Why this tune? We had a joyful evening at Blues Alley in Washington, DC on August 26, presenting aprogram of my songs to an appreciative audience. The show featured the three singers who performed on my album “Making Up For Lost Time,” Barbara Papendorp, Tony Gudell, and Aaron Myers. I was at the piano alongsideContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: An August Day in April”
Tag Archives: jazz piano
Tunes on Tuesday: Sunday Night Blues
Why this tune? I wrote “Sunday Night Blues” a few years ago, responding to a request from a friend for asong about the dreaded “Sunday scaries.” I asked Barbara Papendorp to perform it for the first time in public at Blues Alley on August 26. She’s premiering another new song on the 26th, and singingContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Sunday Night Blues”
Tunes on Tuesday: Don’t Sleep On Me
Why this tune? Here’s another song that is on the list for my show at Blues Alley in Washington, DC on August 26, a tune we recorded in 2020. I wrote “Don’t Sleep On Me” in 2019, as a reaction to feelings of inadequacy that I felt at jam sessions or gigs, in the presenceContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Don’t Sleep On Me”
Tunes on Tuesday: No Ducks
Why this tune? This week I’m sharing another song that I’m planning to include in my show at Blues Alley in Washington, DC on August 26. “No Ducks” was inspired by Carolyn Hax’s advice column in the Washington Post. She had a question from a reader trying to deal with a family conflict. Hax’s advice,Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: No Ducks”
Tunes on Tuesday: You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To
Why this tune? This week I took some time to add another jazz standard to the repertoire of tunes I can play comfortably without the music. The educators all say that the best way to do that is to learn the song in every key, and practice it until it’s in your fingers and head.Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To”
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”
Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter 