Part of the BSH team opted for the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Band's gig at Sage Gateshead last night. I was down the road in Armenia but, if I'd realised they were 'doing' Tchaikovsky's Fifth, I think I'd also have been heading for St. Pete's.
It's my favourite symphony and I'm surprised that neither Ellington, nor any of the other trans-genre composer/arrangers never picked up on it. One person who did was Mack David who, who along with Mack Davis and Andre Kostelanetz penned a lyric to the andante cantabile theme in the second movement and called it Moon Love - and what a song!
Sinatra recorded it early in his career with Harry James and, later on, on his magnificent Moonlight Sinatra album. Glenn Miller and Al Bowlly also had a bite at it.
Peter Ilyich provided plenty of fodder for the Tin Pan Alley boys but there were few better musical muggings than this!
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For anyone who hasn't yet picked up on Denny Farrell's weekly Late Night Chicago Radio Show this week's as good a place as any to start.
Art Hodes; Diana Krall; Jack Teagarden; Sonny Criss; Fred Astaire (w. JATP); Tony Bennett; George Shearing; Manhattan Transfer (Blue Champagne) and a whole lot more.
Mention of Blue Champagne prompts me to remind Ruth Lambert that I'm still waiting to hear her sing it - it was 10 years ago when we first talked about it! It's a great tune and, if Ruth doesn't eventually get round to it then there's a whole gang of girls out there who could do it justice.
Lance
1 comment :
Anita O'Day does a great version!
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