Kim Richardson sings George and Ira Gershwin

Ella Fitzgerald didn't perform the Great American Songbook — she defined it. Her Songbook series, recorded from 1956 to 1964, remains the definitive benchmark, and of them all, the volume devoted to the Gershwins stands as the largest and most ambitious.

The Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal continues its journey through that legacy. For this fourth chapter in its exploration of the Great American Songbook, the ONJ is joined, for a second consecutive year, by Kim Richardson — one of the most powerful and nuanced voices on the Canadian scene. After Duke Ellington, she turns to George and Ira Gershwin: rhythmic exuberance always hides a shadow here, and three minutes are enough to hold all the longing in the world.

The Man I Love, Embraceable You, Someone to Watch Over Me, I Got Rhythm — in her hands and the orchestra's, these timeless songs recover their edge and their elegance.

The first milestone in the ONJ's Gershwin year — ninety years after the composer's death — continuing in May 2027 with Gil Evans and Miles Davis's Porgy and Bess.