The song of the day for Monday, March 30, 2015 is “Speak Low.”

About This Song

“Speak Low” was written by Kurt Weill (music) and Ogden Nash (lyrics) for the 1943 musical One Touch of Venus, where it was introduced by Mary Martin and Kenny Baker. In addition to several very fine Tony Bennett recordings, “Speak Low” has been widely recorded by jazz and popular performers, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Lena Horne.

About This Version

Today’s version is the 2011 version from Duets II, recorded with Norah Jones. This version was arranged by Jorge Calandrelli.

About Today

The Year of Tony Bennett would like to wish Norah Jones a very happy birthday. She was born on March 30, 1979 in Brooklyn, the daughter of American Sue Jones and the international sitar player Ravi Shankar. She grew up in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas) and attended the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas (where your intrepid blogger taught part-time for a year). During her high school career, she won three DownBeat Student Music Awards: two for Best Jazz Vocalist (1996 and 1997) and one for Best Original Composition (1996). After high school, she attended the University of North Texas, which is well-known for its jazz curriculum. She left university in 1999 and moved to New York. Her first album, Come Away With Me, was released in 2002 and a major hit. In 2003, she won five Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album, Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Don’t Know Why” at the 45th Grammy Awards. She’s been singing and recording jazz ever since.

“Speak Low,” as well as Duets II, is available from iTunes.