"Azure" is a 1937 song composed by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Irving Mills. [1] The composition is an example of Ellington's early use of bi- and polytonality, and some parts of it are almost atonal in nature. [2]
Vocal jazz or jazz singing is an instrumental approach to the voice, where the singer can match the instruments in their stylistic approach to the lyrics, improvised or otherwise, or through scat singing; that is, the use of non-morphemic syllables to imitate the sound of instruments.
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book is a 1957 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by Duke Ellington and his orchestra, focusing on Ellington's songs.
"Satin Doll" is a jazz standard written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Written in 1953, the song has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, 101 Strings, Terry Callier, and Nancy Wilson. Its chord progression is well known for its unusual use of chords and opening with a ii-V-I turnaround.
"Don't Get Around Much Anymore" is a jazz standard written by composer Duke Ellington. The song was originally entitled "Never No Lament" and was first recorded by Duke Ellington and his orchestra on May 4, 1940. "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" quickly became a hit after Bob Russell wrote its lyrics in 1942.
"It Don't Mean a Thing " is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington, whose lyrics were written by Irving Mills. It is now accepted as a jazz standard, and jazz historian Gunther Schuller characterized it as "now legendary" and "a prophetic piece and a prophetic title."
"I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" is a 1938 composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics added by Irving Mills, Henry Nemo and John Redmond. The song became a number one hit for Ellington in 1938. Other hit versions the same year were by Benny Goodman, Connee Boswell, Hot Lips Page, and Mildred Bailey.
"Perdido" is a jazz standard composed by Juan Tizol that was recorded on December 3, 1941 by Duke Ellington. However, it is the January 21, 1942, recording of the song on the Victor label by the Ellington orchestra, of which Tizol was a member, that is regarded as the original recording. In 1944, Ervin Drake and Hans Lengsfelder were hired to write lyrics for the song.
"Just Squeeze Me " is a 1941 popular song composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Lee Gaines. The song has been recorded numerous times by a number of artists in the years since, having become a jazz standard. Hit recordings have been by Paul Weston & His Orchestra and by The Four Aces.
"I Didn't Know About You" is a song composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Bob Russell. Recorded in 1944 with vocal by Joya Sherrill, it was based on an instrumental first recorded by Ellington in 1942 under the title "Sentimental Lady".
"Cotton Tail" is a 1940 composition by Duke Ellington. It is based on the rhythm changes from George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm". The first Ellington recording is notable for the driving tenor saxophone solo by Ben Webster. Originally an instrumental, "Cotton Tail" later had lyrics written for it by Ellington. Later, more lyrics were written, based on the 1940 recording, by Jon Hendricks, and recorded by Lambert, Hendricks and Ross.
"In a Mellow Tone", also known as "In a Mellotone", is a 1939 jazz standard composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Milt Gabler. The song was based on the 1917 standard "Rose Room" by Art Hickman and Harry Williams, which Ellington himself had recorded in 1932. Howard Stern used a recording of this song as the opening theme to The Howard Stern Show from 1987 to 1994.
"I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So" is a 1945 song composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Mack David.
"Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'" is a 1941 song written by Billy Strayhorn and Lee Gaines.
"(In My) Solitude" is a 1934 jazz standard composed by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Eddie DeLange and Irving Mills.
"Day Dream" is a jazz standard composed by Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by John Latouche and written in 1939. It was first recorded by saxophonist Johnny Hodges and his ensemble on November 2, 1940.
Sam Woodyard was an American jazz drummer.
"I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues" is a 1937 song composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Don George.
"Chelsea Bridge" (1941) is an impressionistic jazz standard composed by Billy Strayhorn. Strayhorn biographer David Hajdu notes that "[u]nlike conventional tune-based pop and jazz numbers of the day, 'Chelsea Bridge' is 'classical' in its integration of melody and harmony as an organic whole." He also observes that it "vividly evokes the water below" the bridge rather than the bridge itself and that the piece is indebted to the work of Claude Debussy. Hajdu also quotes noted jazz arranger and composer Gil Evans as saying, "From the moment I first heard 'Chelsea Bridge,' I set out to try to do that. That's all I did ... tried to do what Billy Strayhorn did." In an analysis of the piece's haunting melody, Gunther Schuller writes: "What Strayhorn exploited in the theme of 'Chelsea Bridge' is the duality of its chromatic harmonies. The theme is set in its first three bars in minor sixth chords with an added major seventh. However, Strayhorn causes us to hear these harmonies as if they were whole-tone chords. He achieves this effect by two means: 1) through orchestrational and dynamic stressing of the three upper notes [and] 2) by setting these sixth chords in their third inversions. This latter device takes away the rootedness of the harmonies, letting them float, so to speak, more towards the top of their structure."
"Something to Live For" is a 1939 jazz composition by Billy Strayhorn. It was the first collaboration between Strayhorn and Duke Ellington and became the first of many Strayhorn compositions to be recorded by Ellington's orchestra. The song was based on a poem Strayhorn had written as a teenager. According to an all-day tribute to Strayhorn on KCSM radio on 29 November 2008—Strayhorn's birthday—Strayhorn began working on this tune in 1933 when he was 18.
"Indian Summer" is a jazz standard originally written as a piano piece by the prolific composer Victor Herbert. Al Dubin wrote lyrics for the tune in 1939, twenty years after Herbert wrote the tune.
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