll be Around
7. I Can't Get Started with You
8. Secret Love
9. It Could Happen to You

A Renaissance Man is one who is artistically gifted and able to express his gifts in abundant manners.  The type of man is rare; our age, the age of specialization, hasn't produced many of note, but Don Shirley is definitely a contender for the title.  In addition to his Doctorate in Music, he hold Doctorates in Psychology and Liturgical Arts, speaks eight languages fluently and paints expertly.

In is impossible to categorize Don Shirley's music.  It is possible to say that as an arranger-composer he treats each price of music as a new composition, not just an arrangement.  Don plays Standards in a non-standard way.  He is a virtuoso, playing everything from Show tunes to ballads to his personal arrangements of Negro spirituals to jazz, and always with the overtone of classically trained musician who has utmost respect for the music he is playing.

His rendition of Cole Porter's "Love for Sale" is the most sensitive production of that poignant song, as well as the most exciting that I have ever heard.  The key to the reason why Don is such an exciting player is that he plays to a sense of truth about each song he does; he goes right to the heart of the song and the listener immediately reacts, saying to himself, "Yes, that is the way that song should be played!"  His sense of shading, phrasing, and balance with his piano is equal to the sense that Billie Holiday is renowned for with her voice.  Igor Stravinsky has said of him, "His virtuosity is worthy of the Gods."

Don's piano style is basically attributed to his using the piano as a stringed instrument rather than a percussion instrument which enables him to have a flexible, subtle voice.  He has said, "There are three ways to enjoy or to interpret music, from a listening point of view: emotionally, intellectually, and a combination of the two."  I think the latter of the three would make for the most satisfying listening pleasure, and Don's work has consistently made me appreciate the music in an emotional and intellectual way.

Don is a a native of Kingston, Jamaica.  He has referred to the key of "B Major" as being the lovely blue of Turquoise Bay.  he began playing piano at the age of 2 1/2 and made his first public performance at the age of 3.  By the time he was 9 he had been invited to study at the Leningrad Conservatory, where he spent a great part of his youth.  However, he abandoned the piano when he was still quite young even though he had a great deal of success both in Europe and the United States.

It was be serendipity that Don got back into music.  He was given a grant while teaching Psychology at the University of Chicago in the early 50's to study the relationship, if any, between music and the juvenile crime wave that had recently erupted in new York.  he proved that certain tonal combinations affected the audience's reactions.  No one in the audience, except some of his students who were planted to help with the project, knew of the experiment, but the small club became known for employing an excellent pianist.  The "pianist" started making appearances in New York, most notably at the Basin Street, where he played with Duke Ellington.  They cultivated a warm friendship, the pinnacle of which was Don's performance of Duke's Piano Concerto at Carnegie Hall with the NBC Symphony of the Air.

This Renaissance Man has composed three symphonies, two piano concerti, a cello concerto, three string quartets, a one-act opera, and works for organ, piano, and violin.  A piece of work that most people can't even read captured Don's imagination and inspired him to write a tone poem: the work, James Joyce's "Finnegan's Wake." Don has also written a set of "Variations" on the legend of Orpheus in the Underworld.  You'll remember that Orpheus was the god of music, though he was half mortal, and he journeyed to the Underworld to rescue his love.

Don Shirley, the man and the musician, has reached the heights of immortality through his music, while, like Orpheus, he is most decidedly "human." The work enclosed in this sleeve will certainly attest to that fusion and lift the listener up to ecstatic heights.

Rebecca Celebreeze

1. This Little Light of Mine*
2. The Flight of the Bumblebee 
3. 'Round Midnight 
4. Divertimento for Duke by Don 5. Lotus Blossom* 
6. Feelings 
7. Where or When* 
8. Jesus Keep Me near the Cross
9. Good-bye John* 
10. Liberation Day 
11. O'Freedom 
12. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye* 
13. Blue Skies 
14. Jesus Calls Us O'er the Tumult

(The titles with an asterisk (*) are piano solos. The others feature the Donald Shirley chamber trio of piano, cello, and double bass.)

1. Water Boy**
2. Freedom**
3. Drown in My Own Tears
4. Margie
5. Stand by Me
6. Willow Weep For Me
7. I Got Rhythm
8. Georgia on My Mind
9. Lonesome Road, The
10. At Last
11. Amen
12. Happiness Is a Thing Called Joe
13. One For My Baby (And One More For the Road)
14. Just For a Thrill
15. Dancing on the Ceiling **
16. Hammer Song, The**
17. Old Man River**
18. My Funny Valentine**

Gospel According to Don Shirley (1969)  ]
Columbia CS9723

I'll Drown In My Tears/Climb Ev'ry Mountain/Trilogy/Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross/Glory Burdens Down Lord/When the Saints Go Marching In/I've Been Buked/He's Got the Whole World In His Hands/I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free/Blowin' In the Wind/Dream Of a Time