[Monday Notes No. 179] Por una cabeza is a tango composed by Argentine musician Carlos Gardel for the 1935 film Tango Bar. The lyrics of the song refer to horse racing, when a horse wins ‘by a head’, i.e. with very little gap. In Italian, a similar expression is used, winning ‘di corto muso’ (with…Continue readingPor una cabeza, the adventurous life of Carlos Gardel
Category: Monday Notes
A music analysis column dedicated to the great classics of jazz and rock music: every Monday a song with technical notes and curiosities. To start the week on a good note… and learn more about music.
[Monday Notes No. 178] Vuelvo al sur is a song composed by the Argentinian musician Astor Piazzolla as the soundtrack for the film Sur, directed by Fernando Ezequiel Solanas. The 1988 film is about the return home of a former prisoner, but it also contains a severe critique of the Argentinian dictatorship, which had fallen…Continue readingVuelvo al Sur, the Argentinian tango of Astor Piazzolla
[Monday Notes No. 177] Bons Amigos is a song by Brazilian guitarist and songwriter Toninho Horta. The song has all the poetry and melancholy of bossanova, but the harmonies are decidedly daring, compared to the classics of this musical genre. Let’s listen to Bons Amigos, in the refined version by pianist and singer Leila Pinheiro.Continue readingBons Amigos, the unpredictable music of Toninho Horta
[Monday Notes No. 176] Come pioveva is a song composed in 1918 by Neapolitan composer Armando Gill. The song has all the elegance of Neapolitan music of those years, and is masterfully interpreted by Carla Mignone, aka Milly. There are two versions of the song, as censorship intervened, distorting the meaning of the song by…Continue readingMilly, “Come pioveva”. For censorship, just change a word
[Monday Notes No. 175] It is a curious fact that one of the most played jazz pieces ever, All the Things You Are, had such a disastrous start. The song was composed by Jerome Kern and has become one of the most played and most studied jazz standards. After hearing the song in Sarah Vaughan’s…Continue readingAll the Things You Are, the refined music of Jerome Kern
[Monday Notes No. 174] Milly Carla Mignone was an Italian singer and actress. Born in 1905, much of her career as an actress dates back to the first half of the 20th century, while her studio recordings date back to 1964, when she was therefore over forty years old. Although she was very strong in…Continue readingMilly Carla Mignone, a special Thursday with Bruno Lauzi
[Monday Notes No. 173] Just Friends is a classic jazz standard from 1931, composed by John Klenner (music) and Sam M. Lewis (words). It is a song about a love that ended and became just a friendship. The piece is original in its lyrics but also in its melody, which repeatedly performs a descending tritone…Continue readingJust Friends, a tritone interval for a love that has ended
[Monday Notes No. 172] La canzone di Marinellais one of Fabrizio De André’s most famous pieces, and is also one of his earliest songs as it was composed in 1962. The lyrics of the song have been much studied, the Ligurian singer-songwriter in fact has his most original point in his lyrics. However, this piece…Continue readingLa canzone di Marinella, a simple melody for Fabrizio De André
[Monday Notes No. 171] Blue In Green is a track from Miles Davis’ famous album Kind Of Blue, released in 1959 and considered the most successful jazz album ever. Miles Davis wanted to explore modal jazz with this work, and helped to spread it among musicians and audiences alike. I tried to analyse the melody,…Continue readingBlue In Green, the Impressionists’ painting… in jazz
[Monday Notes n.170] In the Wee Small Hours is a 1955 Frank Sinatra album, with arrangements by Nelson Riddle. This work anticipates the concept albums of the 1960s and 1970s. It is in fact not a simple collection of songs, but a coherent and well-structured work, dealing with themes such as the end of a…Continue readingIn the Wee Small Hours, a concept album by Frank Sinatra