The song of the day for Monday, February 24, 2014 is “Russian Lullaby.”
About This Song
Irving Berlin wrote “Russian Lullaby” in 1927. It was used in vaudeville performances at the time. Unlike any of his other works, “Russian Lullaby” directly reaches back to his childhood in Belarus before his family emigrated to the United States. The melody has a charming folk-music sound and his lyrics evoke the lullaby sung to a child.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded “Russian Lullaby” in 1987 for his album Bennett/Berlin. This is definitely a jazz version of the song. In fact, he only uses one verse of the lyric. Dizzy Gillespie joins Bennett with a wonderful trumpet solo. This “Russian Lullaby” swings and it swings hard.
http://open.spotify.com/track/1RrdGRyOdW3AwUtuwaSrwX
“Russian Lullaby,” as well as the album Bennett/Berlin, is available from iTunes.
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