[Monday Notes no. 118] Ethel Waters is a first-generation jazz singer, her style is conversational and discreet, enhanced by an alto voice and a pleasant blues vein. We listen to her performance of Don’t Blame Me, a ballad composed by one of the great couples of American song: Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields.Continue readingEthel Waters, Don’t Blame Me. An elegant voice with a blues vein
Tag: jazz
[Monday Notes no. 113] Blue Bossa is one of the simplest pieces in the jazz repertoire and one of the most popular among beginners. Yet the author Kenny Dorham himself did not take it too seriously, to the point that he only recorded it once. Joe Henderson, on the other hand, liked the piece and…Continue readingKenny Dorham, Blue Bossa. Bossa nova from a Jazzman’s perspective
[Monday’s Notes No. 112] Mille lire al mese is an Italian song from 1939 that imitates the American repertoire not only in music but also in the subject matter. As in many American songs during the years of the Great Depression, the central theme is in fact money. Let us listen to the performance by…Continue readingNatalino Otto, Mille lire al mese. Jazz Italian style
[Monday Notes no. 111] That same year that he participated in Miles Davis’ masterpiece In a Silent Way, guitarist John McLaughlin recorded a beautiful lead album entitled Extrapolation, accompanied by other English musicians like himself. Let’s listen and analyse Arjen’s Bag.Continue readingArjen’s Bag, John McLaughlin and English jazz
[Monday Notes no. 110] In its original version Footprints is an avant-garde piece, at the same time the simplicity of the harmonic progression has turned it into a jam session piece that anyone can play. It is difficult to think of another piece in which these opposite qualities coexist. Let us listen to and analyse…Continue readingFootprints, a jazz classic between avant-garde and jam session
[Monday’s Notes No. 108] Oscar Peterson was one of the greatest jazz piano virtuosos. His long solos are legendary, as are his fast and perfect lines. Under his skilled hands, the piano keyboard often becomes hot, but not in the interpretation of this splendid ballad, In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning.Continue readingOscar Peterson, In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
[Monday Notes no. 107] Great musicians have the ability to be inspired and stimulated by their peers. This is certainly the case with Miles Davis, who chose Joe Zawinul’s song In A Silent Way as the title for his eponymous album, a masterpiece recorded in 1969.Continue readingIn A Silent Way, a Joe Zawinul piece that Miles Davis made his own
[Monday Notes no. 106] Estate is the only Italian piece to have permanently entered the repertoire of jazz standards, to the point of being included in one of the famous Real Books, the sheet music collections dedicated to jazz music. The piece was written by Bruno Martino, the most famous international performers were Joao Gilberto,…Continue readingMichel Petrucciani, Estate. A piece by Bruno Martino in the jazz repertoire
[Monday Notes no. 105] There is a genre of compositions that in jazz are called contrafacts. Nothing illegal about it: these are pieces created using the harmonic progressions of already existing pieces. Wendy by Paul Desmond belongs to this category, in fact the chords are taken from For All We Know, a song from 1934.Continue readingPaul Desmond, Wendy. The Art of jazz contrafact
[Monday’s Notes No. 102] Michel Legrand was one of the greatest composers of French song. A composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist, thanks to his fantastic melodies and never trivial harmony his songs have also entered the jazz repertoire. Let’s listen to and analyze I Will Wait For You.Continue readingMichel Legrand, I Will Wait For You. A touch of France and a touch of jazz