Tunes on Tuesday: When Sunny Gets Blue
Why this tune? What do you play when someone asks you to “play us a song?” For me, one of the first tunes I think of is “When Sunny Gets Blue,” a pop ballad by Marvin Fisher and Jack Segal and from 1956 that has become a jazz standard. It’s one of the first songsContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: When Sunny Gets Blue”
Tunes on Tuesday: Crystal Silence
What’s new? Tunes On Tuesday enters its second year this week. For the new year in tunes, I’m changing the format to add more of my playing to the weekly story. In the weekly video, you’ll hear my version of the tune of the week accompanying the weekly story about why it deserves attention andContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Crystal Silence”
Tunes on Tuesday: Alfie
Why this tune? In this week leading up to Valentine’s Day, I’m taking a closer look at an unconventional love song, Alfie, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David to promote the 1966 film of the same name. In David’s lyrics, based on the movie script, the singer is speaking to the title character, aContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Alfie”
Tunes on Tuesday: It’s Snowing In Vegas
Why this tune? When I read last week about a rare snowfall in Las Vegas, I was ready with a song. That song, “It’s Snowing In Vegas,” started one evening in our home. We told a group of friends about one of our trips to the West Coast. We drove from Los Angeles to LasContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: It’s Snowing In Vegas”
Tunes on Tuesday: The Hill We Climb
Why this tune? If you watched the Presidential inauguration last week, you probably heard Amanda Gorman reciting her poem “The Hill We Climb.” If you heard it then, it’s worth watching it again. It’s a beautiful work, meaningful and musical and brilliantly constructed. I was looking for a way to spend more time with thatContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: The Hill We Climb”
Tunes on Tuesday: Washington, DC
Why this tune? In honor of this week’s Presidential inauguration in my city, Washington, DC, I wanted to focus on one of the best musical tributes to the nation’s capital. Gil-Scott Heron recorded “Washington, DC” in 1982, when another American leader was, in his words, “making the world a nervous wreck.” The song captures theContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Washington, DC”
Tunes on Tuesday: Schoolhouse Rock – The Preamble
Why this tune? We’re going through a difficult time in the US, seeing direct threats to our system of government, including some from people who swore to support and defend the Constitution that set up that system. Maybe they forgot the call to “establish justice and ensure domestic tranquility,” one of the ambitious goals inContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Schoolhouse Rock – The Preamble”
Tunes on Tuesday: A Foggy Day In London Town
Why this tune? Happy New Year! We’re starting 2021 with a foggy day here in the Caribbean, so my thoughts turned to perhaps the most famous song about the fog, George and Ira Gershwin’s A Foggy Day In London Town. I suspect the Gershwin brothers would be amazed that their song for a 1937 musicalContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: A Foggy Day In London Town”
Tunes on Tuesday: What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve
Why this tune? If this were a normal year, many of my fellow musicians would be preparing for New Year’s Eve gigs, which might include the Frank Loesser classic “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve,” It’s been a seasonal hit since Loesser wrote it in 1947, with popular recordings by the Orioles in 1949Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve”
Tunes on Tuesday: Snow Day
Why this tune? Johnny Mercer’s lyrics for I Thought About You were inspired by a trip on a train. My lyrics for Snow Day were inspired by a trip on a bus, on a snowy day in Washington, DC, listening to music on my phone. That image became the first line of the song, whichContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Snow Day”
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