Why this tune?
This week I’m sharing part of my preparation for a solo piano set I’m playing on Jan. 15. I’m opening for the superb guitarist Pasquale Grasso at “Jazz at the Castle” on St. Croix in the
US Virgin Islands. My set will include several standards I’ve played over the years plus a
couple of original songs.
I had to include “It Could Happen To You,” one of my favorite standards and one of the most popular tunes in the jazz canon. It’s a classic of the 32-bar American Song Book form. The music by Jimmy Van Heusen is beautifully crafted and fun to solo on. Jimmy Burke’s lyric tells a complex story of resisting and then accepting love in only 13 lines.
I’m still working on my interpretation, which “borrows” a few bits from Keith Jarrett’s version on “Tokyo ’96.” There’s still more work to do before the show!
Tunes On Tuesday Reel
Check out these recordings
Keith Jarrett, “Tokyo ’96”
Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter 