Author Archives: Oren Levine

Why this tune? We’re celebrating Horace Silver’s birthday this week, so in his memory I chose to celebrate one of his most well-known original tunes “Song For My Father”. His first recording is an iconic jazz classic, an instrumental version released as the title track of an album in 1964, featuring a photo of Silver’sContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Song For My Father”

Why this tune? You never know what will happen to a song after you release it into the world. I don’t think Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke expected that their song “Imagination,” a hit for Glenn Miller in 1940, would become an R&B hit for Miki Howard over 40 years later. I first heardContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Imagination”

Why this tune? The great Tony Bennett celebrated his 94th birthday a couple of weeks ago – that reminded me of a great version of Old Devil Moon he performed on MTV Unplugged in 1994, which my musical colleague Tony Gudell shared with me. Burton Lane and Yip Harburg wrote it as a slow romanticContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Old Devil Moon”

Why this tune? Today I’m remembering Louis Armstrong on his birthday. My late father was a big jazz fan, and some of the earliest music I can remember are the sounds of Louis Armstrong coming from my dad’s mono hifi system. I’m sure he played “Struttin’ With Some Barbecue,” written by his wife Lil HardinContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Struttin’ With Some Barbecue”

Why this tune? I read recently that Burt Bacharach released his first new songs in 15 years, a collaboration with the Nashville writer/producer Daniel Tashian. That event reminded me of one of my favorite albums, his project with Elvis Costello, “Painted From Memory” from 1998. If you haven’t heard it yet, please check it out. It’sContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: This House Is Empty Now”

Why this tune? Today marks the birthday today of Sonny Clark, a great pianist who died far too young in 1963 at age 31. He recorded a fine version of “Softly As In A Morning Sunrise” in 1958. This is another jazz and jam session classic that comes to us from the theater world, inContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Softly As In A Morning Sunrise”

Why this tune? Back in May I wrote about my first song “I Believe In Rhubarb,” inspired by a conversation about gardening. My wife liked the song but suggested that I write another one about a subject closer to her heart. That led to my second song, “I Hate Onions,” which also marked the endContinue reading “Tunes On Tuesday: I Hate Onions”

Why this tune? As our COVID crisis continues, I’m thinking back to the regular gigs we enjoyed before the virus, like the monthly dates at Mr. Henry’s in Washington, DC with Aaron Myers and his band: with Percy White on bass and Will Stephens on drums. One instrumental we used to call regularly was Caravan,Continue reading “Tunes On Tuesday: Caravan”

Why this tune? If you’re a jazz fan, you may know If I Were A Bell as that Miles Davis tune from one of his great 1956 sessions for Prestige Records. Like so many jazz standards, though, it’s a song from a musical, in this case Guys and Dolls, written by the great Frank Loesser.Continue reading “Tunes On Tuesday: If I Were A Bell”