Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong recorded a duet cover of this 1931 Ozzie Nelson tune in the 1950s. Originally released as a single, the track has subsequently been included on many compilation albums featuring the two singers. Starting in C, the tune modulates up a half step to Db at 1:57.
Tag: vocal
Franz Schubert | Pause (Die Schöne Müllerin, D 795)
According Dr. Jimbob’s Page, “Franz Peter Schubert lived from 1797 to 1828 in and around the Austrian capital of Vienna. He spent much of his life redefining the art song … Schubert also strove to make the piano part more than a harmonic accompaniment for the singer but rather an independent voice and sometime Greek chorus in its own right … Schubert came across (Wilhelm Müller’s) Schöne Müllerin (The Fair Maid of the Mill) poems in late 1822 …
Schubert spent his brief life making fruitless attempts to create a hit opera. He died disappointed and largely unknown, but posterity would come to recognize that with Die schöne Müllerin, Schubert perfected the genre of song cycle (and may have created its greatest example on his first try). Schubert also created a miracle of collaboration. Poet and composer, text and music, singer and pianist are true equals in the result, each informing the other, each completing the other, indeed each necessary for the other to make any sense. There’s a touching irony that this tale of frustrated love and missed connections has gone on to inspire great partnerships in the time since its creation.”
This version was performed by German tenor Fritz Wunderlich (whose name, according to one translation, means whimsical) and German pianist Hubert Geisen. Wunderlich died from an accident in his 30s, while Geisen was already 65 when the duo began its short but productive partnership. The combination left a huge impression on Geisen, who later wrote in his autobiography:
“Over the last years I often had to think about what made Wunderlich’s voice so unforgettable to his audience – especially in Lieder singing. I have worked with many singers, and I know some of them shared my opinion on how to perform a Schubert Lied, but I also know they thought that our work together was a burden. I was once called a ‘slave-driver’ … I did not ‘teach,’ but tried hard to improve what was already there – which makes quite a difference. That is why I refuse being called a ‘teacher’ of a singer like Wunderlich.”
After a recital together just before Wunderlich’s untimely death, Geisen recalls saying “‘Fritz, you sang so wonderfully, and we formed such an integrated whole – I think you are complete now. I cannot tell you anything anymore.’ He was furious at me and shouted: ‘What are you talking about? I will be your pupil as long as you live! You will tell me everything you know, and every time I sing a little worse, you will have to play even better, so they won’t notice … ‘”
The twelfth of the cycle’s twenty songs, “Pause” starts in Bb major, then transitions through G minor (0:50), F major (1:17), Db major (1:33), F major (1:50), and reverts to Bb major (1:56). There’s a transition to Ab major from 2:38 – 3:22, then an unsettled section until 3:41, where there’s a final return to Bb major.
säje | I Can’t Help It
säje is a Grammy-nominated, jazz-inflected “vocal supergroup,” according to its website. “Born out of close friendship and incredibly deep admiration, these world-renowned artists, composers, and arrangers have come together to explore, create, and celebrate the music that moves them. As individuals, each artist has crafted their own notable solo career, and now are delighted to bring their collective voices to this union, traversing a vast array of compelling original material, beloved jazz standards, and contemporary re-imaginings (Alina Engibaryan, YEBBA, Johnny Cash, etc)”. säje received their first Grammy nomination in 2020, for their first composition “Desert Song” in the Best Arrangement Instruments and Vocals category. “The union of säje is rooted in the tradition of joy, curiosity, lush harmony, heart-felt expression, and profound sisterhood.”
The quartet’s cover of “Can’t Help It” was released in 2020. The track was originally intended for Stevie Wonder’s monumental Songs in the Key of Life (1976). It was co-written by Wonder and Susaye Greene, a singer and songwriter who was the final member to join The Supremes after Mary Wilson’s departure. Although Greene was a background singer for Wonder on Songs, the tune didn’t make it onto the album; it was instead featured on Michael Jackson’s 1979 album Off the Wall, Jackson’s first release with Quincy Jones as producer.
Unlike the original, with its textbook smooth funk feel aimed at the pop charts, säje‘s cover is full of unexpected percussion kicks, bass line flourishes, and the unpredictable magnetism of tightly clustered vocal lines. Sean Jones‘ trumpet solo further testifies to the ensemble’s jazz-centered pedigree. Forbes’ recent profile quotes säje member Johnaye Kendrick: “’We’re taught, as you’re coming up [as an artist], It’s a male-dominated field, you have to be one of the boys, and know how to hang, and what to say, and all of that … I didn’t think to immerse myself and surround myself with women … It’s amazing to be surrounded by powerful women with endless ideas and the desire to uplift; it has changed our lives.’”
The tune begins in Ab major, travels through a transition starting at 2:53, then dives downward to Gb major in a glissando-led modulation at 3:15, delivered as easily as a sigh. At 3:39, we’ve reverted to the original key. All is wrapped in the most polished of 2020-style socially distanced video packaging, leaving us waiting for the energy of a synchronous performance from this extraordinary ensemble, new in so many ways.
Frank Sinatra | All The Way
Written in 1957 by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn, “All The Way” was made famous by Frank Sinatra, both as a single and in the film The Joker Is Wild, for which it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The tune was later covered by Bing Crosby, Same Cooke, Brenda Lee, Etta James, and Billie Holiday among others. Key change at 2:15.
Make Our Garden Grow (from “Candide”)
“Make Our Garden Grow” is the final number in Leonard Bernstein’s 1956 operetta Candide, based on Voltaire’s 1759 novella. This virtual performance was coordinated and produced by Jeremy Robin Lyons. “During this time of global trauma, it is increasingly clear that we are all in this together,” he said. “In the sense of our collective responsibilities for taking care of each other through public health as well as economically, for taking care of the planet we share (which happens to be the only one we have!), and for pulling together with a spirit of hope, motivation, and cooperation while working towards a brighter future. I think we are also experiencing the need for art in the face of the most difficult times, and the importance of community in the face of isolation. So I felt an impetus to reach out to friends and strangers alike through the internet, bringing people together through music and producing a mass collaboration with as much heart as possible.”
Key changes at 0:22, 1:35, and 2:42
Bob Kelly | I Was Young
“I Was Young” is the opening track on composer/pianist Bob Kelly‘s debut EP Open Road, released earlier this month. Kelly’s website notes that he is ” … a NYC-based pianist, composer, and music director. His work as a music director, pianist, and orchestrator/arranger for musical theatre includes productions and educational programs throughout NYC and across the country.”
Featuring vocalists Andrew Way and Daniel Youngelman, the song modulates at 2:23.
Straight No Chaser | The First Noel
American a cappella group Straight No Chaser formed at Indiana University in 1996. In 2006, they released a video of “12 Days of Christmas” that has since been viewed over 24 million times on YouTube. “The First Noel” is featured on the group’s first full-length Christmas album, Social Christmasing, which came out in November. Beginning in Gb, the track modulates to Ab at 1:35.
Jacob Collier | The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)
Jacob Collier released his arrangement of this holiday classic in November, and it has all the hallmarks of his distinctive style: thick chordal textures, extensive reharmonization, and frequent modulations (as well as stunning video production.) The first noticeable shift in key occurs at 2:35, then again at 3:10. At 3:48, Collier begins a cycle of modulations over the last phrase of the tune, finally landing in B at the end.
The Perrys | Lord, I’m Thankful
Happy Thanksgiving to the MotD community! We on the admin team are grateful for your continued support of the page. Today, we feature the southern gospel quartet, The Perrys, with a track from their 2014 album Into His Presence. Key change at 1:42.
Tomorrow we begin our holiday season at MotD, featuring holiday music exclusively through December 25. If you come across any key changes as you listen to your favorite holiday albums, please share them!
The Platt Brothers | Ahavat Olam
Broadway Buzz reports that “Ben Platt won a 2017 Tony Award for his breakout performance in Dear Evan Hansen. He got his start in a national tour of Caroline, or Change at age 11 before snagging the breakout role of Benji in Pitch Perfect and its sequel. After starring in the national tour of The Book of Mormon, Platt made his Broadway debut as Elder Cunningham in 2014. His solo album, Sing To Me Instead, was released in March of 2019. He currently stars on the Netflix’s The Politician.”
Turns out that Ben is not the only musically inclined member of his family. Here, he performs the Ahavat Olam with his brothers Jonah and Henry; this setting is by Gabe Mann and Piper Rutman. The Ahavat Olam is the second prayer of Maariv, a prayer service held in the evening or during night time in the Jewish tradition.
Starting in an uncomplicated, peaceful Bb major, a spirited bridge brings a huge change at 2:07: the text shifts from Hebrew to English and Bb minor chords ring out before the section ends in what turns out to be a false modulation to Eb major. But Bb major returns, as does the original Hebrew, at 2:42. Many thanks to our Facebook follower Elizabeth Moore for this submission!
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