After You Mr. Gershwin! Kovács – D'Rivera – Mercure – Horowitz – Muczynski – Mower André Moisan, clarinet Jean Saulnier, piano ACD2 2517 “I have enormous respect for clarinetists, like Benny Goodman and so many others, who were able to stimulate composers to cross over the border separating jazz from the more ‘classical’ world, and provoke the emergence of a new genre.” – André Moisan • After you, Mr. Gershwin! is inspired mainly by jazz and great jazzmen — especially by Benny Goodman.   Composer and jazz multi-instrumentalist Paquito D'Rivera wrote The Cape Cod Files to honor the 100th anniversary of Benny Goodman's birth.   Composer Bélà Kovács clearly announces his intentions in his title: After You, Mr. Gershwin!   There can be no doubt that it was Gershwin who sealed the union between the two styles, — jazz and classical — by opening his Rhapsody in Blue with its celebrated clarinet solo.   With the piece Pour mon ami Léon by Daniel Mercure, André Moisan humbly commemorates composer and pianist Léon Bernier, who died on October 11, 2011.   He was a friend and colleague of both the composer and the performer. • Composed for clarinetist Gervase de Peyer, the Sonatina by Joseph Horowitz sounds lightly playful in the first movement, subtle and lyrical in the second, and then, in the third, with its striking flurries of virtuosity on both piano and clarinet, rhythmic and syncopated.   Inspired by jazz rhythms and using compositional techniques found in the work of Aaron Copland and Paul Hindemith, Robert Muczynski's Time Pieces demands great rhythmic virtuosity.   This CD also includes the world premier recording of Mike Mower's Sonata for clarinet and piano.   A native of Bath, England, the composer seems to take pleasure in challenging the clarinetist at every turn. Bélà Kovács (b. 1937)   1 -       After You Mr.Gershwin ! (2004) Paquito D'Rivera (b. 1948)   2 -   5 ‘Cape Cod Files’ Sonata (2009) Daniel Mercure (b. 1955)   6 -       Pour mon ami Léon Joseph Horowitz (b. 1926)   7 -   9 Sonatina for clarinet and piano (1981) Robert Muczynski (1929-2010) 10 - 13 Time Pieces, op. 43 (1983) Mike Mower (b. 1958) 14 - 16 Sonate pour clarinette et Piano (2006) ATMA Classique is distributed in Australia by Rockian Trading PO Box 44, Briar Hill, Vic, 3088, Australia Telephone +61 (0)3 9432 4149 ~ Facsimile +61 (0)3 9444 6879