Category: Elise

Bill Evans | Here’s That Rainy Day

Jazz pianist and composer Bill Evans was the winner of seven Grammy awards and an inductee into the Downbeat Jazz Hall of Fame. Discogs.com calls Evans “one of the most famous and influential American jazz pianists of the 20th century. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, ‘singing’ melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists.” Evans was an integral part of the ensembles of Miles Davis and Paul Motian, among others, before moving into his sustained work as a jazz trio leader.

“Here’s That Rainy Day” (music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke, 1952) was first heard as part of the Broadway musical Carnival in Flanders. Our Twitter follower @cedgray submitted this solo piano tune: “…the best modulation is at 1:59. There’s an augmented modulation: starting in B, it moves through G, Eb, and then back to B.” There’s another big harmonic shift at 3:53, among others.

Kool + the Gang | September Love

Funk/pop superstars Kool and the Gang, best known for 1980’s uptempo mega-hit “Celebrate,” took a decidedly mellower turn in the early 80s. According to AllMusic, the band “left the fast lanes of funk for the smoother ride of the adult-oriented R&B expressway.” The 1983 album In the Heart produced a lead single, “Joanna,” which hit #2 (pop) in the US, #2 (pop) in the UK, and #1 on the US R&B chart.

No stranger to a broad harmonic vocabulary, the band outdid itself on the mod scale with the ballad “September Love,” a non-single track. Modulations begin with an almost jarring early shift as the first verse starts at 0:21, followed by more key changes at 1:15, 1:49, 2:43, 3:18, and 3:59.

Utopia | Set Me Free

Utopia, an American rock band formed in 1973 by songwriter, performer, and producer Todd Rundgren, started with a progressive rock sound and a fluid personnel list. In the late 70s, the band morphed into a tight power pop format with a stable quartet of players. Its only top-40 hit was 1980’s “Set Me Free,” written and sung by bassist Kasim Sulton (who later became known for his work with Meatloaf, Hall & Oates, and Joan Jett as well as his own solo releases).

A whole-tone modulation hits towards the end of the track (2:36), which just might be the bounciest song ever written about a doomed relationship (in this case, reportedly, between Sulton and his record company).

Lizzo | Lingerie

NSFW: Lizzo‘s 2019 track “Lingerie” (from the Cuz I Love You album) debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200. The track simmers at an almost impossibly slow, insistent tempo but still somehow manages a behind-the-beat delivery. From AllMusic‘s review: “she continues to embrace her gospel roots and the full power of her voice. It’s a journey she began on (previous albums), which feel like dress rehearsals for what she unleashes…”

Half-step modulations at 1:25 and 2:26.

Beyonce | Spirit (from “The Lion King”)

“Spirit” by Beyoncé, featured in the 2019 remake of The Lion King movie, was reviewed by Slate.com‘s Carl Wilson as an “award-baiting piece of Hollywood-goes-gospel.” After an intro built around choristers singing in Swahili, Beyonce shows off not only her trademark fluid melisma, but also the far edges of her range, both high and low. The half-step modulation is at 3:30.

The Artie Shaw Orchestra | All the Things You Are

“All the Things You Are,” a now-classic jazz standard composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, was originally written for the musical Very Warm for May (1939). It later appeared in the film Broadway Rhythm (1944).

The tune is known for its wide-ranging harmonies, which transiently meander quite far from the original key during most of the tune (other than the beginning and ending bars of the form). But this particular version by The Artie Shaw Orchestra (Helen Forrest, vocalist) also features several outright key changes. Starting in A minor, the key shifts to D minor as the vocal melody leads us through the form (1:28), the final instrumental section starts in Bb minor (2:45) and ends in Db major.

Chaka Khan | I’m Every Woman

“I’m Every Woman” was Chaka Khan‘s debut solo single in 1978 after many releases with Rufus and Chaka Khan. Produced by Arif Mardin and written by married songwriting team and recording artists Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, the single went straight to #1 on the R&B charts. The slow tempo of the tune only accentuates how it somehow successfully straddles the line between a disco feel and a heavier funk groove: a full string orchestra duels it out to a draw with an ornate slap bass line.

In 1989, a lighter, poppier version of the song saw a resurrection as a duo featuring Chaka and Whitney Houston; the track reached top 10 in the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

At 2:51, Chaka alternates up and down by a minor third every four bars, over and over, all the way to the fade out.

The Cardinals | I Dreamed a Dream

Vocal quartet The Cardinals (Ben Forster, Carrie Hope Fletcher, Celinde Schoenmaker, and Ramin Karimloo) perform “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables, arranged by Nick Barstow (2019). According to Barstow’s website, “the group has a unique folk-musical theatre crossover sound, characterized by bold re-imaginings of musical theatre classics and modern pop with lush vocal harmonies.”

Starting around the 1:00 mark, this new arrangement of the Broadway classic is compelling yet harmonically relatively static, droning on the tonic of F major as the iconic melody floats above. At 2:02, the growing harmonic motion more closely resembles that of the original. From 2:24 -2:35, the arrangement piles on several pivots, landing in C major.

Madonna | Rain

A long-overdue MotD debut for Madonna: “Rain” (1993) was reviewed by Billboard‘s Larry Flick as “a gorgeous, romantic moment from the sorely underappreciated Erotica opus. A slow and seductive rhyme base surrounded by cascading, sparkling synths inspires a sweet and charming vocal.”

After the tune starts in Bb major, a thundering, sweeping synth glissando (2:37), unaccompanied by any other context, knocks us off-balance. After a bit of key-of-the-moment wandering during the bridge starting at 2:43, we transition to C major at 3:03. The 3:45 mark is a reversion to the original key, followed by another step up to C major as the tune draws to a close at 4:05.

Ludwig van Beethoven | Sonata #14 in C Minor (“Moonlight”)

Today we are featuring the first movement (Adagio Sostenuto) of Ludwig van Beethoven‘s iconic Moonlight Sonata (#14 in C Minor, 1801). One of the composer’s more prominent students, Carl Czerny, described the movement as “a nocturnal scene, in which a mournful ghostly voice sounds from the distance.” According to biographer Alexander Thayer, the movement was immediately and overwhelmingly popular — Beethoven was said to have been irked by this development to the point that he remarked to Czerny, “Surely, I’ve written better things.”

The piece modulates many times throughout. Just for starters: C# minor at 0:00; E major at 0:40; and B minor 1:12.