"AMERICA AGAIN" -LARA DOWNES EXPLORES AMERICA'S RICH MUSICAL HERITAGE.

" America Again" -Lara Downes  explores America's rich  musical heritage.

My blog, Classical American Popular Song, has attempted to explore the period between 1900 and 1950 when the flowering of American popular song reached an audience around the world. Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Cole Porter and Harold  Arlen produced a body of work that has survived to this very day.

But, with America Again, Steinway Artist Lara Downes has  created a captivating portrait of the many strains that make up America's musical heritage. Lara has adroitly combined the popular compositions of Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Scott Joplin  with more classical pieces by Aaron Copland, Amy Beach, Roy Harris and Samuel Coleridge Taylor. Collectively these performances draw upon every possible strand of musical influences, from the blues, jazz  and folk themes, to more formal compositions  that still manage to reflect the restless spirit and dynamism so characteristic of  the American experience. Shenandoah, the traditional folk song,is given a particularly evocative and spiritual performance by Lara Downes . She has made it her personal mission to bring the many and diverse strands of American music to the widest possible audience. Her earlier tribute to Billie Holiday is a case in point.
Anyone who wants to experience the extraordinary  breadth of the American musical heritage should acquire  Lara Downes tribute to her beloved country.
Already available on  Spotify.

SINATRA DOES SIMILAR BEATLES & JEROME KERN SONGS ABOUT MEMORIES

Sinatra does  similar Beatles and Jerome Kern songs about memories..

In 1933, Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach  wrote "Yesterdays"   with such lines as "Days we knew as sweet sequestered days"  . More than 60 years later, Paul McCartney wrote "Yesterday"  with lines like " Yesterday -All my troubles seemed so far away,There's a shadow hanging over me- I still believe in Yesterday."
Both songs are personal reflections and memories from the past, something  which we  can all can recall from our own experiences.

Frank Sinatra does justice to both songs, first with the Kern/Harbach "Yesterdays" and followed by McCartney's  " Yesterday"  Dfferent styles and language but a common theme of memories  with  Frank with his most tender and sensitive interpretations.
Despite the many years between the creation of both songs, these performances show that mature songwriting will sustain The Great American Songbook tradition.


https://youtu.be/yu39_FjvusQ    Yesterdays

https://youtu.be/rytmTeaUtAY   Yesterday

Sinatra  and Jobim  " This Happy Madness"

This is a 4 party collaboration.    Antonio Carlos Jobim wrote the  infectious bossa nova melody ; Gene Lees penned the  intriguingly sly lyrics; Claus Ogerman crafted the pulsating yet restrained arrangement  and Sinatra puts it all together. Music is certainly universal since this piece involved a Brazilian, a Canadian, a German and  an Italian American.
Would  that international relations  could be governed by the same spirit of collegiality.

https://youtu.be/EITOu26uChg

Ella Fitzgerald sings " Like someone in Love ."

In 1944, Jimmy Van Heusen ( born Chester Babcock in Syracuse) and lyricist  Johnny Burke wrote a lovely melody sung by Dinah Shore in the movie " he Belle of the Yukon."
It is a simple, pure melody, much in the style of Jerome Kern and Ella has a matchless way with elegant melodic lines.
Just to further demonstrarte this melodic masterpiece, I have added an instrumental version by noted alto saxophonist Paul Desmond. There is a fine string and guitar accompaniment to the lyrical outpouring of Desmond's souring improvisation around the basic melodic structure.

https://youtu.be/fa8PxCGRqYk


https://youtu.be/YWnN0hgrOQg










  

https://youtu.be/G8KMmZElJyhttps://youtu.be/G8KMmZElJyAA




https://youtu.be/G8KMmZElJyA

Sinatra sings Sondheim:   "  We had a good thing going"   was written for " Merrily We Roll Along" a relatively unsuccessful Sondheim musical ( with a small role played by Jason Alexander aka George Costanza from Seinfeld.)

Sondheim is a master storyteller in song. Sinatra's greatest gift, among other things, is his ability to portray the dramatic elements of the music and especially the words-the songwriter's story intent.
Unlike other songs we have been featuring about the glad/sad aspects of romance, this song honestly admits that there were good things about the relationship but which is now gone. Bob Hope used " Thanks for The Memory" as his theme song. It also acknowledges the joy that once was but has now passed.

https://youtu.be/C3z-cz-bURM

  SINATRA and  "Glad to Be Unhappy."   Rodgers & Hart  were always able to combine a lovely melody with often tart and seditious lyrics.
The title may seem to be contradictory-how can  one be  glad while at the same time being unhappy ?

It appears that Lorenz Hart believed that the ardour and headlong  pursuit of a love object is so exhilarating that even an unsuccessful affair can make one  euphoric . The song ends with " I'm so unhappy-But Oh so glad. "
Frank Sinatra's many romantic interludes were marked by the same sad/glad dichotomy and this song does reflect many of his own sentiments.
https://youtu.be/Kx2jhrimuGs

Sinatra & Jobim:  "  This Happy Madness"  combines  the  bossa nova composition and guitar of Antonio Carlos Jobim, the  brilliant lyrics of Canadian Gene Lees, the matchless interpretation by Sinatra and the gently pulsating arrangement by Claus Ogerman. 

Sinatra himself aid this was the softest he has sung because he believed the gentle Brazilian combining of the samba and jazz influences was best served by lyrical restraint. Having Jobim play and sing with Sinatra adds even more exposition of the Brazilian music influence. One is reminded of the powerful Brazilian dance culture after seeing the Rio Olympics extravaganza.





https://youtu.be/EITOu26uChg