It's "Summertime"......!

The beautiful aria "Summertime" is undoubtably one of the most covered songs in history, with thousands of covers from groups of performers and solo players alike, both instrumental and vocal.  I was reading a review of a current production of an opera that I have always loved, Porgy and Bess, which includes "Summertime" and was written by George Gershwin, at the Glimmerglass Festival in Cooperstown, NY (it goes on, by the way, through August 21st, but I believe ALL performances are sold out!).  Porgy and Bess contains many marvelous musical moments, and so many of the songs besides "Summertime" are standard repertory.  Here are a few of my favorite versions of Summertime - and it IS so hard to pick! - try listening to this recording with Clara as sung by Harolyn Blackwell, with the Glyndebourne Chorus and the London Philharmonic conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.  Or you might enjoy a great jazz performances by Jill Scott and George Benson, or maybe Ella Fitzgerald, or even Nina Simone.  Or a most unusual, but truly beautiful instrumental performance by Van-Ahn Vanessa Vo, a Vietnamese performer and composer.  She is playing a dan Bau, a traditional Vietnames monochord instrument......I dearly love listening to this performance!!  Let's certainly not forget solo piano covers!  In this one, Earl Wild plays his own fantasy on several of the tunes from Porgy and Bess - difficult! Or, how about a transcription of the great Oscar Peterson's arrangement of the tune?!
Better stop here.....but what about you?!  Have you discovered your own favorite covers of this song?  Let me know, please!  We will all work on some version or another of this wonderful tune this week - have fun!