Gormon-sense

Apart from jazz one of my interests is American crime fiction. Chandler, Spillane, Jim Thompson are all favourites of mine. Another is Ed Gorman.

Yesterday I read a short story of his entitled "Muse".

It is loosely jazz orientated and includes the following truism:

"You've never heard Porter or Kern or Larry Hart until you've heard them done by great jazz singers and musicians. Then you'll find out just how rich their music really is."

This caught my fancy because it is so true. Many of the great standards began life in Broadway shows or Hollywood musicals where they were sung in the strident theatrical manner or in that quasi-operatic style so beloved of the Great White Way.

Listen to Ella's series of songbooks, Frank's or Mel Tormé's versions of the Gasbook and you have an art form so far removed and above the original it is sometimes difficult to reconcile the two.

On the instrumental side, musicians have extended the life of the composer's songs into immortality.

You'd think the composers would have been grateful for this expansion of their work. Far from it - they frequently sued. The estate of one famous composer has made a career out of it!

Even Cole Porter, whose canon many would say had been enhanced by Sinatra's interpretations, took offence, according to Larry Adler - a mouthorgan player - at 'Old Blue Eye's' rendition of "I Get a Kick Out of You".

I guess he didn't object to the royalties.

Lance.