The song of the day for Thursday, May 25, 2017 is “There’s A Small Hotel.”
About This Song
Originally written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart in 1935 for the musical Jumbo, “There’s A Small Hotel” was used the next year in On Your Toes, where it was introduced by Ray Bolger and Doris Carson. The song has been recorded by artists including Chet Baker, Josephine Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Della Reese, in addition to Tony Bennett.
About This Version
Tony Bennett recorded “There’s A Small Hotel” in 1973 and was released on the 1977 album Tony Bennett Sings More Great Rodgers & Hart.
Bennett recorded his two Rodgers and Hart albums with the George Barnes – Ruby Braff Quartet, which featured Braff on cornet, Barnes and Wayne Wright on guitar, and John Guiffrida on bass.
This somewhat unusual quartet, with no piano or drums, is a wonderful sound for these Rodgers and Hart songs–they give a nice period feel to the songs at’s a really lovely set of recordings.
“There’s A Small Hotel,” as well as The Complete Improv Recordings, is available from iTunes.
Wonderful