Tunes on Tuesday: My Ship

Why this tune?

Kurt Weill wrote “My Ship” in 1941 for the musical “Lady in the Dark,” featuring lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Weill got his start as a classical composer in his native Germany, best known for “The Threepenny Opera” from 1928 and its most famous song “Mack the Knife.” Weill fled Nazi persecution in Germany in the early 1930s and made his way to the US, where his style evolved to incorporate American popular music. “My Ship” is one of his contributions to the jazz canon alongside “Speak Low” (lyrics by Ogden Nash) and September Song. “Mack the Knife” is also still a popular choice for jazz and pop singers, most frequently with the English lyrics by Marc Blitzstein.

I chose the tune for this week to mark the birthday of Dee Dee Bridgewater (May 27), one of the leading vocalists of her generation. Her 2002 album of Weill’s songs ‘This Is New” includes a lovely version of “My Ship” and other lesser-played Weill songs. There are plenty of other fine recordings of the song, one of which won a Grammy for Herbie Hancock in 2003.

Tunes On Tuesday Reel

Check it out!

Dee Dee Bridgewater

Herbie Hancock (with Michael Brecker and Roy Hargrove)