Oscar Hammerstein Jr. on hatred, racism and anti-semitism;
In South Pacific, Hammerstein believed that " You have to carefully taught" to perpetuate hatred and fear of other groups. It begins in the home since " Children will Listen" as Stephen Sondheim also wrote  for " Into The Woods." Barbra Streisand weaves both songs into a powerful reminder that passing along hateful stereotypes to the young only prolongs destructive cultural beliefs. 

https://youtu.be/fZSt1pgjQdk
 

Sinatra-" Here's That Rainy Day"  Written by Jimmy Van Heusen, Sinatra's favorite contemporary composer, lyrics by Johnny Burke. This is a team that produced a number of Bing Crosby hits while Sinatra recorded over 50 Van Heusen songs.  Respected song scholar, Alec Wilder wrote that "It's q very powerful and affecting song, It has great weight and authority and must have been a song written under extremely tense circumstances. In my opinion, it is a great illustration of absolute honesty, quite irrespective of its extremely inventive character as a melody."

https://youtu.be/KCDomDjembo

I Could Have Told You  A woman warns another woman not to trust the man with whom she is now involved. Telling her " He'll love you awhile and desert you" etc." " For all of my tears, I could have told you so." The song is by Jimmy Van Heusen, Sinatra's favourite modern -day composer.
Sharon Clark sings with the appropriate rueful expression believing that forewarned is forearmed.

 https://youtu.be/j_Mw8l_UOxM

DANNY BOY:  Although Dany Boy, originally created as Londonderry Air is not an American creation but one long part of Irish heritage. It demonstrated the power of melody and a singing line, characteristics of the best of the Classical American Popular song tradition. One cannot help but sing along to such a transforming melody. Here it is played by pianist Keith Jarret who respects the basic melody while adding subtle harmonic touches and voicings that enhance the song itself.

 https://youtu.be/C6tIzxmPCQE

"The Unicorn in the Garden"  A delightful fable by James Thurber. Was there really a Unicorn in that garden ? The animation is by UPA and is quite unique. NOTE: The music is by David Raksin, most famous for " LAURA"   the iconic film song.lyrics by Johnny Mercer. You should find this a delightful little ironic story.

 https://youtu.be/diyAh-iHsRA

MEDLEY OF Harold Arlen songs:  George & Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin .Richard Rodgers and Cole Porter believed that Harold Arlen was the most original of the major American songwriters, His Over The Rainbow was voted Best song of the 20th century with Blues In The Night and One for my Baby both favourites of Frank Sinatra. For Judy Garland, in addition to Over the Rainbow, he wrote that classic torch song The Man That Got Away.
Broadway diva Bernadette Peters sings a number of his famous songs in a live, concert presentation.

 https://youtu.be/pMBoXZ3yVh4

" Take Me to the World" is also from Steven Sondheim's "Evening Primrose" This is the musical fantasy about people who live in the basement of a department store afraid to venture into the real world. The song consists of a duet between Barbra Streisand (who also sung " I Remember" from the same musical ) and Antonio Banderas. They play characters who dream of returning to the world outside, hence the title " Take Me To The World." This is a lush, highly emotional song has a most thrilling conclusion.


https://youtu.be/bGEWwGdyRSU

Streisand sings " I Remember" by Stephan Sondheim. This hauntingly reflective song is from a Sondheim musical called " Evening Primrose."  It was based on a short story about a poet who discovers a girl living in a department store after hours like a mannequin but brought to life by the poet. She begins to remember things about her earlier life before her department store existence   Evening Primrose was a black and white television show from the 1950' which I vaguely recall seeing.
 Sondheim. like Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Frank Loesser wrote both words and music. He is acknowledged  as a supreme lyricist but his melodic talents are under-appreciated. This is a lovely. classic ballad.

https://youtu.be/U7AVGleYNyE

Tony Bennett sings " While We're Young"   This is a song by Alec Wilder, a composer and scholar whose encyclopedic dissection of what constitutes the greatness of Classic American Popular Song has become the bible for understanding the popular music that swept the world from 1900-1950 ( And which continues even today) Wilder wrote this song which was sung by Tony Bennett in a live performance with Alec Wilder in attendence.
I do disagree with the view that only the young can enjoy the power of song. At age 81, I spend a great deal of each day studying and listening to the songs of the past and great songs written today by Johnny Mandel, Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell and todays singer/songwriters.

https://youtu.be/UpCwQjwSeg8 

SNOWFALL-A Wintry Treat From Tony Bennett.  Bandleader Claude Thornhill wrote this piece in 1941 and it became an instrumental hit song. His wife, Ruth, later wrote the lyrics sung by Tony Bennett for his Christmas Album.'     Toronto and much of Southern Ontario was just hit by an unpleasant, icy blast. The song paints a rather idylic portrait of winter, quite at odds with our current December 2 situation.

 https://youtu.be/UmHk_-Be8TU

"LOTUS BLOSSOM"  A superb piano solo. I had just posted comments on the magnificent Billy Strayhorn  song "Lush Life."  It is his most famous composition , a song Sinatra thought was so complex, he gave up trying to record it. I suggest you listen to a fine piano solo of Lotus Blosson, played by Fred Hersch.
So perfect is the piece, that Duke Ellington, Strayhorn's mentor and collaborator, always played it as written , believing that improvisation could not improve upon Strayhorn;s unique composition. As you listen, it is possible that the song could have been written by  Chopin or Ravel, so perfect is the melody and harmonic structure. Fred Hersch does the song full justice.

https://youtu.be/N3lzKxt20Zo

Diana Krall matches Sinatra:  I recently posted an opinion that Frank Sinatra's version of " I Get Along Without You Very Well" was the most effective intimate ballad he had ever recorded. Now I must announce that Diana Krall's version is in the same league. It is an intimate, quietly passionate performance with an arrangement as effective as that of Nelson Riddle's for Sinatra. The conductor is Alan Broadbent who is known for arranging and conducting songs for female singers. This is musical artistry at its finest and welcome relief from the Storm & Drang of so much current [popular music.

 https://youtu.be/Q4YUnfwMkRw

"That's All "  Both Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole recorded this song by Alan Brand & Bob Haymes ( brother of Dick Haymes) and they are excellent versions and still popular. However, listen to Canadian crooner Michael Buble and his tender and heart-felt version. It compares very well with those of the two previous versions by the Sinatra and Cole ,both masters of popular song styling.

 https://youtu.be/whFrPpPeED4

If You Love  the song LAURA, you should love Theme From The Bad and The Beautiful, both by David Raksin. Jenness & Velsey said of Raksin that his songs have " Excellent, far-ranging voice lines combined with eztraordinarily lush chords with melodies that are very broad and expressive,"  "Love is for the Very Young" is the title of lyrics provided by Dory Previn based on the Raksin theme. Michael Feinstein recorded her version but am unable to retrieve it at present.
Raksin, himself, conducts a symphonic version of this magnificent and challenging melody. 

 https://youtu.be/C7AUCadYYuw

LAURA - Classic Movie Theme      In the 1944 movie, a detective, played by Dana Andrews, becomes possessed by e picture of Laura assumed to be dead and the subject of his murder investigation. The lovely Laura theme is played while the detective wanders around the empty apparent. Imagine his surprise when Laura enters her apartment as they both discover that it was another woman who had been staying in the apartment and mistakenly shot in the dimly lit apartment.
 It was only when Johnny Mercer added the now famous lyrics that the song took hold. Several famous composers have said that Laura was one song they wished that they had written.
This is a very romantic solo piano version by Dave Brubeck almost in the style of Rachmaninov.

 https://youtu.be/b0c9BFiS3qs

Sinatra sings " I''ll Remember April"  It's a movie song from the 1940's, one that Frank sings with complete believeability. He always is able to convey the meaning in any song and inhabit it as his own, personal story. He is a singing actor with great dramatic scope.

 https://youtu.be/pepYluyez4k

Sinatra asks " Where Is The One ?"  I believe that most single people have cast thoughts about that certain someone who might be one's desired life partner. Sinatra, himself, had imagined such thoughts, found partners who were not compatible before ending up with Barbara Marx. Alec Wilder, was also a song scholar who  wrote the song. The longing in Sinatra's voice and the pleading in the lyrics combine to create a highly emotional listening experience.

https://youtu.be/KpsT6uHVgoI

S'Wonderful  Another Gershwin brothers classic which demonstrates the optimistic and joyful side of the composer. It is sung by Diane Reeves, a highly lauded singer with a big voice and dynamic vocal presence. She is accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. Listen in the middle section when the tune is altered into a waltz section that still manages to swing so brightly. Reeves was a devoted fan of Sara Vaughan and that influence is evidenced by her performance.

https://youtu.be/fmUE9CzQiD8 

IF THERE IS SOMEONE LOVELIER THAN YOU
While rummaging through old photos, I found a 1964 passport application of Ann Ireland, my wife-to -be in 1966. Literally, the picture took my breath away as I looked upon the radiant face of that lovely 24 year old woman.
A song immediately came to mind.
" If there is someone lovelier thn you, Than I am blind, A man without a mind. " This version is by  Dick Haymes, a favourite of both Ann and myself. It ends with
" If There is someone lovelier than you. By all that's beautiful, Such beauty can't be true."

 https://youtu.be/BhpjMyV-h0w


























'

Every Time We Say Goodbye  Cole p[orter was known for his saucy and cleverly-Rhymed lyrics ( like " The virago from Chicago " from Kiss Me Kate.")  He also had a tender, most expressive way of looking at love relationships. In "Every Time We say Goodbye" he explores the anguish felt by lovers when they part, even momentarily. For example " How strange the change from major to minor, every time we say goodbye" 9 On the worf minor, P[orter introduces a change to a minor chord to underscore the " minor" lyric intent.
This duet between Clint Holmes and Jane Monheit features a Grammy nominated arrangement by the great Jorge Callandrelli, a favourite arranger of the best singers of classic American popular song. He combines strings, woodwinds and brass in a most elegant and moving fashion.
 https://youtu.be/UrMHH2rD7bY

INDIAN   SUMMER    Composed by Victor Herbert, an American who principally wrote in an European Operatta vein, found time to write an imensely popular song in the Great American Songbook tradition pioneered by Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and Harold Arlen. It is his only song free from any European musical influences with very poetic lyrics by Al Dubin, My home in Toronto is in a very leafy enclave called Rosedale where the fall colours of red and sugar maples, white and red oaks and brilliant flaming Sumach are in their current glory.
Sung by John Pizzarelli,backed by the wondrful harmonic sensibilities of Sir Geoge Shearing, it is a poignant reminder of the recurring glories of Mother Nature present even in the middle of a large urban metropolis.

 https://youtu.be/wHx2hW8LUQg

A NIGHTINGALE SANG IN BERKELY SQUARE

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square   Writeni in 1939 by Englshmen Eric Maschwitz and Manning Sherman, This is a loving tribute to an elegant section of London as the song often evokes nostalgic memories of that great city prior to and during WW11. Although this blog is dedicated to songs of the Great American Songbook, this English piece is written in the same excellent tradition as ballads by Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin and Richard Rodgers. 
The song features the brillint piano arrangement of George Shearing. who emigrated to America in the late 1940's And the vocal mastery of Mel Torme who is note perfect and who beautifully expresses the praiseworthy lyrics. Shearing's ability to simulate the trilling sound of the Nightingale is a fitting end to this live concert. NOTE;  Ornithologists point out that this bird is more used to rural environments and would not likely be heard singing in the heart of a busy city like London. Nonetheless, it's a most persuasive sentiment and a legitimate exercise in poetic license.
I heard these two artist perform this song in Toronto's Royal York Hotel over twenty years ago as the guest of Malcolm Orme, a now dearly departed friend  It was one of the most moving musical moments I have ever experienced. I hope you are equally transfixed.
  https://youtu.be/_ZMD0ApAxiE

Gershwin's Do It Again.  Although the title might suggest an intimate sexual encounter, It's really about a most sensual kiss that asks to be repeated, given the thrill elicited from the firt osculatory contact.
The arrangement with orchestra and strings undersores the highly suggestive lyrics and singer Calabria Foti offers a convincing evocation of the desire for more of the same- just kissing !

 https://youtu.be/frRJAhTRP3c

CRY  ME  A RIVER:  This is a superior pop song from 1954. It was written by Arthur Hamilton and is very much in the tradition of the torch songs of Harold Arlen. George Gershwin and Cole Porter, noted creators of the Great American Songbook canon.
Elegantly sung by Ella Fitzgerald, she is accompanied by a sumptuous orchestral arrangement by Jorge Callendrelli and played by the London Symphony Orchesta which brings out the sadness inherent in both the melody and the lyrics.

 https://youtu.be/0ZyKaBwRP7o

TOO LATE NOW- but not for Marilyn Maye.  A superb singer, Maye is 91 and still performing. She holds the the record for the most appearances ( 76) by a singer on
Johnny Carsons " Tonight Show."  Even Ella Fitzgerald called Maye her favorite white girl singer, The New Yorker describes her as " A last-of-her kind crooner who can still mesmerize an audience as she interprets the Great American Songbook with an unfussy warnth that feels transported from a less ironic age, She belives that she sings to you, not for you.

Too Late Now is from the 1951 movie " Royal Wedding", music by Buron Lane, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner.  There is such ease of expression in Marilyn's singing and she could offer a Master Class to today's strident " divas" who feel evrything must be at a fever pitch in omostrder to impress. Marilyn prefers to tell the story in a flowing. unforced manner. It is conversational =not an assault on the ears. At 91, Mariyn Maye is a most remarkable and enviable performer. 

 https://youtu.be/wPjEJPBuWZE

Country Girl   Tony Bennett sings another Robert Farnon song, Country Girl. It is a reflective song,written in the style of an English folk ballad with lyrics by Kenneth McKellar, a Scottish singer/songwriter. This is a live performance with a large orchestra, conducted by the composer/arranger Robert Farnon. 

https://youtu.be/cYN-R2Qrhx0

How Beautifil Is Night :  This is a rhapsodic blending of music and poetic expression. The composition is by former Torontonian, Robert Farnon. He led a Canadian version of the Glen Miller military band during WW11 and stayed in Great Britain where he established a stellar reputation as a master of Light Orchestral Music. He is acknowledged as the greatest arranger for strings by musical giants like Andre Previn and Quincy Jones. This song, .arranged and led by Farnon, features the Singers Unlimited, four singers who over dub a number of different parts so it sounds like a full chorus.Their vocal arrangements are by Gene Puerling. His reputation as an imaginative arranger for vocal groups is on the same level as Farnon's orchestral writing.
I also include a piano version with George Shearing backed by Faron's orchestra.
Amidst the caterwhauling that describes much of current popular music, the serenity of this piece in the hands of it's creator is quite profound.

https://youtu.be/HQjePvI5FGQ   Singers Unlimited

https://youtu.be/JLkXyJbBB4A    George Shearing

All I ask of You    I am not a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber's music, especially any thing in the rock music vein. The only song I admire is " All I Ask Of Yoiu"  from Phantom of the Opera." It is more in the classic melodic style of Jerome Kern and Richard Rodgers.
Here it is sung by Rebecca Luker, a Broadway veteran and fine actress. Ii is sung with the Morman Tabernacle Choir and orchestra. 

https://youtu.be/bqGcB1f6Z9E

TORONTO : Pick Yourself Up after Kawhi departure.  Yes ,it is disappointing that Kawhi has decided to retun to LA with the Clippers. I look forward to Kawhi and Paul George dismantling the arrogance of LeBron James and the Lakers. Leonard has taught Toronto and the country  the virtue of hard work, determination and modesty. These are profound lessons for all of Canada for which we should be collectively grateful.
 Jerome Kern's song" PickYourslf Up" says " Nothing's impossible I have found, for when my chin is on the ground. I pick myself up and start all over again."
Mel Torme and George Shearing provide a dynamic performance with the same improvisatioal verve Kawhi has shown on the court.
Hopefully , Masai Ujuri can continue to pull  more rabbits out of his managerial hat and make the Raptors even stronger for 2019/2020. 

https://youtu.be/ewy8gSI7a08

Cleo Laine wrote the words and sings " He Was Beautiful"  The melody ( Cavatina) as written by Stanley Myers for the Viet War drama " The Deer Hunter."  The first version is by Cleo Laine performing  with John Williams,the noted British classical guitarist (not the famous Hollywood film composer.)

The second version is for two guitars and large orchestra. It is a stunning pice of music and played beautifully.

  https://youtu.be/DQnxfTDVizU      Cleo Laine performance


https://youtu.be/X7SvBtJuh3Y         TWO GUITARS/ORCHESTRA

" A Sleepin'Bee"  Barbra Streisand sings a marvellous Harold Arlen/Truman Capote song from House of Flowers. Set in Haiti, based on Capote's visit to an exotic locale, the song was introduced by a 19 year old. Diahanne Carroll . She was employed in an establishment run by a Madam, played by Pearl Bailey. The Haitian folk belief says that if you catch a bee and if it doesn't sting you, your true love is guaranteed for life.

https://youtu.be/cKAUF-DQi90

Come Sunday: Duke Ellington's sacred hymn described his deep religious faith. It was part of a major sacred muisc suite called Black, Brown & Beige. The words invoke the hope & prayer that the lengthy trials and tribulation of the Afro-American community would come to a peaceful end. Despite the lengthy struglled, It's still a long,long road to travel.

Soprano Kathleen Battle and saxophanist Branford Marsalis perform with such intensity that it almost makes a believer of this old agnostic. Such is the power of music when combined with such solemn & inspirational lyrics.

On June 23, 2019, I hope to hear Brian Barlow's Big Band perform the sacred music of Duke Ellington as part of the Jazz Vespers program at Toronto;s magnificent Christ Church Deer Park
It takes place at 4:30 pm along with a brief reflection by Jazz Vespers Clergy.
           Admission is free,donations are welcome.

https://youtu.be/kmfPiEoFHm0



































7 Beige






















7Beige 

In a calm: Canadian Robert Farnon, a masterful writer of orchestral music, wrote In a Calm. a self-descriptive mood piece showing his mastery of string writing. Captain Robert Farnon headed a Candian Armed Forces band , similar to what Glem Miller did so successfully in WW11. After the War, Franon stayed in Great Britain and wrote memorable orchestral music and arrangements for many of ther top vocalist in America. On Canada's CBC, I heard him play trumpet on The Happy Gang, a legendary radio variety show originating in CBC's Toronto studios.
His influence on many arrangers and orchestrators has been significant and ' The Guv", as he is known, is still a formidable musical presence in the work of my friend Rick Wilkins, a highly regarded arranger, composer who has written for so many magor singers  Rick is also a great arranger for Big Bands, especially in his lengthy stewardship with Rob McConnell, the Boss Brass and the legendary Cansdian guitarist Ed Bickert with whom he has played great saxophone/guitar duets.


https://youtu.be/YOixWDxAeos

ROMANCE DURING WARTIME Altough war is a nasty and often tragic event, people who are involved still have

Romance &  Love during Wartime

War is often a brutal and destructive event affecting millions. People caught up in the maelstrom still have to get on with their everyday lives. The film ' The Americanization of Emily takes place on the eve of D Day. James Garner is an American naval officer in love with July Andrews, an English woman who serves as his driver while preparing for the invasion. Garner has been given the job of making a film of ther first dead sailor on Omaha beach, a job he wishes to avoid. Meanwhile, he is able to wangle a weekend leave with Emily and this clip also has elements of the love theme by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer. This scene does not dismiss the carnage that is about to occur during the D Day invasion but is a brief and tender interlude between two individuals caught up in wartime circumstances.

Also attached is a Tony Bennett performance of Emily. a song that along with Laura ,is one of the finest movie songs dedicated to a female movie character.

 https://youtu.be/Sgihy39zzYc    Film clip

https://youtu.be/3H00RUW9PI8   Tony Bennett-EMILY

TORONTO RAPTOR'S FAN APPRECIATION SONG " I get A Kick Outta You !"

Toronto Raptors have captured the hearts of millions of Canadians. The joy and pleasure they bring us is best expressed by Frank Sinatra singing Cole Porter's " I get a kick outta' you."  In this case , the "YOU" mentioned in the song are the Raptors who have captured our collective hearts,
The song really swings just like the Raptors driving to the basket to finish with a thunderous dunk. 

RAPTORS;  WE REALLY DO GET A KICK OUTTA YOU !

https://youtu.be/ueIRPDAbPNY 

The Heather on the Hill

The Heather On The Hill, is a lovely ballad from the musical Brigadoon( currently playng at The Stratford Theatre in Canada.) It's a story set in Scotland with a love duet between a visiting American and a lovely  Scottish lass named Fiona.
( Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse in the film version. )
The first is a vocal  performance by a large Brisish orchestra. The second ,an orchestral version by Robert Farnon, a famous ex Candian arranger  & orchestrator with Sir George Shearing on piano. The irony is that the elegant Scottish themed melody was by Frederick Loewe, a transplanted Austrian who also mastered British musical traditions in My Fair Lady. Both set of lyrics were by Alan Jay Lerner,who was married 8 times, hence the song " It's almost like being in love"has a unique & poignant resonance.

 https://youtu.be/TPXwgNej55o    VOCAL VERSION

https://youtu.be/v2cQeQWVuo8     Shearing/instrumental version

LUSH LIFE-Piano Magic   At 21, Billy Strayhorn wrote a marvelous and highly sophisticated song, both in its construction and with his world-wise lyrics. Sinatra, despite all his talent, felt he could not do justice to the song and stopped trying.
This is an instrumental version by the highly prized Geri Allen.
Even though the song features highly complex harmonic passages, Geri Allen adds her own harmonic richness, especially in the opening section without accompaniment. It offers a textbook example of distinctive improvising around an almost perfect compositions. The richness of her piano sound is breathtaking.
She proves that one can improve upon perfection. 

 https://youtu.be/fPW10_Nf5fQ

The Half of it Dearie Blues

Gershwin's:The Half of it Deary Blues: Gershwin is often venerated as a blues influenced composer, largely based on the popularity of his Rhapsody in Blue. It incorporated conventional aspects of the blues canon, the way in which classical,composers often adapt folkloric elements in their own extended works. Johnny Mercer, who knows a lot about American popular songwriting, ,thought that Gershin's " blues" ventures were rather academic and in,his words, were " mechanical" when compared with Harold Arlen's Blues In The Night. So many Arlen ballads that were infused with the spirit and elements that were  decidedly "bluesy" in tone and texture.
In searching the Gershwin songbook. I could only come up with one song that seemed true to the blues tradition. It is aptly named The Half Of It Dearie Blues. Sung by Ella Fitzgerald, it has a wonderful Nelson Riddle arrangement that is truly down and dirty  in the best blues tradition. I'm sure Arlen would agree since Gershwin was his earliest idol  who described Arlen " As the best of us all" in terms of classic American popular song traditions..
Gershwin's Porgy & Bess is his masterpiece does contains many aspects of black music themes in terms of subject matter and lyrical expression. 

https://youtu.be/MsY57dhQefQ 

HAUNTED HEART

Haunted Heart

The recording by Jane Monheit was missing in the previous post.

https://youtu.be/QLvEm2flvL4

You Don't Know What Love is:  Many love songs praise the ectasy of love encounters in the most poetic of expressions. But there is also the agony and heartbreak that is often part of love relationships. This song, by Gene DePaul and Don Raye, believes one must also live through the agony of " the Blues" to really understand what love is " Until you learn the meaning of the blues." Maybe, for some, there is nothing but unfettered bliss in love affairs. That would be most unusual since there tend to be ups and downs in any male/female relationship. Singer/pianist Nina Simone really explores the heartbreak and sadness suggested by the song title and her own discovery of what love is.

https://youtu.be/BguiWbW5j3Q

A Tribute :Songs About London- But before-BREXIT:  What will happen once a Brexit decision is made is unknown at present.How will it affect  England and London is likely to be quite significant. Please take some time to hear several songs, written by Londoners that celebrate the unique character of that city. Noel Coward's London Pride, is sung by Coward himself , a song he wrote at the height of WW11. Carroll Coate's, London By Night is sung by Frank Sinatra. Eric Maschwitz's & Manning Sherman's A Nightingle Sang in Berkely Square, is sung by Mel Torme and accompanied by a former Londoner, Sir George Shearing. These songs all touch on various delightful aspects of old London Town and hopefully its charms will not disappear due to disruptive political machinations.

https://youtu.be/aTsIMVIWjlQ    Noel Coward

https://youtu.be/tGhCDlLwHLQ  Frank Sinatra

https://youtu.be/CJKjn2OtyH0    Mel Torme/George Shearing

Diana Krall does Gershwin's  S'Wonderful  Wonderful symphonic version of a Gershwin classic, arranged and conducted by the brilliant German musician Claus Ogerman. Diana sings and plays with jazz improvisations supported by the pulsating bossa nova rhythm from her regular group and the orchestra.

 https://youtu.be/6mM2HkNE1nA

Here's That Rainy Day  One of Jimmy Van Heusen's  finest ballads, lyrics by Johhny Burke. This is a wonderful big band arrangement by the Metropole Orchestra and trumpeter, Bobby Shew .The arrangement combines string elements with classic big band instrumentation creating the best of both orchestral worlds-the symphonic and jazz traditions. 

https://youtu.be/3kj2twcc41A 

FUN TO BE FOOLED

Lena Horne sings that "It's Fun to be fooled" with love.  Composed by Harold Arlen with two of his favorite lyricists Ira Gershwin and E.Y Harburg, the song was for a 1934show called Life Begins at 8:40. The lyrics celebrate the ecstasy of initial love while prudently recognizing that such moments might always last 
The moral: Grab what you can from love since it's such fun to be fooled , at least for a while. Sung by Lena Horne, it's just one of a number of Arlen songs she has performed ever since they met when she was a 16 year old girl at the legendary Cotton Club. She also starred in the Arlen / Harburg musical " JAMAICA ." 


https://youtu.be/xeZLiwcvrLg

As long s I Live-  A Harold Arlen Cotton Club song favoured by Jack Viertel, a polymath of all things dealing with musical theatre. In the songwriting match-up between Arlen and George Gershwin, Viertel comes down on the side of Arlen. His reasoning: Gershwin was more obvious and predictable in his compositions although still "brash and thrilling."  Arlen was much less predictable and capable of injecting surprising but endearing elements in his songs. One such trope Viertel described as " Unexpected melodic tags Arlen sometimes attaches at the very end, just when you thought the song was over ( If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow why, oh why , can't I ?" is certainly the most famous one of those tags.)"The song has often been sung terribly by me (Viertel) to my wife Linda." In addition to Arlen singing his own song in a most ebullient manner, this version is by Maxine Sullivan, a veteran Cotton Club performer. She has an easy swinging manner and is backed backed by a small jazz group. How fitting.  Arlen was deeply rooted in the jazz idiom ever since he led small jazz groups as a teenager in Buffalo, New York.
If you, like Viertel and I, deeply love Arlens' songs, obey Jack Viertels' admonishment to sing this particular song like Harold ( and Maxine did.) " It spreads joy."

 https://youtu.be/CFguuUiQ6RQ     Arlen

https://youtu.be/i0dpHzlhntA          Sullivan



 

There's a lull in my life  Another movie song for Alice Faye by Harry Revel and Mack Gordon. Nat King Cole performed the song and this is his daughters tribute to her father and this song from the 1930;s.
There is a sumptuous tringarrangement to support the song and the singer and, certainly, her Dad would heartily approve of her version. 

https://youtu.be/xZMYbWgXbt0

"Stay as sweet as you are" Harry Revel. composer and Mack Gordon, lyricist , wrote a number of movie songs for Alice Faye, the darling of 20th Century Fox. She had a wonderful marriage with Phil Harris, singer/comedian on the Jack Benny Show . This lovely song asks that the lady in question not change anything at all because " Your divine, you ! "
Sung with great tenderness by Mel Torme who hated the term " The Velvet Fog" but there was pure velvet in his voice and presentation. 

 https://youtu.be/5MsmwoT_o2Y

Bob Fosse dances in Kiss Me Kate film. Since the Fosse/Verdon TV series is now underway,  It's fun to see him as one of the three dancers pursuing Ann Miller in the number  From This Moment On. He never achieved any significant fame as a dancer but his early experiences led to great acclaim as a choreographer and director. ( He's wearing the yellow hat)

 https://youtu.be/YTBrVuEvZbg

Rodgers & Harts' YOUR NEARER. It's a tender, ruminative song that reflects on some of the many things that remind the singer of a loved one. It concludes that  " Even when you leave me and when you're away, You'll know your nearer, For I love you so." 
It was written by Rodgers & Hart for the 1940 film " Too Many Girls" and sung by Lucille Ball in the movie. This performance features Shirley Horn, a wonderfful singer and pianist who is able to convey the essence of a song while accompanying herself on the piano. 

https://youtu.be/Dv6sMNVY0i8 

Someone to watch over me:  George and Ira Gershwins' iconic love request. It features a long verse or introductory section that sets the mood and subject for what will follow. ending in that plaintive request for " Someone to watch over me." Sung by elegant Ella with a marvellous arrangemnt by Nelson Riddle, it is an example of what I consider to be the greatest of all the VERVE produced songbooks and largely due to the inventive and highly varied Riddle arrangements.

https://youtu.be/gDhF-PsDuCw 

Love and the weather can't be depended upon. Another song that links this disappointment of love with the failure of April to actually deliver the promise of spring.Both words and music are by Irving Berlin that prolific American popular songwriter.
It is sung by Jo Stafford whose warm and entrancing voice conveys the belief that love and the weather can't be depended upon. 

https://youtu.be/u0SEnpF2aOU

April Fooled Me ( As it often does)  The long awaited coming of Spring often ushers in a late snow fall upsetting the robins and cardinals already on our patio. This song by Jerome Kern had lyrics added by Dorothy Fields after Kern had died. Sung in a tribute to the lyrics of Dorothy Fields, it concluded that the singer was failed both by what was not realy love and a false spring. Conclusion: Love and the weather can't be depended upon ( actually the title of another popular song) subject of my next blog post.


https://youtu.be/qne5QDELJoI

Spring can really hang you up the most: Not all spring songs describe the pleasures that spring may bring. This 1955 song by Tommy Wolf and Fran Landesman tells that
 " Spring has got me feeling, like a horse that never left the post" or 
 '' Doctors once prescribed a tonic--Didn't help a bit, my condition must be chronic, Spring can really hang you up the most."
The performance of Lisa Rich is quite effective as she clearly articulates the unusual lyrics to bring the essence of the song to life.

 https://youtu.be/FjSAP6sGKxI

Tony Bennett & Where Do You Start ?  This is a tender reminder of what one may feel after a romantic break up. It's a song by Johnny Mandel ( Shadowof your smile, Emily, Theme from M.A.S.H) and lyrics by Allan & Marilyn Bergman.
The song is given a heart felt yet restrained performance by Tony Bennett in an arrangement composd and conducted by Johnny Mandel. This is music making of the highest order.
 
 https://youtu.be/uGG3fbOtAKg

Ella announces that "Spring is Here, I Hear"  Rodgers & Hart wrote this somewhat rueful song that combines the joy of a long delayed winter with the sadness of one who laments " Because no one loves me." 
Here is a perfect example of the power of a verse, a device that serves to introduce the themes of what are to follow in the main chorus. Ella's usual graceful performance is contrasted with the young Sinatra version that conveys the sadness of the lyrics and that plaintive melody.

https://youtu.be/jaXqP0t8CAg         Ella

https://youtu.be/LZi-l9jVgeU           Sinatra

Double Rainbow ( means good luck)  This another fine Bossa Nova song by the Master, Antonio Carlo Jobim. The English lyrics were by Gene Lees, noted jazz scholar and lyricist.
This is a lush otchestral arrangement supporting the light, ethereal voice of singer Stacy Kent. a style most appropriate to convey the essence of the Bossa Nova sound ( relaxed yet with a gently insistent, rhythmic pulse. The arrangement is  by Tommy Lawrence. 

 https://youtu.be/epv-4FZk4wc

A hilarious Bob & Ray radio sketch featuring a bonehead radio interviewer as he screws up his interview with Dr. Daryl Dexter, worlds living expert on the Komodo Dragon . Some younger blog vewers may not be aware of the comedy duo of Bob & Ray who were a very popular radio team on the 1950's. They featured dead pan, often banal sketches. on the mundane aspects of life  with charcters like Wally Bellew , the slow Talkers of America. Charles the Poet etc. I especially love their coverage of the Corrupt Mayor of Skunk Hollow , New Jersey.
 I include this in a musical blog because it demonstrates he importance of timing in comedy just as it is in jazz-the right expression (beat) at the right time. Sometimes the pauses are more significant than the words or notes.

 https://youtu.be/NqpmJ-VmmpM

Sinatra sings of " That Old Devil Moon."  Burton Lane and E.Y.Harburg wrote the song for Finians Rainbow, a 1947 show dealing with Irish mysticism and racial relations ( quite an unusual combination of subjct matters). The 1967 film starred Fred Astaire and Petula Clark and was the first feature film directed by Francis Ford Coppola before his Godfather Sagas. 

 https://youtu.be/2RLN7WNhiL4

Cole Porter asks " How can you be down in the depths when you live on the nineteenth floor in Manhattan ?"
Renee Fleming. a real live diva, provides an answer.
If you do not have the lover you crave, you will be depressed. She knows that "Even a janitors' wife, has a perfectly good life" but not her.

 https://youtu.be/x8m7joI9bYE

You don't know what love is: A very honest and dramatic lament with genuine melancholic lyrics as well as the blues influenced melodic line. Written, amazingly, for an Abbot and Costello movie. ( No the boys did not sing it to each other)
This is a far superior song to much of what passes today with barely literate utterings screamed at top levels by would-be divas. Cassandra Wilson is a great jazz interpretor who treats this song with the quiet intensity it richly deserves. Music by Gene DePaul, lyrics by Don Raye. They also wrote I'll Remember April , a favorite of jazz players and singers.

https://youtu.be/0KKiR4NumaE 

Every time we Say Goodby: A wonderful Cole Porter love song. Many Cole Porter sonsgare wiity, sexy and brilliantly rhymed.
Everytime we say goodby is plangent, deadly serious about love and a continuing commitment to the other , especcially when they have to say goodby to each other. The beautiful arrangement was by Jorge Callendrelli, the favoured arranger for mature pop singers  featuring a tender duet between Clint Holmes and the lovely Jane Monheit. I especially like the lyrics lines :
" There's no love song finer but how strange the change from mqjor to minor."  4 rhymes in a single line,

 https://youtu.be/Crz65zfF-VE

Bangladesh loves the Great American Songbook.
  
On this blog devoted to Classic American Popular Song, it's always surprising to see the audience for this music all around the Globe. Today, the number of pageviews shows 52 blog visits from Bangladesh. That is more than twice the number of visits from the USA or Canada.
The facts are clear but I am unable to understand this sudden interest from far away. That was also the case when 70 Latvian pageviews were reported on my blog.

This encourages me to search deeper for new and surprising songs to consider.
I hope this international habit continues. As in the song sung by Sinatra " You're getting to be a habit  with me ." 

https://youtu.be/cMnvsNev0Ew

Summer Love  A Beautiful string musical portrait. Robert Farnon is is a transplanted Canadian composer-arranger who has lived and worked in the British Isles for many years.
He is universally recognized as the pre eminent writer for strings and his harmonic innovations you will hear on this song. He has such mastery of the full orchestra as he weaves woodwind and brass elements which are cushioed by the supporting string backdrop.
Summer Love, with it's gentle and seductive musical palette, does evoke idylic days at the beach with the wind and the waves promoting a blissful interlude and a welcome break from the curse of winter inNorth America.

https://youtu.be/D6i35UdJtAE

This Heart of Mine-A symphonic approach to Popular song: Written for the 1944 film Zeigfield Follies, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Arthur Freed, the song is performed by an orchestra far larger than any symphony with 5 French Horns, 2 pianos and a large chorus. The sound is amazing and worth listening to for 12 minutes of rapture in song. Mathew Ford,the male soloist, although British,has captured the style of singing classic American popular song, the style that conquered the world.

https://youtu.be/VTXYtkG6bpk 

Marry Me A Little:  This is a song written by Stephan Sondheim for Company, a musical about marriage and relationships with Bobby, an uncommited male surrounded by 5 married couples. It is fetchingly sung by Cyrille Aimee, a unique jazz singer who according to the New Yorker " does justice to Sondheims' work" on this song, cut from Company. She covers 13 more unique Sondheim songs in her latest release " Moving On: The Sondheim Adventure." 

 https://youtu.be/W0woyE3oTds

LAURA : A famous movie theme by David Raksin that AlecWilder described as"A complex yet beautiful melody" Johnny Mercer' s lyrics were added after the film was released and were a major factor in its popularity. It is one song that Cole Porter wished that he had written.
In a C0llege of Pacific Concert, Dave Brubeck played a solo version of Laura that the liner notes for thr album stated that this was a version tht Racmaninoff might have played on the brand new Bosendorfer piano purchases by the College. Less perecussive than usual, it is a highly lyrical and sensitive performance by Brubeck.

 https://youtu.be/b0c9BFiS3qs

Spring Will Be a Little Late this Year. Frank Loesser wrote the music and lyrics for a 1944 film Christmas Holiday. The longing for the end of winter is universal and the song suggest that maybe spring will provide a return to happiness . Sara Vaughan provides a winning performance with just a tinge of the sadness conveyed in the lyrics.

NOTE: Loesser had a very rocky marriage with his very difficult first wife. Friends described her as 
               " The Evil of Two Loessers !"
  
https://youtu.be/ICtCV3OJ7MQ

The Way We Were as sung by Doris Day. The song is so entrenched in our minds as it was featured and sung by Barbra Streisand in the film of the same name.
Doris Day has never received the recognition due such a warm and versatile singer described by song scholar Will Freidwals as having a " Voice like liquid sunshine."
This performance eclipses the current day extreme volume shrieking favoured by todays' would-be divas 
.Doris sings clearly, with such controlled emotion bringing to life the words and music  as she remembers the many leading men with whom she acted. A heartfelt performance posted the day after Valentines' Day.

https://youtu.be/cBXMjXD4VGc 


  

Both Sides Now: The iconic song written and sung by Joni Mitchell. She is one song writer who is in the same rarefied class as Jerome Kern,. George Gershwin, Harold Arlen and Richard Rodgers plus none of them wrote lyrics as poetic as she, As she matured, her voice deepened and became more jazz-like and less folky as she was at the beginning of her career.
This is a standard that will last like other songs that formed the Great American Songbook and which continue to be performed by younger generations.

 https://youtu.be/aCnf46boC3I

VALENTINE:  A beautiful piano composition by Fred Hersch, the aclaimed jazz pianist recorded live at an AIDS conference in Europe.
 https://youtu.be/1BARaUnqeBs

My Heart is so full of You:  This is a very genuine expression of love invoking the heart as the organ that promotes the essence of human love. It is from Frank Loessers " Most Happy Fella " and has both popularsongs like "Standing on The Corner " Big D" " Joey. Joey, Joey" AND operatic style arias like this song as well as " Warm All Over" " Rosabella"
The story of an older man wooing a mail order bride, sadness and betrayal only to result  with the both people hearts filled with love for each other
The two volune CD is filled with many songs celebrating the Italian heritage of Tony, the male main character.

 https://youtu.be/xdfteM_F9k8

Too LateNow A wonderful ballad by Burton Lane, lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Written for the 1951 film Royal Wedding starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell who sings the song to Peter Lawford. This performance by Nancy Wilson explores the richness of a very well-structured melody. 

https://youtu.be/60umAd0ao2A 

The Very Thought of You   This tender ballad was written in 1934 by English bandleader Ray Noble. He wrote in the classic American popular song style  such other popular love songs like Goodnight Sweetheart, Cherokee, The Touch of your Lips, Love is the Sweetest Thing and I Hadn't
' Anyone Till You.
The verse or introductory section is rarely sung but it states that people don't need photographs or portraits of a loved one. Just the thought alone evokes a desired memory.

Michael Feintein sings the male version while Nancy Wilson sings the ladies version. Both performers sing the important verse that sets up the main chorus with which most people are familiar.

https://youtu.be/aYHI6n2Y-So 

https://youtu.be/q9DFB0TM1h0 

OVER THE RAINBOW   This iconic Harold Arlen & E.Y.Harburg song from the Wizard Od Oz was voted the best song of the Twentieth Century by the Recording Industry. I have never run into anyone who did not like or have strong memories of what it meant in their lives. This is almost a symphonic version withth the great diva Renee Fleming, It includes the seldom performed verse or intro and suportedby a sunptuous arrangement, At the end, Renee creates a final cadenza of her own creation to complete her live performance. This is music that transcends the many normal popular music performances we have all heard before and elevates this version  into to a concert hall or grand opera presentation.

https://youtu.be/8KH4TfKj07I 

SINATRA: Boss of the Bossa Nova:
 Frank introduces Antonio Carlos Jobim, a leader in the developmnt of a marvellous rhytmic beat called the Bossa Nova. Although subtle and restrained, this musical device has a compelling, insistent pulse that one cannot resist tapping one's fingers or feet to the song. Two of the songs. Quiet Nights and The Gal from Ipanema are originals by Jobim demonstrating its origins in the Samba traditio in Brazilian music. However, two standards, one by Irving Berlin, "Change Partners" and Cole Porters' "I concentrate on You" show how the Bossa Nova can be used to give new life to ballads written more than 70 years ago. These sings need to be whispered not shouted and are an effective antidote to the loud and insensitive nature of much of todays' music clamour.

 https://youtu.be/-crvYbXBf5A

Nina Simone sings " You don't know what love is" ( until you've learned the meaning of the Blues) This heart-rending torch song ws written, strangely enough ,for a 1941 Abott and Costelo Fim. NOTE: They did not sing it to each other but was sung by a femle in the story.
Nina Simone captures the anguish expressed in both the words and music which song scholar Alec Wilder believed was written out of a personal conviction and wrote that" This is gloom in the raw, not the fake melodrama the commercial boys turn out."  

 https://youtu.be/BguiWbW5j3Q