Why this tune? I’ve been working on my singing lately, preparing for a recording session in LA in October. I committed to singing two of the ten original songs on my next album, a fun swinging tune and a ballad. I am working with a vocal coach and have started to sing a few songsContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Nice ‘n’ Easy”
Tag Archives: Tunes On Tuesday
Tunes on Tuesday: Appetite
Why this tune? This week’s tune marks Bastille Day, the French national holiday, with a silly song about how we rely on a French phrase to start our meals in the USA. I responded to a songwriting prompt to use “foreign words” and took this idea to an absurd extreme. This was the second ofContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Appetite”
Tunes on Tuesday: My Country
Why this tune? Once in a rare while, inspiration strikes and there’s no choice but to follow it. That happened to me on the morning of July 4, when we celebrated the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. I had an image in my head of an enormous American flag flying over aContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: My Country”
Tunes on Tuesday: Be Free
Why this tune? In honor of this week’s celebration of Emancipation Day in the US Virgin Islands and US Independence Day, I’m sharing “Be Free,” a song I wrote back in 2018 for The Lucky So and So’s, a funk/latin/jazz/hip-hop band I was part of for a while in DC. The song has a simple,Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Be Free”
Tunes on Tuesday: You Would Rather Have the Blues
Why this tune? This week’s tune comes from the songbook of the late great Dave Frishberg, a brilliant pianist and songwriter who passed away in 2021. If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember his classic “I’m Just a Bill” from Schoolhouse Rock, or other classics like “I’m Hip” and “Peel Me a Grape” whichContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: You Would Rather Have the Blues”
Tunes on Tuesday: Day By Day
Why this tune? This week’s tune “Day By Day” is a popular song from 1945 written by Alex Stordahl and Paul Weston with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. Frank Sinatra and Jo Stafford recorded it first soon after it was written. Sinatra returned with another version in 1961. The song has remained a popular standard inContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Day By Day”
Tunes on Tuesday: What About Us
Why this tune? This week’s tune is an update of my Torah Tune for Parashat Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1). It tells the story from Numbers 27 about the five daughters of Zelophehad, who successfully petitioned to inherit their late father’s share of the Promised Land, establishing a rule that daughters could inherit property if there wereContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: What About Us”
Tunes on Tuesday: On the March Again
Why this tune? For this week’s tune, I’m, going back to my ongoing Torah Tunes project with a song for this week’s portion, Beha’alotcha (בְּהַעֲלֹֽתְךָ֙). The song was inspired by the story of the Israelites’ journey through the desert starting in Numbers 9. The lyrics reference the cloud that covered the Tabernacle during the night.Continue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: On the March Again”
Tunes on Tuesday: Hold Em Joe / St. Thomas
Why this tune? This week’s tune is a tribute to the life and work of the “saxophone colossus” Sonny Rollins, who passed on May 25. He recorded over 60 albums as a leader and composed several standards of the jazz repertoire including “Oleo,” “Doxy” and “Airegin.” He was the last surviving musician from the iconicContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: Hold Em Joe / St. Thomas”
Tunes on Tuesday: We Hate the Same Way
Why this tune? I wrote the first version of this week’s tune in January as part of my song-a-day challenge. I found inspiration in a column by Miss Manners we read in the Washington Post, where their response to a letter included the blessing “May you two have a long and happy life together focusingContinue reading “Tunes on Tuesday: We Hate the Same Way”