SUMMERTIME

"Summertime"

An aria composed by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based, although the song is also co-credited to Ira Gershwin .The video here features Ken Eden singing the original Gershwin arrangement,with a long meandering intro and exit. The images have a languid quality in keeping with the melody line.

The song soon became a popular and much recorded jazz standard, described as "without doubt... one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote....Gershwin's highly evocative writing brilliantly mixes elements of jazz and the song styles of African-Americans in the southeast United States from the early twentieth century." Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim has characterised Heyward's lyrics for "Summertime" and "My Man's Gone Now" as "the best lyrics in the musical theater". The song has been claimed to be one the most covered songs in the history of recorded music. (thanks to wikipedia)

                                                                    Summertime,

And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Then you'll spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky

But till that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With daddy and mamma standing by

Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your mamma's good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry

American Idol

IT HAD TO BE YOU

 


"It Had to Be You"
A popular song written by Isham Jones, with lyrics by Gus Kahn and was first published in 1924. The song was performed by Priscilla Lane in the 1939 film The Roaring Twenties and by Danny Thomas in the 1951 film "I'll See You in My Dreams."

The latter film was based loosely upon the lives of Gus Kahn and his wife Grace LeBoy Kahn. It was also performed by Dooley Wilson in the 1942 film Casablanca, Betty Hutton in the 1945 film Incendiary Blonde, and by Diane Keaton in the 1977 film Annie Hall. It was also performed in the film A League of Their Own by Megan Cavanagh.

The lyrics explain why the singer puts up with a domineering partner. The reason offered is depth of attachment: "somebody who could make me be true, could make me be blue." However, domination itself may be the attraction: "some others I've seen might never be mean, never be cross, try to be boss, but they wouldn't do." The singer concludes: "nobody else gave me a thrill ... wonderful you, it had to be you." However, the lyrics can be interpreted as a realistic and bemused commentary on the reality of attachment, a recognition that the beloved is not perfect but has significant flaws which can be tolerated and accepted because of her (or his) virtues.

While "It Had to Be You" is not unique in taking this stand about romantic love, it does counterpose itself to the dominant pattern in the Great American Songbook of celebrating the beloved as a perfect angel. In any case, the complicated melody, minor chords, and ambiguous lyrics make this a classic torch song.


C wikipedia

It Happened In Monterey

IT HAPPENED IN MONTEREY



Monterey Mexico South Beach

"It Happened in Monterey"

is from the Sinatra album, “Songs for Swingin' Lovers” released by Capitol in 1956. It was penned by Billy Rose in the 1930's.  The wonderful arrangements and orchestrations are by Nelson Riddle, who along with Billy May, created  some of the best recordings of Frank Sinatra's long and  illustrious career .

LADY GAGA & The Oldest Swinger In Town..Mr Tony Bennett

OLD DEVIL MOON

"Old Devil Moon" is a popular song composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg for the 1947 musical Finian's Rainbow

This is a terrific example of a smooth jazz/swing song. The lyric ,by EY Harburg,has wonderful rhythmic feel ,word play with a hint of humour. Lady Gaga and Frank Sinatra are just two of the dozens of vocalists who have enjoyed performing this unique jazz number. Listen to my cover here.
Old Devil Moon

LADY GAGA goes JAZZ

Well.... after the Duets album with Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga  has revealed that she is planning to record a jazz-inspired Christmas album later this year,according to the FT.

"The 'Judas' star, who is currently number one on the midweek chart with her second album Born This Way, made the confession during an interview with Stephen Fry for the Financial Times."I thought it would be really sweet to do a Christmas release of GaGa and the jazz standards," she explained. "I really want to do it. I've spoken to my manager."

GaGa recently claimed that people want to "tear [her] down" for her controversial subject matter and lyrics in her records."Born This Way" is currently on course to become the biggest-selling record of the year so far in the UK."

It is not generally known that she started off in East Coast jazz clubs...long before hitting the pop scene. It seems that working with Tony has tempted her back to her roots!

I Get Along Without You Very Well

From Wikipedia

    

"I Get Along Without You Very Well" is a popular song composed by Hoagy Carmichael in 1939, with lyrics based on a poem written by Jane Brown Thompson.^[1] Thompson's identity as the author of the poem was for many years unknown, she died the night before it was introduced on radio by Dick Powell.^[1]
The biggest-selling version was a 1939 recording by Red Norvo and his orchestra (vocal by Terry Allen).^[2]
It was performed by Carmichael and Jane Russell in the 1952 film noir The Las Vegas Story

I get along without you very well,
Of course I do,
Except when soft rains fall
And drip from leaves, then I recall
The thrill of being sheltered in your arms.
Of course, I do,
But I get along without you very well.

I've forgotten you just like I should,
Of course I have,
Except to hear your name,
Or someone's laugh that is the same,
But I've forgotten you just like I should.

What a guy, what a fool am I,
To think my breaking heart could kid the moon.
What's in store? Should I phone once more?
No, it's best that I stick to my tune.

I get along without you very well,
Of course I do,
Except perhaps in Spring,
But I should never think of Spring,
For that would surely break my heart in two.

BODY & SOUL

This is a tremendous jazz classic written circa 1930.

lyrics by Edward Heyman,  Robert Sour and Frank Eyton; and music by Johnny Green. ...

Body and Soul was written in London for Gertrude Lawrence and was first recorded by Jack Hylton and his orchestra.^[1] Rising quickly to popularity, Libby Holman introduced it in the U.S. in the 1930 Broadway revue Three's a Crowd and it was used as the theme to the 1947 film, Body and Soul.^[1] Like many pop songs of the time, it became a jazz standard, with hundreds of versions performed and recorded by dozens of artists. Recently the late Amy Winehouse dueted this song with the legendary Tony Bennett,giving a very different flavour. This is my take on the number,shadowing the relaxed style Tony expresses so well.

BODY & SOUL

lyrics:

My heart is sad and lonely
For you I sigh, for you dear only
Why haven't you seen it
I'm all for you body and soul

I spend my days in longing
And wondering why it's me you're wronging
I tell you I mean it
I'm all for you body and soul

I can't believe it
It's hard to conceive it
That you'd turn away romance
Are you pretending
It looks like the ending
Unless I could have one more chance to prove, dear

My life a wreck you're making
You know I'm yours for just the taking
I'd gladly surrender myself to you body and soul

Are you pretending
It looks like the ending
Unless I could have one more chance to prove, dear

My life a wreck you're making
You know I'm yours for the very taking
I'd gladly surrender myself to you body and soul

Tips For Jazz Singers

TIPS FOR JAZZ SINGERS

by Ken Eden

Many jazz singers desire a vibrato in their voice because it lends a distinctive quality. The question is, if you do' not have it naturally-can it be acquired? If so, how is it controlled and what areas of the "vocal apparatus" does     it use?  Well, it can be a difficult quality to master. As a matter of fact, there is a lot of controversy over what it even is exactly and why it even exists! Let us at least tell you what we know about it:

VIBRATO

Vibrato is a vocal tone that has an even fluctuation. The diaphragm is involved in some way,but we are not sure how. You can expel the breath from the diaphragm forcibly,and you can influence the throat and mouth opening too to sort of "fake it". It is really quite difficult to describe.
We feel,however,that force is never good,or any kind of manipulation which,invariably,will lead to excessive straining of the voice.Many rock singers know this to their cost! What we want to see ideally is freedom of voice-focussed and clear- which will have, inherently, the minor vocal fluctuation which gives automatically,a slight vibrato.

 NATURAL

The way to get vibrato is to learn natural singing techniques which will not push your voice too much,and which focusses more on tone and control than power. We need to explain that what some call "vibrato" is in fact really a "tremolo,"which comes from forcing the voice,and feels and sounds totally unnatural.

BREATHING

If you,as a student of singing really desire a beautiful vibrato,all you need do is focus on getting control of your voice,which can only come from much practice under the tutelage of a qualified vocal coach. Listen to the vibrato in,for example the voice of Sinatra. He was taught the Italian Bel-Canto method,which concentrates on tonal quality more than power.
The major areas that need your attention are; Correct breathing,coupled with Tonal quality (resonance training--humming.. scales etc...) and diaphragmatic support.

BILLY ECKSTINE

All this may sound daunting when you read it in cold print,but the truth is it is easy and even fun when you have training and support.   A trick I myself learned from a master  jazz singer,the late Billy Eckstine,is as he put it, 'focus as you sing- on the waist area-where you would wear a belt.' It seems bizarre,but by doing so,I found more vibrato on extended notes! Try it yourself.

TRAINING

My final piece of advice is; whatever you do, get solid training in voice production from some who are themselves quality singers. It might seem obvious,but many poor or even non-singing "tutors" are out to snare the unwary.I would call that "the blind leading the blind"!

The Summer Wind-

"Summer Wind" is a 1965 song, with music by Heinz Meier (= Henry Mayer) and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, Original german lyrics by Hans Bradtke. The song is a nostalgic tale of a fleeting romance, first recorded by Wayne Newton who had the first national chart hit with the song in 1965, peaking at number 78.
"Summer Wind" is most known for a 1966 recording by Frank Sinatra which peaked at number twenty-five on the Billboard pop singles chart and number one on the Easy Listening chart.^[1] The Sinatra version originally appeared on his album, Strangers in the Night. By the 2000s, it was one of Sinatra's most-used recordings in various contexts. (thanks to Wikipedia )

BENNETT ....BUBLE... WINEHOUSE... GAGA

Ken Eden

I'TS exciting to see the shift in emphasis,small as it currently may be,from Pop to Jazz/Swing.  Michael Buble of course,masterfully engineered much of  this move,and credit must also go to the likes of Tony Bennett with his great "Duets 1" & "Duets 2",and of course perhaps the most impressive of today's jazz vocalists-Harry Connick Jr. These guys are fantastic and carrying  the baton of quality music into the 21st Century.

The late Amy Winehouse also deserves mention as she had a great jazzy smoky voice. Have you heard her last single with Bennett-"Body and Soul?  How sad she never had the time to develop her talent. Lady Gaga,also with Tony on his album (frankly, she's not my cup of tea usually) reputedly started her singing career at age 14 in the East Coast jazz joints and you can discern that in her duet with Tony. So...although we are nowhere near breaking into mainstream (do we want to?) a lot of kids who are still into 'acid house' and other so-called music are now realising there is oh,so much more!

Moonlight in Vermont

Here is my all time favourite song. So many of the great singers of the "Golden Era" have paid it homage-too many to mention here,but I must admit to a special love of Ella Fitzgeralds' version. Have a listen to mine, but please remember, this is NOT A STUDIO PRODUCTION so its a "rough cut" so to speak. Enjoy........

Video of Ken Eden singing "S'Wonderful" a Fred Astaire classic.

Check out Ken  singing just a few of the Great American Songbook tunes. We will be adding on a regular basis-so check back often!

Starters:

What is the great  American songbook? Well if we turn to our old friend WIKIPEDIA we discover the following:

The Great American Songbook is a construct that seeks to represent the best American songs of the 20th century^[1][2][3] principally from Broadway theatre, musical theatre, and Hollywood musicals, from the 1920s to 1960, including dozens of songs of enduring popularity. The Great American Songbook became (and remains) a vital part of the repertoire of jazz musicians, who describe such songs simply as "jazz standards".
The early years
Since the 1930s, many singers have explicitly recorded or performed large parts of the Great American Songbook.
Ella Fitzgerald's popular and influential Songbook series on Verve in the 1950s and 1960s collated 252 songs from the Songbook.
Other influential early interpreters of the Great American Songbook include Fred Astaire, Shirley Bassey, Tony Bennett, Pat Boone, June Christy, Rosemary Clooney, Nat "King" Cole, Barbara Cook, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Vic Damone, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Doris Day, Jo Stafford, Blossom Dearie, The Four Freshmen, Judy Garland, Eydie Gorme, Johnny Hartman, Billie Holiday, Al Jolson, Jack Jones, Cleo Laine, Frankie Laine, Steve Lawrence, Peggy Lee, Julie London, Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, Carmen McRae, Helen Merrill, Wayne Newton, Dinah Shore, Bobby Short, Nina Simone, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand (particularly in her earlier work), Mel Tormé, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, and Andy Williams.

 Contemporary singers

Over the last several decades, there has been a revival of the Songbook by contemporary singers.
In 1970, Ringo Starr released Sentimental Journey, an album of 12 standards arranged by various musicians. In 1973, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson released a critically well-received album of 12 classic standards, A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, arranged by Gordon Jenkins. The album was re-issued on CD in 1988 with a total of 18 standards sung by Nilsson. Also in 1973, Bryan Ferry, of Roxy Music fame, released These Foolish Things, and he has subsequently recorded several such albums. In 1978, country singer Willie Nelson released a collection of popular standards composed by such notables as Hoagy Carmichael, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin titled Stardust. This was considered risky at the time but has become perhaps his most enduring album.
In 1983, popular rock vocalist Linda Ronstadt released What's New, her first in a trilogy of albums of standards. Stephen Holden of the New York Times wrote:

“

What's New isn't the first album by a rock singer to pay tribute to the golden age of the pop, but is ... the best and most serious attempt to rehabilitate an idea of pop that Beatlemania and the mass marketing of rock LP's for teen-agers undid in the mid-60s. During the decade prior to Beatlemania, most of the great band singers and crooners of the 40s and 50s codified a half-century of American pop standards on dozens of albums, many of them now long out-of-print.[5]

”

In 1991, Natalie Cole released a highly successful album Unforgettable... with Love, which spawned a Top 40 hit "Unforgettable", a virtual "duet" with her father, Nat "King" Cole. Follow-up albums such as Take a Look were also successful.
Since the mid 1980s, vocalists such as Michael Feinstein, Harry Connick, Jr., Michael Bublé, Diana Krall, John Pizzarelli, and Ann Hampton Callaway have been notable interpreters of the Songbook throughout their careers. Michael Feinstein in particular has been a dedicated proponent, archivist, revivalist, and preservationist of the material since the late 1970s.

 Other singers

Since 1980, various established singers in unrelated genres have also had success in treating the Songbook. Beginning in 2002, Rod Stewart has devoted a series of studio albums to Songbook covers. Other rock and pop artists who have utilised the work include Keith Richards, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Caetano Veloso, Queen Latifah, Joni Mitchell, Boz Scaggs, Robbie Williams, Sting, Ray Reach, Pat Benatar, Morrissey, and Rufus Wainwright.
John Stevens, a 2004 American Idol contestant, also gave exposure to this trend. Steve Tyrell has forged a successful solo career with his interpretations of songs from the Great American Songbook. His version of "The Way You Look Tonight" for Father of the Bride (1991) was noticed and kept in the film at the insistence of its star, Steve Martin. This led to several albums, including A New Standard, Standard Time, and Bach to Bacharach.