Why this tune? I’m participating in FAWM: February Album-Writing Month, a global community ofsongwriters writing and sharing songs, with the stated goal of writing 14 new songs(i.e. an album’s worth) during the month. Part of what I like about FAWM is the opportunity to write music for other peoples’ lyrics. “Bullet In The Night” isContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Bullet In The Night”
Tag Archives: jazz
Tunes on Tuesday: The Shadow Of Your Smile
Why this tune? This week’s tune is another award-winning movie theme that has become a jazz and pop standard. I thought Henry Mancini wrote the music for “The Shadow of Your Smile, ” but learned that is was in fact written by Johnny Mandel. It’s an understandable mistake. Mandel and Mancini (born two years apart)Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: The Shadow Of Your Smile”
Tunes on Tuesday: Cantaloupe Island
Why this tune? Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island” is instantly recognizable from the first bar. The opening piano vamp from his 1964 recording is perhaps one of the most memorable sounds in the jazz repertoire. That recording was something of a jazz “hit,” that led to over 100 recordings of the song, including a couple ofContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Cantaloupe Island”
Tunes on Tuesday: Alfie
Why this tune? I’m still buzzing from this past weekend (Jan. 12-14, 2023), when I had the privilege of playing in the first Jazz At The Castle festival on St. Croix, opening for the superbly talented guitarist Pasquale Grasso. I shared almost an hour of solo piano tunes, including a couple of my original songs.Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Alfie”
Tunes on Tuesday: It Could Happen To You
Why this tune? This week I’m sharing part of my preparation for a solo piano set I’m playing on Jan. 15. I’m opening for the superb guitarist Pasquale Grasso at “Jazz at the Castle” on St. Croix in theUS Virgin Islands. My set will include several standards I’ve played over the years plus acouple ofContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: It Could Happen To You”
Tunes on Tuesday: Let’s Resolve
Why this tune? Tunes on Tuesday starts the new year with a new song written on New Year’s Eve. I started the song with I started the song with a twist on the concept of New Year’s resolutions. What if we resolve to not make any? That evolved into a sort of love song, whereContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Let’s Resolve”
Tunes on Tuesday: Hanukkah Light
Why this tune? For Tunes on Tuesday during Hanukkah I’m sharing a solo piano version of my song “Hanukkah Light” that I recorded in 2020 as part of a series for the holiday (which you can find on Bandcamp). I recorded the song first in 2015 with Aaron Myers, and released it on his holidayContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Hanukkah Light”
Tunes on Tuesday: Mister Magic
Why this tune? It’s quite an achievement to have your song recorded twice in the same year by major artists. That happened to Ralph MacDonald in 1975 when Grover Washington Jr and Roberta Flack included his “Mister Magic” on their albums. Washington’s version is by far the most popular. I expect Flack’s vocal version wasContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Mister Magic”
Tunes on Tuesday: Softly As In A Morning Sunrise
Why this tune? This week’s tune is another reminder that many of the songs we think of now as jazz standards didn’t start that way. They only became jazz songs when jazz players interpreted them with a jazz language. Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote “Softly As In A Morning Sunrise” as a melancholyContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Softly As In A Morning Sunrise”
Tunes on Tuesday: Feels So Good
Why this tune? Imagine a time when a smooth jazz instrumental over 9 minutes long reached #4 on the Billboard pop chart and was nominated for the record of the Year Grammy. That time was 1978 and the song was “Feels So Good” by Chuck Mangione, a trumpet and flugelhorn player whose birthday falls onContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Feels So Good”
Oren Levine, jazz pianist and songwriter 