Why this tune? This week’s tune is another from my January song-a-day challenge, that I finally got around to “polishing” for this recording. I wrote this in response to the prompt “the right amount of wrong,” and started by reversing the prompt to see where that would lead. The result was an empowerment song forContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Wrong Amount of Right”
Author Archives: Oren Levine
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 inContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: My Ship”
Tunes on Tuesday: You and the Night and the Music
Why this tune? In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month in the US, this week’s tune is a tribute to one of the many Jewish American composers who helped create the body of work we know as the “Great American Songbook,” source of many of the jazz standards we still play today. Arthur Schwartz, andContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: You and the Night and the Music”
Tunes on Tuesday: Eyes Unveiled
Why this tune? This week’s tune is another in my “Parsha Songs” series, inspired by the weekly Torahportions from the Jewish tradition. “Eyes Unveiled” is based on a quote from Numbers 24 in Parashat Balak, a translation of the Hebrew “וגלוי עינים” (“ve-galui einayim”) Balak, king of Moab, called on Balaam, well-known for his blessingsContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Eyes Unveiled”
Tunes on Tuesday: Prelude to a Kiss
Why this tune? April 30 is International Jazz Day, established by UNESCO in 2011 to celebrate this BlackAmerican music we call jazz and its role in global diplomacy around the world. The date was chosen in part to honor Duke Ellington, who was born on April 29, 1899. I thought it appropriate to mark theContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Prelude to a Kiss”
Tunes on Tuesday: Two For The Road
Why this tune? This week’s we’re celebrating the 100th birthday of the great composer Henry Mancini with one of my favorite Mancini songs. “Two For The Road” is the title song of a 1967 film directed by Stanley Donen, starring Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. This beautiful song has been recorded over 200 times, withContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Two For The Road”
Tunes on Tuesday: First Ripe Grapes
Why this tune? This week’s tune is a work in progress, another in my “Parsha Songs” series inspired by theweekly Torah portion. The prompt for this song comes from Parashat Shelach (Numbers 13:1-15:41). The portion includes the story of the “spies” sent to explore the land of Canaan before the Israelites enter the Promised Land.Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: First Ripe Grapes”
Tunes on Tuesday: As Water Covers The Sea
Why this tune? This week’s tune is another original that I wrote in 2016. it’s an instrumental tune exploring some harmonic ideas. I chose the title after I wrote the tune, deciding to look for a Biblical reference that fit the mood of the piece. I thought the phrase “as water covers the sea” fromContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: As Water Covers The Sea”
Tunes on Tuesday: Think Spring
Why this tune? Tunes on Tuesday comes out on Wednesday this week with “Think Spring,” which I wrote in January this year, when we were waiting impatiently for warmer days to come. It’s still somewhat relevant here in DC, where the weather hasn’t yet received the news about the change of season. When I wroteContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Think Spring”
Tunes on Tuesday: Grown Up Since Tuesday
Why this tune? This week’s tune is another song I started in January and finally got around to polishing into a more complete form. The idea for this one, like so many others, came from a conversation with my wife. What she said was “I’ll be a grown-up on Tuesday,” which is a great promptContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Grown Up Since Tuesday”
Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter 