The song of the day for Saturday, May 4, is In A Sentimental Mood.

This song closes out Duke Ellington Week at the Year of Tony Bennett. It has been a privilege to research and learn about the life and career of Duke Ellington and to share that with our readers. It’s been difficult to choose songs to feature as well, as there were so many to choose from, but we hope that you have enjoyed them as much as we have.

About This Song

Duke Ellington wrote In A Sentimental Mood in 1935 and recorded the instrumental version with his orchestra that same year. Lyrics were later written by Irving Mills and Manny Kurtz. The song is one of Ellington’s most popular songs and has been recorded frequently and used in film scores many times. Alec Wilder was a big fan of the song, calling it a “lovely song” in spite of the lyrics, “as the words certainly don’t fall very fluidly.”

About This Version

Bennett recorded In A Sentimental Mood for his 1999 tribute album to Ellington. It’s a sweet and lovely version of this very nice song.

http://open.spotify.com/track/2T51ApFJKY5J2vvJmqKFpm
In A Sentimental Mood, as well as the entire Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool album, is available from iTunes.