Tag: jazz

Nelson Rangell | Map of the Stars

“Flute Talk Magazine states ‘Nelson Rangell creates the impression that anything is possible when he improvises,'” (AllAboutJazz). “Such praise is a confirmation of what contemporary jazz fans have known since the Denver-based saxophonist emerged in the late 80s: that Rangell is one of the most exciting and diverse performers in the genre, equally adept at soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone, as well as being a genuine virtuoso on flute and piccolo.

… Rangell first played flute at the age of 15. Within months he was studying both classical and jazz music at The Interlochen Arts Academy … (then) the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.” After college, he worked in New York City with artists including Hiram Bullock, Jorge Dalto, Eric Gale, Richard Tee, Jaco Pastorius, David Sanborn, and Michael Brecker. “He also found occasional employment with the legendary Gil Evans Monday Night Orchestra and worked on many commercial jingle recording sessions.” Rangell has gone on to release 15 albums. While apparently no fan of smooth jazz, Stewart Mason of Tivo calls Rangell “a gifted soloist capable of twisting away from simple, melodic lines without losing the cozy accessibility that’s the calling card of this style of jazz.”

“Map of the Stars” (1992) gives Rangell a chance to showcase the piccolo at its most fluid and agile. The charming opening melody, in F major, shifts to a second section in F minor (0:48), back to major at 1:04, then minor again at 1:20, this time announced by a playful trill. By the time the groove-driven chorus arrives (1:44), we’ve slipped back into F major. At 2:13, the next verse begins with a guitar solo as the pattern continues — until 4:04, where a masterful extended solo by Rangell finishes out the tune.

for Marje

Billie Holiday | Easy Living

“A tender ballad, ‘Easy Living’ has forthright lyrics that declare just how wonderful life can be when living for someone you love,” (MusicTales). “The songwriting team of Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin wrote ‘Easy Living’ in 1937 for the film of the same name which was well-reviewed and is best characterized as a screwball comedy classic. Their partnership was a productive one, producing a number of hits in the 1930s, and lasted until Rainger’s tragic death in a plane crash in 1942. 

Upon the film’s release, the song did not garner much public attention due to the fact that (it was) an instrumental track. That same year, however, Billie Holiday did a vocal cover of the song with Teddy Wilson’s Orchestra, and their version stayed in the charts for two weeks, peaking at 15th position. It is with her that ‘Easy Living’ is associated with to this day.” Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Chet Baker, and Wardell Gray also covered the tune, contributing to its status as a jazz standard.

Perhaps as a nod to its original status as an instrumental, Holiday’s version features a sizeable instrumental intro which encompasses both melody and solos and spans the entire form of the tune. The AABA form is built in G# major for the A sections and E major for B section (0:53 – 1:14). Holiday’s iconic vocal adds to the mix at 1:36.

Jacob Collier | I Heard You Singing

Jacob Collier’s original song “I Heard You Singing” is included on Djesse Vol. 2, the second installment on a planned four-volume set. On the album the track features vocalist Becca Stevens and mandolinist/singer Chris Thile; this intimate version is performed by Collier from his studio/bedroom. It begins in F, wanders into Db around 2:18, and continues into various other tonalities from there.

Tony Bennett | Steppin’ Out With My Baby

20-time Grammy winner Tony Bennett passed away last week at the age of 96. With his release of Love For Sale in 2021, a collaboration with Lady Gaga, he broke the Guinness World Record for oldest person to release an album of new material.

His 1993 album Steppin’ Out, a tribute to Fred Astaire, won the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance. “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” is the lead track, and the music video featured here was aired on MTV.

After a long, winding intro that quotes “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” among other tunes, we ultimately land in D minor for the start of the song. It modulates subtly to D major for the 8 bar “B” section at 1:00, then returns to D minor at 1:12. The tune continues alternating between these two keys throughout, and also briefly detours to C major for 8 bars at 1:40.

Steps Ahead | Self Portrait

“Steps Ahead is an American jazz fusion group (which) arose out of spontaneous sessions at Seventh Avenue South, a jazz club in New York City owned by saxophonist Michael Brecker and trumpeter brother Randy Brecker,” (AllAboutJazz). Fully deserving of the term “supergroup,” the band’s “shifting roster has included vibraphonist Mike Mainieri, saxophonists Michael Brecker, Bob Berg, Bendik Hofseth, Bill Evans, Ernie Watts, and Donny McCaslin; pianists Don Grolnick, Eliane Elias, Warren Bernhardt and Rachel Z; guitarists Mike Stern, Chuck Loeb, and Steve Khan; bassists Eddie Gomez, Darryl Jones, Tony Levin, Victor Bailey, Richard Bona, and Marc Johnson; and drummers Steve Gadd, Peter Erskine, Steve Smith, and Dennis Chambers. Steps Ahead was active during the 1970s and 1980s, intermittently during the 1990s, and reunited for concerts in the mid-2000s.”

“Released in 1984, Modern Times … was a radical departure from their self-titled debut,” (JazzMusicArchives). “Unlike the first album’s mostly acoustic textures, Modern Times is a high-tech, futuristic, jazz-of-tomorrow fusion masterpiece … Strong compositions, impassioned performances, and early DDD production are married to otherworldly yet urban atmospheres to create one of the best albums any of these distinguished players has ever appeared on. “Self Portrait” (is a) classic Mainieri composition: long-lined unforgettable melodies, loud/soft contrasts, quirky bridges, outstanding solos over synth splashes, and sudden endings.”

Starting in D major, this 1986 live version of “Self Portrait” shifts into D minor between 1:14 – 1:39 before returning to the original key; the two keys continue to alternate throughout the tune. This particular gathering of the band, perhaps its quintessential lineup, featured Michael Brecker on tenor sax; Mike Mainieri, vibes; Darryl Jones, bass; Mike Stern, guitar; and Steve Smith, drums.

for Mark

Van Morrison | You Don’t Know Me

*This is the second installment of a weeklong series featuring covers of the 1956 song “You Don’t Know Me”*

Van Morrison’s cover of “You Don’t Know Me” was featured on his twenty-third studio album, Days Like This, released in 1995. His daughter, Shana Morrison, joins as a guest artist on the track.

There is a modulation from Eb up to E at 3:48.

Ray Charles & Diana Krall | You Don’t Know Me

*This is the first installment of a weeklong series featuring covers of the 1956 song “You Don’t Know Me”*

Written by Eddy Arnold and Cindy Walker in 1956, “You Don’t Know Me” has been covered by dozens of artists. The song tells the story of a man and his encounter with a woman he secretly loves; fearing rejection, he lets her walk away without ever expressing his feelings.

The most successful recording of the song was released by Ray Charles on his 1962 album Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music. The cover we are featuring here is a duet from Charles’s last studio album, Genius Loves Company, which consists of R&B, blues, country, jazz and pop standards with a variety of high-profile guest artists. The record won eight Grammy Awards, including Album and Record of the Year.

The track begins in Eb and modulates up a half step to E at 2:49.

Manhattan Transfer | On a Little Street in Singapore

“Celebrating their 50th Anniversary, The Manhattan Transfer continues to set the standard as one of the world’s greatest and most innovative vocal bands,” (ManhattanTransfer.net). “Winners of ten Grammy Awards, with millions of records sold worldwide … Defying categorization, The Manhattan Transfer became the first vocal group to win Grammy Awards in the pop and jazz categories in one year, 1981: Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for ‘Boy From New York City’ (a cover of the 1964 song by The Ad Libs), and Best Jazz Performance by a Duo or Group for ‘Until I Met You (Corner Pocket).'”

Janis Siegel, the quartet’s alto, “emphasizes the group’s unmatched ability to excel performing a wide variety of music. ‘We didn’t say we were a pop group. We didn’t say we were a jazz group. We’re a vocal group.'” The quartet are now members of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

“On a Little Street in Singapore,” originally released by Frank Sinatra and the Harry James Orchestra in 1939, takes on a cinematic quality in the Manhattan Transfer’s 1978 cover. The quartet is backed by WDR Funkhausorchester, an ensemble affiliated with the German big band powerhouse WDR Big Band. Featuring plenty of small harmonic sidesteps before the main vocal’s entrance at 1:30, the tune settles into C major. Between 2:54 and 3:15, an instrumental break modulates up a half-step to Db major in time for the next verse — but the textures are sufficiently ornate to hide the seams, obscuring the exact moment of the shift.

(press play — the video does work, even though it doesn’t look like it will!)

Art Tatum | Have You Met Miss Jones? (Rogers + Hart)

“From the first moment, there was no doubt that (Dick Rogers and Lorenz Hart) would work together: it was love at first sight,” (The Atlantic). “Larry was twenty-three, Dick not yet seventeen. ‘I left Hart’s house,’ wrote Rodgers a lifetime later, ‘having acquired in one afternoon a career, a partner, a best friend, and a source of permanent irritation.'” The duo wrote over 500 songs together, many from the 28 musicals they on which they collaborated, including “My Funny Valentine,” “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered,” “My Romance,” and “Have You Met Miss Jones?”

“Have You Met Miss Jones” was written by Rogers/Hart for the 1937 musical I’d Rather Be Right. The dizzy middle eight is completely unmoored from the overall key of F major and features the lyric:

And all at once I lost my breath,
And all at once was scared to death
And all at once I owned the earth and sky.

In the hands of legendary pianist Art Tatum, who was famous for his reharmonization and ability to play lightning-fast runs, the tune becomes even more sublimely unhinged from its written tonality as it progresses.