Hugh Martin" The Boy Next Door" (and much more) The name Hugh Martin doesn't echo very loudly in the minds of devotees of the Great American Songbook. But " Have yourself a merry little Christmas" The Trolley Song" " You'd Better Love Me ( While you May) are some of the songs written with lyricist Ralph Blane . Martin largely wrote for Hollywood Musicals and as a fine pianist, he was the accompanist for Judy Garland when she first played the Palace Theatre. Perhaps, his finest ballad was " The Boy Next Door" also frommthe 1944 MGM musical " Meet Me In St. Louis." Alec Wilder describes it as "A very intense and personal song, written , it is obvious, with great love and infinite care."
The first version is by Stacy Kent, a fine cabaret stylist who has amassed a major catalogue of songs from The Songbook. She is accompanied just by a piano and bass. I have always made a point of expressing how the contribution of gifted arrangers can make great songs and singers even more welcoming. However, sometimes just a voice and a sensitive piano acompaniment can expose the very essence of the song just as the composer may have intended. This is especially true if there is a great rapport between singer and musician
LINK http://youtu.be/Zwz3HZmy3TU
For those who have wonderful memories of Judy Garland singing so wistfully in " Meet me in St. Louis", I have included her version , this time with a full sound track orchestra with an arrangement by Conrad Salinger, the most accomplished of MGM's musical arrangers.
Link http://youtu.be/QQ224PLpY9o
POSTSCRIPT A great song is capable of a variety of interpretations as these two examples prove.
Sunday 27 January 2013
Saturday 26 January 2013
"THERE'S A LULL IN MY LIFE" A SONG THAT SHOULD BE BETTER KNOWN
There's A Lull in My Life" A Song That Should be Better Known. . In addition to the composers most associated with The Great American Songbook ( Gershwin, Berlin, Porter, Rodgers etc) there is quite a roster of composers who are not well known . They have written quite a number of excellent songs that do not pale in comparison with those of the Masters. Take Harry Revel, for example. He emigrated to the US from England and worked on Broadway before moving to Hollywood in the 1930's and wrote film music and songs such as " Did You Ever See A dream Walking" " With My Eyes Wide Open I'm Dreaming" and " Stay As Sweet As You Are." However, " There's A Lull In My Life" is a much superior composition with lyrics by Mack Gordon. It was introduced by Alice Faye in the the 1937 Twentieth Century Fox movie " Wake Up And Live." In the release or bridge, Revel repeats one note twelve times under a shifting harmonic structure that is anything but boring because of the tension that is created by this clever device.
Nat King Cole and George Shearing had an excellent version in the 1960's. Natalie Cole paid tribute to her father's memory with a remarkable performance made even more effective by an outstanding arrangement. I need to offer a strong opinion of mine that is based on the observation that a good song may stand on its own; a singer may equally do justice to the intrinsic merits of the song but if an imaginative arrangement and orchestration is added to the mix, then you have a very special presentation. One need only to think of Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Axel Stordahl, Johnny Mandel or Claus Ogerman and how they have added lustre to Sinatra, Bennett, Fitzgerald and Krall recordings.
The string writing in this version is particularly impressive.
LINK: http://youtu.be/VAAOLArqxw4
Nat King Cole and George Shearing had an excellent version in the 1960's. Natalie Cole paid tribute to her father's memory with a remarkable performance made even more effective by an outstanding arrangement. I need to offer a strong opinion of mine that is based on the observation that a good song may stand on its own; a singer may equally do justice to the intrinsic merits of the song but if an imaginative arrangement and orchestration is added to the mix, then you have a very special presentation. One need only to think of Nelson Riddle, Billy May, Axel Stordahl, Johnny Mandel or Claus Ogerman and how they have added lustre to Sinatra, Bennett, Fitzgerald and Krall recordings.
The string writing in this version is particularly impressive.
LINK: http://youtu.be/VAAOLArqxw4
Wednesday 23 January 2013
EXQUISITE ARLEN SONG " I NEVER HAS SEEN SNOW
Exquisite Arlen Song" I Never Has Seen Snow". By now, you realize the high regard I have for the creations of Harold Arlen. He is most often thought of as a " Blues" composer of " Blues in the Night" "I Gotta Right To Sing The Blues" or smouldering torch songs like " The Man That Got Away" " Stormy Weather" One For My Baby" or up tempo swingers like " Accentuate The Positive" " That Old Black Magic" Hooray for Love" and " Down with Love."
The diversity and scope of his music is remarkable. But Arlen also has produced some of the most emotionally intense art songs . They transcend the boundaries that we normally associate with the American popular song. They are more technically challenging and demand greater concentration in preparation and performance. Songs like " It Was Written In The Stars" " I Wonder What Became Of Me" Last Night When We Were Young" and " A Sleeping Bee" take the American song tradition to a higher level and also require the listener to place closer attention and greater involvement in the performance itself.
A marvellous example of such an exquisite ballad/aria is " I Never Has Seen Snow" from the1954 musical " House of Flowers". The lyrics are credited to Truman Capote who provided the backgound of the story based on his time spent in Haiti. In fact, Arlen did much of the lyric writing but took no official credit for his contributions.
It is song by a young woman in love with her " Near to me boy ". Although she never has seen snow, she believes that " Snow c'aint be as beautiful as my love is." It is a women entranced with the strength of her love and sung with a purity of expression that is compelling.
The version you will hear is by Vanessa Williams singing with the Boston Pops and accompanied on stage by a cellist playing a lovely obligato that is almost like another human voice.
It is a fairly long selection but well worth careful and attentive listening.
Link http://youtu.be/SYqfL6kygRc
'
The diversity and scope of his music is remarkable. But Arlen also has produced some of the most emotionally intense art songs . They transcend the boundaries that we normally associate with the American popular song. They are more technically challenging and demand greater concentration in preparation and performance. Songs like " It Was Written In The Stars" " I Wonder What Became Of Me" Last Night When We Were Young" and " A Sleeping Bee" take the American song tradition to a higher level and also require the listener to place closer attention and greater involvement in the performance itself.
A marvellous example of such an exquisite ballad/aria is " I Never Has Seen Snow" from the1954 musical " House of Flowers". The lyrics are credited to Truman Capote who provided the backgound of the story based on his time spent in Haiti. In fact, Arlen did much of the lyric writing but took no official credit for his contributions.
It is song by a young woman in love with her " Near to me boy ". Although she never has seen snow, she believes that " Snow c'aint be as beautiful as my love is." It is a women entranced with the strength of her love and sung with a purity of expression that is compelling.
The version you will hear is by Vanessa Williams singing with the Boston Pops and accompanied on stage by a cellist playing a lovely obligato that is almost like another human voice.
It is a fairly long selection but well worth careful and attentive listening.
Link http://youtu.be/SYqfL6kygRc
'
Tuesday 22 January 2013
DUKE ELLINGTON-A GIANT OF AMERICAN MUSIC
Duke Ellington-A Giant of American Music: Duke Ellington enjoys a unique position in American musical history. Unlike the composers who are celebrated in the blog. he had his own orchestra which he led for over forty years. As Alec Wilder relates his band " Has been the medium of expression as much as canvas is to a painter or paper to a writer. More, in fact, as the band has also been his paint and his palette." He certainly earned his title as The Duke due to his stagerring output of so diversified a body of work. Extended concert pieces, Sacred music, jazz classics and individual songs, all of which were written with specific orchestra players in mind, his response to their unique styles and capabilities. Many of his band members like Harry Carney,Johnny Hodges, Barney Bigard and others helped contribute to the essence of the Ellington sound which is immediately recognized within a few short bars, Billy Strayhorn, as arranger and composer had a unique role to play as Duke's amenuensis or shadow inspiration.
Ellington did not have a lengthy and extended relationship with lyricist partners since some of his songs were originally written as instrumental pieces with had lyrics added after the fact. The absence of a lyricist with whom he could collaborate in fruitful partnerships like Rodgers & Hart, Lerner and Loewe, Kern and Hammerstein, or George and Ira Gershwin probably limited what he might have been able to accomplish in the popular song field. It is such intense collaboration between composers and lyricists that has produced so many of the best songs in the Great American Songbook. On the other hand, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Frank Loesser and Stephan Sondheim all wrote both music and lyrics. Presumably, as collaborators. they were able to communicate internally and resolve any inner disputes.
To demonstrate just one dimension of the Ellington creativity, listen to " Come Sunday". It is a magnificent, solemn declaration of fundamental spirituality relevant for any religious observance .It demonstrates Ellington's own deep spiritual nature which srangely enough is not at odds with his great personal elegance, sophistication and urbanity. This version features the soprano Kathleen Battle and Branford Marsalis combining Ellington's music and words with jazz improvisations on a lyrical tenor saxophone. It is a remarkable fusion of sacred intent , vocal elegance with jazz improvisation and a discrete orchestral background. There is a serenity that is simply spellbinding as Duke asks the Lord " To see my people through." Coming one day after Martin Luther King day, this song has a unique and compelling meaning.
Note: Future posts, will showcase his succesful popular song output.
http://youtu.be/kmfPiEoFHm0
LINK
Ellington did not have a lengthy and extended relationship with lyricist partners since some of his songs were originally written as instrumental pieces with had lyrics added after the fact. The absence of a lyricist with whom he could collaborate in fruitful partnerships like Rodgers & Hart, Lerner and Loewe, Kern and Hammerstein, or George and Ira Gershwin probably limited what he might have been able to accomplish in the popular song field. It is such intense collaboration between composers and lyricists that has produced so many of the best songs in the Great American Songbook. On the other hand, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Frank Loesser and Stephan Sondheim all wrote both music and lyrics. Presumably, as collaborators. they were able to communicate internally and resolve any inner disputes.
To demonstrate just one dimension of the Ellington creativity, listen to " Come Sunday". It is a magnificent, solemn declaration of fundamental spirituality relevant for any religious observance .It demonstrates Ellington's own deep spiritual nature which srangely enough is not at odds with his great personal elegance, sophistication and urbanity. This version features the soprano Kathleen Battle and Branford Marsalis combining Ellington's music and words with jazz improvisations on a lyrical tenor saxophone. It is a remarkable fusion of sacred intent , vocal elegance with jazz improvisation and a discrete orchestral background. There is a serenity that is simply spellbinding as Duke asks the Lord " To see my people through." Coming one day after Martin Luther King day, this song has a unique and compelling meaning.
Note: Future posts, will showcase his succesful popular song output.
http://youtu.be/kmfPiEoFHm0
LINK
Friday 18 January 2013
HOAGY & jOHNNY- 2 COUNTRY BOYS AND " SKYLARK"'
Hoagy& Johnny-2 Country boys and " Skylark" Hoagy Carmichael from Bloomington ,Indiana and Johnny Mercer from Savannah, Georgia were country boys at heart. They let Gershwin, Arlen, Brlin and especially Cole Porter write about big city matters. They loved ,in an almost nostalgic way, the small town feel of bare foot boys going fishing or playing hooky. Their songs used quaint colloquial phrases like " everything is peacefully dandy" or " Couson Amanda making a bluebbery pie as the neighbours walk by." Inhabitants of Park Avenue would not use such countrified prose.
Even some of Carmichael's song titles such as " Lazybones" Georgia on my Mind" Baltimore Oriole" and " Up the Lazy River." reflect a langorous , easy going quality in so many of his tunes. .This is also true of the way Carmichael sings and plays ,often with a toothpick in his mouth.
In " Skylark" , Mercer asks the bird , in his lonely flight, to find out where his loved one can be.
There is a story about the writing of Sylark that, if true, is a remarkable tribute to Mercer. It is said that Hoagy played an unmamed melody a number of times for Mercer who said nothing. Almost a year went by until Mercer returned with the finished lyric you will now hear sung first by Cleo Laine and James Galway, the famous flutist who portrays the sound of that lovely bird while in flight.
Link: http://youtu.be/itk0FddtlbM
Don't Go Away: Please listen to Hoagy himself sing his own song. You never would guess that he started life as a lawyer but soon succumbed to the lure of Jazz both as a composer and performer in many movies and on records. Listen as he adds jazzy licks in the middle of the song, a man always comfortable with a laid back approach to a lengthy and notable career.
Link: http://youtu.be/j7HsGBJjilQ
Even some of Carmichael's song titles such as " Lazybones" Georgia on my Mind" Baltimore Oriole" and " Up the Lazy River." reflect a langorous , easy going quality in so many of his tunes. .This is also true of the way Carmichael sings and plays ,often with a toothpick in his mouth.
In " Skylark" , Mercer asks the bird , in his lonely flight, to find out where his loved one can be.
There is a story about the writing of Sylark that, if true, is a remarkable tribute to Mercer. It is said that Hoagy played an unmamed melody a number of times for Mercer who said nothing. Almost a year went by until Mercer returned with the finished lyric you will now hear sung first by Cleo Laine and James Galway, the famous flutist who portrays the sound of that lovely bird while in flight.
Link: http://youtu.be/itk0FddtlbM
Don't Go Away: Please listen to Hoagy himself sing his own song. You never would guess that he started life as a lawyer but soon succumbed to the lure of Jazz both as a composer and performer in many movies and on records. Listen as he adds jazzy licks in the middle of the song, a man always comfortable with a laid back approach to a lengthy and notable career.
Link: http://youtu.be/j7HsGBJjilQ
Thursday 17 January 2013
ROGERS & HART DO BELIEVE IN ROMANCE
Rodgers & Hart do believe in romance: Despite the fact that Lorenz Hart did write some wonder,ful but sad songs that reflected his own unlucky love life, I had promised to demonstrate the morE epositive side of loves labour not lost but won. For example , "Isn't it Romantic" lists a number of the more rhapsodic elements that occur as people conjure up thoughts of future mating possibilities such as " " I hear breezes playing in the trees above" or Sweet symbols in the moonlight, Do you mean I'll fall in love, perchance, Isn't it romantic ? Hardly prosaic utterances from star-crossed lovers !
Rod Stewart's version has been used in the film " Sabrina" to underscore Audreys Hepburn's pursuit of William Holden, a dashing playboy. But Humphrey Bogart eventually steals her heart and he abandons his business tycoon pursuits to take Audrey back to Paris. This may be a fairy tale escapade but it wins the heart of audiences who will always have a soft spot for a Happy Ending.
A more balanced view of the object of one's affection can be found in Lorenz Hart's lyrics for " My Funny Valentine." The singer asks " Is Your Figure Less Than Greek?" " Is Your Mouth a Little Weak.?" When you open it to speak are you smart?". These are characterizations that are not paricularly flattering but realistic appraisals which do not lessen the affection felt by the singer who then says, by the way, " Don't Change a Hair For Me, Not if you care for me".
Billy Joel, a more contemporary songwriter, said it more clearly " I love you just the way you are ."
LINK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCOYiaeVdlA
Rod Stewart's version has been used in the film " Sabrina" to underscore Audreys Hepburn's pursuit of William Holden, a dashing playboy. But Humphrey Bogart eventually steals her heart and he abandons his business tycoon pursuits to take Audrey back to Paris. This may be a fairy tale escapade but it wins the heart of audiences who will always have a soft spot for a Happy Ending.
A more balanced view of the object of one's affection can be found in Lorenz Hart's lyrics for " My Funny Valentine." The singer asks " Is Your Figure Less Than Greek?" " Is Your Mouth a Little Weak.?" When you open it to speak are you smart?". These are characterizations that are not paricularly flattering but realistic appraisals which do not lessen the affection felt by the singer who then says, by the way, " Don't Change a Hair For Me, Not if you care for me".
Billy Joel, a more contemporary songwriter, said it more clearly " I love you just the way you are ."
LINK http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCOYiaeVdlA
Wednesday 16 January 2013
RODGERS & HART- CANT SEPARATE THEM AT ALL
Rodgers & Hart-Can't Separate them At All: In starting this blog, I would headline the composer and sometimes mention the lyric writer. But there can't really be a song without words-all you have is a musical composition. Henceforth, equal billing with be given to the tunesmith and the wordsmith.
Rodgers, as we have noted, is a master of melodic writing, the notes that soar and engage the listener. Lorenz Hart, a small, pixieish lyricist wrote so touchingly about all aspects of love ( as a Cole Porter wrote in" Love For Sale" " Old Love, New Love, Every kind but True Love."
In the song " Why Can't I" Rodgers & Hart combine in a rueful speculation of a woman who has not found the one, the one she longs for. Her loneliness is captured by one line " Only my book in bed, knows how I look in bed, only my pillow nearby" . The lady is willing to explore conjugal bliss but there seem to be no takers for the moment.
The issues at hand are ones that everyone has faced, is facing or will face and so the song has universal meaning for both men and woman. Sometimes a mere 32 bar song can convey meaning and insight in a mere 3 minutes or less.
This is a lovely duet between two reigning Broadway and concert singers, Dawn Upshaw and Audra Macdonald who take turns lamenting their lonely status concluding in the line " Everybody has someone, why can't I ?"
Fortunately, Rodgers & Hart wrote more positive and almost ecstatic songs about love and romance which we will offer in future posts.
http://youtu.be/2ETAqjoiQMQ
Link:
Rodgers, as we have noted, is a master of melodic writing, the notes that soar and engage the listener. Lorenz Hart, a small, pixieish lyricist wrote so touchingly about all aspects of love ( as a Cole Porter wrote in" Love For Sale" " Old Love, New Love, Every kind but True Love."
In the song " Why Can't I" Rodgers & Hart combine in a rueful speculation of a woman who has not found the one, the one she longs for. Her loneliness is captured by one line " Only my book in bed, knows how I look in bed, only my pillow nearby" . The lady is willing to explore conjugal bliss but there seem to be no takers for the moment.
The issues at hand are ones that everyone has faced, is facing or will face and so the song has universal meaning for both men and woman. Sometimes a mere 32 bar song can convey meaning and insight in a mere 3 minutes or less.
This is a lovely duet between two reigning Broadway and concert singers, Dawn Upshaw and Audra Macdonald who take turns lamenting their lonely status concluding in the line " Everybody has someone, why can't I ?"
Fortunately, Rodgers & Hart wrote more positive and almost ecstatic songs about love and romance which we will offer in future posts.
http://youtu.be/2ETAqjoiQMQ
Link:
Saturday 12 January 2013
TONY BENNETT-HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING
Tony Bennett-How do you keep the Music Playing ?
Having just read Tony Bennett's latest book, it does answer the question asked in the song : "How Do You Keep The Music Playing." It is a song with music by Michel Legrand and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Bennett's book explains the positive view of life that he attributes to lessons learned from his Italian American upbringing in Astoria in the Borough of Queens, New York City. His parents and family taught him never to compromise the quality of anything you want to do in life. These lessons stood him in good stead when record company executives wanted him to sing popular but inferior songs that catered to the lowest common demominator of public taste. His belief in quality and unwillingness to compromise good taste created dfficulties at different times in his career. But he persevered .Now at 86, he is singing better than ever. He himself states humbly but accurately " "That I am at the top of my game." How can that be done at 86 years of age?
He practices every day, he paints every day since singing and art are his sustaining passions. He believes that being able to sing for an audience is the greatest gift he can give the world . His popularity among people of all ages hs never been greater. He reaches out to young people who respond to his generosity and encouragement . One of his best records was in fact called " The Art of Excellence" and features the song mentioned in the title of the post. Listen near the end of the song when he ,with great power and conviction, proudly proclaims his heart-felt serenade to life.
I happen to have a friend who is also in his eighties . He has the same attitude and beliefs as Bennett . He is not a singer but has been known to dance on tables whenever a mood of joy and celebration came over him. He wants to share his joy with both friends and strangers. Both of these men, one famous, one unknown, share the blessing of positive emotion that benefits them personally and anyone else with whom they come into contact. The so-called Golden Years can truly be rewarding for those who see life as an adventure and not just something that has to be endured.
Keeping the music playing ( a metaphor for each day living life to the fullest) is a pretty good philosophy for Tony Bennett , my friend and for anyone else.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://youtu.be/6YRILWxwFjE
Having just read Tony Bennett's latest book, it does answer the question asked in the song : "How Do You Keep The Music Playing." It is a song with music by Michel Legrand and lyrics by Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Bennett's book explains the positive view of life that he attributes to lessons learned from his Italian American upbringing in Astoria in the Borough of Queens, New York City. His parents and family taught him never to compromise the quality of anything you want to do in life. These lessons stood him in good stead when record company executives wanted him to sing popular but inferior songs that catered to the lowest common demominator of public taste. His belief in quality and unwillingness to compromise good taste created dfficulties at different times in his career. But he persevered .Now at 86, he is singing better than ever. He himself states humbly but accurately " "That I am at the top of my game." How can that be done at 86 years of age?
He practices every day, he paints every day since singing and art are his sustaining passions. He believes that being able to sing for an audience is the greatest gift he can give the world . His popularity among people of all ages hs never been greater. He reaches out to young people who respond to his generosity and encouragement . One of his best records was in fact called " The Art of Excellence" and features the song mentioned in the title of the post. Listen near the end of the song when he ,with great power and conviction, proudly proclaims his heart-felt serenade to life.
I happen to have a friend who is also in his eighties . He has the same attitude and beliefs as Bennett . He is not a singer but has been known to dance on tables whenever a mood of joy and celebration came over him. He wants to share his joy with both friends and strangers. Both of these men, one famous, one unknown, share the blessing of positive emotion that benefits them personally and anyone else with whom they come into contact. The so-called Golden Years can truly be rewarding for those who see life as an adventure and not just something that has to be endured.
Keeping the music playing ( a metaphor for each day living life to the fullest) is a pretty good philosophy for Tony Bennett , my friend and for anyone else.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://youtu.be/6YRILWxwFjE
Wednesday 9 January 2013
JEROME KERN- ASTAIRE FILM SONG
Jerome Kern-Astaire film Song: As the founding father of the Great American Songbook, Jerome Kern's earliest songs were rooted in more of a European or Vienna operatta style, well -crafted but not paricularly American in style. Songs like " Look For The Silver Lining" ' Wild Rose" or "How'd You Like To Spoon With Me ?" could just as easily be writen by a European or Viennese composer.
In his film composing, Kern had to write for an American audience .By the 1930's, his compositions began to take on the freshness with what Alec Wilder has called " The Way You Look Tonight " a song that " Flows with style and grace" and one that would not have been composed by a non-American.
Written for the 1936 film " Swing Time" , with lyrics by Doroth Fields, the song was featured in a wonderful dance sequence with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
The first version features Bernadette Peters in a live concert setting. A fine singing actress, Peters is supported by a marvellous piano accompaniment that serves as almost an orchestral backdrop for the singer. The interplay between voice and piano is actualy a duet rather than just an instrumentalist backing up a singer.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://youtu.be/Azq46m46UfA
Tony Bennett provides an equally fine version performing with a small jazz group.
He has a fetchng way with the Dorothy Fields lyrics and manages to inject a gentle swing feeling to the song that is evident but not intrusive. Bennet hs always been able to inject honest emotion in his singing without relying on the bombastic style being heard today by contestants on " American Idol."
PERFORMANCE LINK
http://youtu.be/6N_cv4X5gVY
EDITORIAL NOTE: Both Bennett and Peters are Italian Americans like Sinatra, Vic Damone, Dean Martin, Perry Como and quite a few others. The importance and love of singing seems to be imbedded in the Italian culture and we are the better for it.
In his film composing, Kern had to write for an American audience .By the 1930's, his compositions began to take on the freshness with what Alec Wilder has called " The Way You Look Tonight " a song that " Flows with style and grace" and one that would not have been composed by a non-American.
Written for the 1936 film " Swing Time" , with lyrics by Doroth Fields, the song was featured in a wonderful dance sequence with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
The first version features Bernadette Peters in a live concert setting. A fine singing actress, Peters is supported by a marvellous piano accompaniment that serves as almost an orchestral backdrop for the singer. The interplay between voice and piano is actualy a duet rather than just an instrumentalist backing up a singer.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://youtu.be/Azq46m46UfA
Tony Bennett provides an equally fine version performing with a small jazz group.
He has a fetchng way with the Dorothy Fields lyrics and manages to inject a gentle swing feeling to the song that is evident but not intrusive. Bennet hs always been able to inject honest emotion in his singing without relying on the bombastic style being heard today by contestants on " American Idol."
PERFORMANCE LINK
http://youtu.be/6N_cv4X5gVY
EDITORIAL NOTE: Both Bennett and Peters are Italian Americans like Sinatra, Vic Damone, Dean Martin, Perry Como and quite a few others. The importance and love of singing seems to be imbedded in the Italian culture and we are the better for it.
Tuesday 8 January 2013
COLE PORTER: 2 THOUGHTS ABOUT LOVE
Cole Porter: Two Thoughts of Love: Cole Porter, that purveyor of urban sophistication and langour, wrote on a number of different aspects of what Alison Moyet, another songwriter called ," That Ole Devil Called Love." Porter could be witty or sardonic, sad or remorseful, captivated by the very thought of love or downright angry as in " Get Out Of Town."
In " Down in the Depths ( Of the Nineteith floor)" a wealthy Manhattan lady sadly admits that her love now only has eyes for another. And there she sits" In My Pet Paillated Gown, Down in the Depths of the Ninetieth Floor." She laments that while other urbane Manhattanites are enjoying the delights of an evening in The Big Apple, she sits alone in her " Regal Eagle's Nest while even the Janitor's wife, has a perfectly good life etc." The song is sung by Helen Carr a relatively unknown jazz influenced singer who sounds like a little bit of Jeri Southern and also Lee Wiley( not bad influences by any means.) She is accompanied by a small jazz combo that creates some vocal freedom that is quite endearing despite the sadness conveyed by the lyrics.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j8yVvCPLEA
A contrasting Porter song is " I Concentrate on You." has Sinatra demonstrating his unshakeable faith in the power of his love that will enable him even " When Fortune Cries Nay Nay to Me and people declare we're through. To Prove that even wise men can be wrong, I concentrate on you"
Quite a contrast with the glum and dispirited lady on the Ninetieth floor.
This song carries the pulsating bossa nova beat arranged by Claus Ogerman with the great Brazilian composer Antonio Carlo Jobim playing guitar as well as serving as vocal backup for Sinatra,
Here we have an Italian American singer, doing a song by an Upper Class midwestern protestant with a song arranged by a native German and a Brazilian musical giant playing as well as singing. If nothing else, this is proof positive that music, especially that of the Great American Songbook, transcends language and cultural barriers .
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlpmFc_Uo6c
BONUS TRACK. This is Sinatra singing (three years earlier) the same song but with a Nelson Riddle arrangement more upbeat and swinging in a Big Band manner. Both versions prove the versatility that superior songs can accomodate.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnWkcHG6RbA
:
In " Down in the Depths ( Of the Nineteith floor)" a wealthy Manhattan lady sadly admits that her love now only has eyes for another. And there she sits" In My Pet Paillated Gown, Down in the Depths of the Ninetieth Floor." She laments that while other urbane Manhattanites are enjoying the delights of an evening in The Big Apple, she sits alone in her " Regal Eagle's Nest while even the Janitor's wife, has a perfectly good life etc." The song is sung by Helen Carr a relatively unknown jazz influenced singer who sounds like a little bit of Jeri Southern and also Lee Wiley( not bad influences by any means.) She is accompanied by a small jazz combo that creates some vocal freedom that is quite endearing despite the sadness conveyed by the lyrics.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j8yVvCPLEA
A contrasting Porter song is " I Concentrate on You." has Sinatra demonstrating his unshakeable faith in the power of his love that will enable him even " When Fortune Cries Nay Nay to Me and people declare we're through. To Prove that even wise men can be wrong, I concentrate on you"
Quite a contrast with the glum and dispirited lady on the Ninetieth floor.
This song carries the pulsating bossa nova beat arranged by Claus Ogerman with the great Brazilian composer Antonio Carlo Jobim playing guitar as well as serving as vocal backup for Sinatra,
Here we have an Italian American singer, doing a song by an Upper Class midwestern protestant with a song arranged by a native German and a Brazilian musical giant playing as well as singing. If nothing else, this is proof positive that music, especially that of the Great American Songbook, transcends language and cultural barriers .
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlpmFc_Uo6c
BONUS TRACK. This is Sinatra singing (three years earlier) the same song but with a Nelson Riddle arrangement more upbeat and swinging in a Big Band manner. Both versions prove the versatility that superior songs can accomodate.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnWkcHG6RbA
:
Monday 7 January 2013
IRVING BERLIN - SOME TENDER BALLADS
Irving Berlin-Some Tender Ballads: Early in his career, Irving Berlin made his reputation with up-tempo numbers like " Alexander's Ragtime Band" " I Love A Piano" " " Shaking The Blues Away" (already featured earler on this blog ) ' Putting On The Ritz" etc. However, given his effortless versatility, Berlin also fashioned some very tender and compelling ballads.
" How Deep Is The Ocean" is a superb example of what can be accomplished within the confines of a popular song as it poses an imponderable question.
It is sung with the appropriate emotional solemnity by Ann Hampton Callaway, a polished cabaret performer who honours the depth of Irving Berlin's own lyrics. She makes you believe in the despair so evident in the lyrics and yet they never become maudlin or over stated.
PERFORMANCE LINK:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hJtquj1FNk
An equally evocative ballad is " What I'll do ?" It is one of a number of songs that deal with the emotional consequences of a romantic break up. It starts with a verse that introduces the matter of something that has ended . The main refrain then asks a series of questions that try to answer how the partners will deal with that now irrevocable fact. Linda Ronstadt, a former rock/pop performer had teamed up with the great Nelson Riddle to gravitate to more adult songs form the Geat American Songbook. She was able also to introduce her more youthful fans to a more lasting repertoire than a Motown song like " Heat Wave." Riddle provides a cushion of delicate strings and instrumental solo excerpts from brass and woodwinds.
PERFORMANCE LINK
http://youtu.be/8B1oIcTh604:
" How Deep Is The Ocean" is a superb example of what can be accomplished within the confines of a popular song as it poses an imponderable question.
It is sung with the appropriate emotional solemnity by Ann Hampton Callaway, a polished cabaret performer who honours the depth of Irving Berlin's own lyrics. She makes you believe in the despair so evident in the lyrics and yet they never become maudlin or over stated.
PERFORMANCE LINK:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hJtquj1FNk
An equally evocative ballad is " What I'll do ?" It is one of a number of songs that deal with the emotional consequences of a romantic break up. It starts with a verse that introduces the matter of something that has ended . The main refrain then asks a series of questions that try to answer how the partners will deal with that now irrevocable fact. Linda Ronstadt, a former rock/pop performer had teamed up with the great Nelson Riddle to gravitate to more adult songs form the Geat American Songbook. She was able also to introduce her more youthful fans to a more lasting repertoire than a Motown song like " Heat Wave." Riddle provides a cushion of delicate strings and instrumental solo excerpts from brass and woodwinds.
PERFORMANCE LINK
http://youtu.be/8B1oIcTh604:
Sunday 6 January 2013
Jimmy Van Heusen-Wrote for Crosby & Sinatra
Jimmy Van Heusen-Wrote for Crosby & Sinatra: Jimmy Van Heusen was a wonderful piano player who wrote film sings for both Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, His real name was Chester Babcock but at 16 he opted for a tie in with the famous men's shirt maker.
He was a batchelor who flew his own plane and Angie Dickenson said he never left a party alone after seducing women pianistically. Sinatra's last wife also complained that Van Heusen was a bad influence on Frank's nocturnal activities. None of this interfered with the creation of great songs. The first is " Like Someone in Love" a pure melody written for a 1944 film " Belle of the Yukon."
Who better than Ella Fitzgerald to sing a pure melodic line since she is able to invest any song with unforced phrasing and an inevitable sense of what such a song requires.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehyMLzL1DZE
Another version features Sinatra in his first collaboration with Nelson Riddle who was very instrumental in making so many fine recordings with Sinatra.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1wdTf3igAg
Van Heusen and Johnny Burke wrote a spendid ballad for the musical " Carnival in Flanders".
The song is called " Here's That Rainy Day" It is a very difficult song to sing because of its harmonic structure. In the opinion of Alec Wilder " It is a great illustration of absolute honesty, quite irrespective of its extremely inventive character and melody.
This performance is by Vic Damone . another Italian crooner who has had a lengthy career singing tastefully with a light ,clear sound, precise aticulation and impeccable phrasing. In many ways, he sounds like the pure sound of the younger Sinatra in his Columbia recording years when he was known as " The Voice."
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCJiTBjeeD0
He was a batchelor who flew his own plane and Angie Dickenson said he never left a party alone after seducing women pianistically. Sinatra's last wife also complained that Van Heusen was a bad influence on Frank's nocturnal activities. None of this interfered with the creation of great songs. The first is " Like Someone in Love" a pure melody written for a 1944 film " Belle of the Yukon."
Who better than Ella Fitzgerald to sing a pure melodic line since she is able to invest any song with unforced phrasing and an inevitable sense of what such a song requires.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehyMLzL1DZE
Another version features Sinatra in his first collaboration with Nelson Riddle who was very instrumental in making so many fine recordings with Sinatra.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1wdTf3igAg
Van Heusen and Johnny Burke wrote a spendid ballad for the musical " Carnival in Flanders".
The song is called " Here's That Rainy Day" It is a very difficult song to sing because of its harmonic structure. In the opinion of Alec Wilder " It is a great illustration of absolute honesty, quite irrespective of its extremely inventive character and melody.
This performance is by Vic Damone . another Italian crooner who has had a lengthy career singing tastefully with a light ,clear sound, precise aticulation and impeccable phrasing. In many ways, he sounds like the pure sound of the younger Sinatra in his Columbia recording years when he was known as " The Voice."
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCJiTBjeeD0
Friday 4 January 2013
Frank & Ella-Who Else?
Frank & Ella-Who Else? This blog is focused on the people who created the songs that we cherish as the so-called " Standards" of the Great American Songbook. It all starts with composers and lyricists who conjure up the melodies and words that create memorable songs. However, let us not forget that the notes and words are just ink on paper until someone breathes life into those creations.
There are a great number of performers, young and old, who have done justice to the songs that represent good taste and lasting emotional appeal.
However, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald have done more than any other artists to perform a broad spectrum of the hundreds of songs that are part of classic American popular songbook. Ella has covered most of the maor composers in a series of recordings of the songwriters who have a significant body of work . Throughout his lengthy career, Sinatra has always featured the work of Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Harold Arlen, Jeome Kern and Irving Berlin and often mentions the composers name during his performances.
What is it that makes these two giants of popular song create so extraordinary an impact on millions of dedicated listeners ? With them there is always clarity, naturalness, control, originality and honesty.They both honour the melody and words as written but also find ways of changing a tempo , bending a note, or substituting a note that sometimes sounds better than what was originally written. These qualities are also true of other established performers but it is the sheer volume and consistant quality of their recordings that has created their lasting legacy..
In this video, Frank and Ella sing a duet version of " Moonlight in Vermont" by Suessdorf and Blackburn, two unheralded collaborators who created this poetic ballad sung in a very natural , respectful and unforced manner.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://youtu.be/cyyRi3l7E_k
There are a great number of performers, young and old, who have done justice to the songs that represent good taste and lasting emotional appeal.
However, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald have done more than any other artists to perform a broad spectrum of the hundreds of songs that are part of classic American popular songbook. Ella has covered most of the maor composers in a series of recordings of the songwriters who have a significant body of work . Throughout his lengthy career, Sinatra has always featured the work of Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, Harold Arlen, Jeome Kern and Irving Berlin and often mentions the composers name during his performances.
What is it that makes these two giants of popular song create so extraordinary an impact on millions of dedicated listeners ? With them there is always clarity, naturalness, control, originality and honesty.They both honour the melody and words as written but also find ways of changing a tempo , bending a note, or substituting a note that sometimes sounds better than what was originally written. These qualities are also true of other established performers but it is the sheer volume and consistant quality of their recordings that has created their lasting legacy..
In this video, Frank and Ella sing a duet version of " Moonlight in Vermont" by Suessdorf and Blackburn, two unheralded collaborators who created this poetic ballad sung in a very natural , respectful and unforced manner.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://youtu.be/cyyRi3l7E_k
Thursday 3 January 2013
Burton Lane-He Should Be Better Known
Burton Lane: He Should be Better Known: For many years, Burton Lane moved between Hollywood and Broadway writing individual songs for the movies and whole scores for Broadway Musicals like " Finian's Rainbow" AND " On A Clear Day You Can See Forever." Songs like "Everything I have Is Yours" The Lady's In Love With You" and " I Hear Music" are fairly popular but not associated in the public's mind as written by Burton Lane.
The first song I've chosen is " Too Late Now." It's from a 1951 movie " Royal Wedding " which starred Fred Astaire and Jane Powell as a brother and sister musical act.( Just like Fred and Adele Astaire as real life siblings featured on an earlier post on George Gershwin's " I Got Rhythm.")
It is sung by Audra McDonald, a reigning Broadway diva with lovely lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner of " My Fair Lady " fame.
PERFORMANCE LINK:
http://youtu.be/sxgebW1f7ss
The other Burton Lane song is " Old Devil Moon" a sinuous romantic ballad writen for the musical " Finians Rainbow." The lyrics were by E.Y Harburg and the version presented is from the movie version of the musical. directed by a young Francis Ford Coppola before his Godfather trilogy.
It features Petula Clark and Don Franks, a talented Canadian performer in his first and only film appearance. The scene shows how a song is acted out in the context of an actual story related to actual characters as opposed to a straight forward song recital. The two young lovers in the film really demonstrate how important effective acting is to bring to life both a film or stage version of a musical srory.
PERFORMANCE LINK:
http://youtu.be/anB6GoH9mpM
The first song I've chosen is " Too Late Now." It's from a 1951 movie " Royal Wedding " which starred Fred Astaire and Jane Powell as a brother and sister musical act.( Just like Fred and Adele Astaire as real life siblings featured on an earlier post on George Gershwin's " I Got Rhythm.")
It is sung by Audra McDonald, a reigning Broadway diva with lovely lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner of " My Fair Lady " fame.
PERFORMANCE LINK:
http://youtu.be/sxgebW1f7ss
The other Burton Lane song is " Old Devil Moon" a sinuous romantic ballad writen for the musical " Finians Rainbow." The lyrics were by E.Y Harburg and the version presented is from the movie version of the musical. directed by a young Francis Ford Coppola before his Godfather trilogy.
It features Petula Clark and Don Franks, a talented Canadian performer in his first and only film appearance. The scene shows how a song is acted out in the context of an actual story related to actual characters as opposed to a straight forward song recital. The two young lovers in the film really demonstrate how important effective acting is to bring to life both a film or stage version of a musical srory.
PERFORMANCE LINK:
http://youtu.be/anB6GoH9mpM
Wednesday 2 January 2013
Hoagy Carmichael-The Romantic Side
Hoagy Carmichael-The Romantic Side: Hoagy Carmichael was a constant movie presence in the 1940' and fifties. He usually played a pianist in a bar or nightclub, smoking a cigarette and singing many of his own songs like " Old Buttermilk Sky" " Skylark" Lazybones" and " Georgia on My Mind." Like lyricist Johnny Mercer, there is a small town, rural country feel about many of his songs like " Memphis in June. He was also immersed in the jazz world where he had played with some of the early jazz legends like Bix Beiderbecke and Frank Trumbauer.
There was another side to his talents which he displayed in a song called " I Get Along WithoutYou Very Well" ( except sometimes). He had read a poem by a Jane Brown Thompson and set the words to a slightly melancholic tune that perfectly matched the sentiments contained in her poem.
The version you will see and hear is by Frank Sinatra in a 1971 London Charity concert. Princess Grace Kelly acted as MC . Sinatra was most respectful and charming in her presence since they had become friends while working together on the film " High Society " with Bing Crosby.
I have listend to hundreds of Sinatra performances but I have never heard him sing with such consummate sincerity and tenderness as he did on this song. Accompanied by a large orchestra and what sounds like a typically symphonic Nelson Riddle arrangement, this is Sinatra at the height of his interpretive powers performing a classic Hoagy Carmichael song, one quite different than many of his more well known popular songs.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcRZ2i_C6zo&feature=share&list=PLF2AE30649693E959
There was another side to his talents which he displayed in a song called " I Get Along WithoutYou Very Well" ( except sometimes). He had read a poem by a Jane Brown Thompson and set the words to a slightly melancholic tune that perfectly matched the sentiments contained in her poem.
The version you will see and hear is by Frank Sinatra in a 1971 London Charity concert. Princess Grace Kelly acted as MC . Sinatra was most respectful and charming in her presence since they had become friends while working together on the film " High Society " with Bing Crosby.
I have listend to hundreds of Sinatra performances but I have never heard him sing with such consummate sincerity and tenderness as he did on this song. Accompanied by a large orchestra and what sounds like a typically symphonic Nelson Riddle arrangement, this is Sinatra at the height of his interpretive powers performing a classic Hoagy Carmichael song, one quite different than many of his more well known popular songs.
PERFORMANCE LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcRZ2i_C6zo&feature=share&list=PLF2AE30649693E959
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