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The Year of Tony Bennett

An Appreciation of the Art and Music of Tony Bennett

November 22, 2021 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Mood Indigo

The song of the day for Tuesday, November 23, 2021, is “Mood Indigo.”

About This Song

“Mood Indigo” was written by Duke Ellington, based on a theme by Barney Bigard; Irving Mills wrote the lyrics. Ellington wrote the song, originally titled “Dreamy Blues,” specifically for ‘microphone transmission,’ and it was first played on a 1930 radio broadcast. Audiences loved the song, and so Irving Mills wrote the lyric, changing the name of the song to “Mood Indigo.” The song has been widely recorded by instrumental and vocal artists, including Tony Bennett, Charles Mingus, Ella Fitzgerald, Thelonious Monk, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Mood Indigo” in 1999 for his tribute album to Duke Ellington, Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool, released in Ellington’s centennial year. The album was conducted and arranged by Jorge Calandrelli. Joining Bennett for this recording were Wynton Marsalis on trumpet and Al Grey on trombone.

“Mood Indigo,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool is available on Apple Music.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: #Tony90 birthday greetings, Al Grey, Barney Bigard, Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool, Duke Ellington, Jorge Calandrelli, Tony Bennett, Winton Marsalis

April 15, 2019 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: Prelude to a Kiss

The song of the day for Tuesday, April 16, 2019, is “Prelude to a Kiss.”

About This Song

Today’s song, “Prelude to a Kiss,” was written in 1938 by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Gordon and Irving Mills.

Ted Gioia in The Jazz Standards notes that in the late 1930s, having practically invented swing music, “… at this juncture, he does the exact opposite. The Duke uses his fame and great artistic freedom to become more ambitious, more experimental, less beholden to the formulas of swing music. … ‘Prelude To A Kiss’ from 1938 is a case in point.”

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Prelude to a Kiss” in 1999 for his album Bennett Sings Ellington Hot and Cool. Joel Smirnoff is the featured violin soloist for this recording, which was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

Prelude To A Kiss

Prelude To A Kiss, a song by Tony Bennett on Spotify

“Prelude to a Kiss,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool, Duke Ellington, Irving Gordon, Irving Mills, Joel Smirnoff, Jorge Calandrelli, Tony Bennett

October 5, 2014 By Suzanne 2 Comments

Song of the Day: Day Dream

The song of the day for Sunday, October 5, 2014 is “Day Dream.”

About This Song

“Day Dream” was written in 1941 by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, with lyrics by John LaTouche. Acknowledged to have been written solely by Strayhorn, “Day Dream” is a lovely song with a strong Strayhorn touch, enhanced by the thoughtful lyrics by John LaTouche. The first recording was in 1941 and featured Johnny Hodges on saxophone and Billy Strayhorn on piano. Other notable recordings include this one by Tony Bennett, Betty Carter, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.

About This Version

Tony Bennett recorded “Day Dream” in 1992 for his centennial tribute to Duke Ellington: Bennett Sings Ellington / Hot and Cool. It was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

About Today

Your author has been listening to a lot of Billy Strayhorn lately. Next year will mark the centennial of the birth of two great jazz artists: Billy Strayhorn and Billie Holiday. I think it’s going to be a really great year for jazz as we all look back at how both of these artists defined the genre.

Day Dream

Listen to Day Dream on Spotify. Tony Bennett · Song · 1999.


“Day Dream,” as well as Bennett Sings Ellington / Hot and Cool, is available from iTunes.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool, Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, John Latouche

November 5, 2013 By Suzanne Leave a Comment

Song of the Day: It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)

The song of the day for Tuesday, November 5, 2013 is “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing).”

About This Song

“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” was written by Duke Ellington in 1931, with lyrics by Irving Mills. Ellington first recorded the song in 1932 with Ivie Anderson on vocals. It was one of the first songs that used the term “swing” to define what would become the American jazz sound for many years. This song has been widely recorded by both vocal and instrumental jazz performers.

About This Version

The Year of Tony Bennett has been in a Duke Ellington frame of mind all day, due mostly to the Broadway opening of After Midnight, a jazz revue based on the music of the Cotton Club. With a jazz orchestra hand-picked by Wynton Marsalis, a score of some of the best jazz music ever written and, apparently, some breathtaking performances, After Midnight has become an instant hit (you can read Charles Isherwood’s review from the New York Times here). k.d. lang will be featured in the production in February, 2014 as the Special Guest Star. The Year of Tony Bennett regrets the great distance between Portland, Oregon and Manhattan today; we really, really, really want to see this production. Hopefully, there will be an original cast album soon. We’ll keep you posted. You can visit the show’s website here.

After reading the scores of positive reviews of After Midnight, we have been listening to Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool all day today and chose one of our favorite songs, “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Aint’ Got That Swing),” as the song of the day because it’s too true: it really don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing. Duke Ellington told us so 83 years ago and it’s still true. And always will be.

http://open.spotify.com/track/29oWjqHxcY1cezZuylBYdo
“It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” as well as the album Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool, is available from iTunes and Amazon.

Filed Under: Song of the Day Tagged With: After Midnight, Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot and Cool, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, k d lang

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