“When You Wish Upon a Star” was written by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington in 1939 for Disney’s “Pinocchio”. The melody is so beautiful that I find it difficult to stray to far from it when improvising.
The song has become an icon of American Culture and has become a jazz standard covered by many artists. My favorite renditions are by Joe Pass and June Christy. Bill Frisell also recently recorded a nice version.
I am playing it on my Benedetto Bucky Pizzarelli model seven string.
Here’s a quick solo improvisation on Cole Porter’s “Night & Day”. I was practicing this morning with my Dale Ungar 6 string American Archtop so I decided to use it for the video instead of my usual 7 string.
“Night and Day” was written by Porter for the 1932 musical “Gay Divorce”. It is now an intregal part of the American Songbook and considered a jazz standard.
It has been recorded by a multitude of artists over the year so there are many versions to choose from. My favorite version of the tune is on the “Virtuoso” by Joe Pass. It is a solo version and I highly recommend you check out the entire album if you are not already familiar with the “Virtuoso” recordings by Joe.
Here is my cover of the traditional folk song, “Delia” which originated in my home state of Georgia.
Late on Christmas Day, December 25th, 1900 a fourteen year old girl named Delia Green was murdered in Savannah, Georgia by a fifteen year old boy named Moses Houston. Houston shot Delia after an argument. The newspapers reported that the two had been romantically involved for several months but Delia had recently ended the relationship with Houston and was seeing another man.
Moses Houston stood trial for Delia’s murder in the spring of 1901, was convicted by the jury and sentenced to life imprisonment by the presiding judge. Moses served twelve years and then was pardoned by the Georgia Governor, John M. Slaton in 1913. Delia Green is buried in Laurel Grove Cemetery South in Savannah in an unmarked grave. Houston disappeared into the pages of history.
Versions of this story song have been recorded by many artists over the years including Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. I first heard it on David Bromberg’s first record and later the seminal recording of “Delia” by Blind Willie McTell. The Reverend Gary Davis also has an interesting version. My cover is the key of D like Bromberg’s. McTell played it in the key of F.
Like many folk songs, there are varying lyrics to the song. I chose the stanzas I liked and arranged them to tell the story in a logical order.
Here is a quick improvisation around a “loose arrangement” of “The Shadow of Your Smile”. I used my Dale Unger six string American Arch Top this morning…love this guitar.
“The Shadow of Your Smile was written by Johnny Mandel with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster. The song was first introduced in the 1965 film, “The Sandpiper”. There are many versions out there and many jazz musicians have recorded it. I recommend you check out the solo version by Joe Pass.
“Alone Together” was written in 1932 by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz for the Broadway musical, “Flying Colors”. It has since that time become a jazz standard recorded by many, many artists. My favorite renditions are by the duo of Jim Hall and Ron Carter and by the duo of Joe Pass and John Pisano. Grant Green’s rendition is also a favorite.
I very much enjoy improvising on this tune and play it often on the job in duo, trio and quartet settings. This rendition is a solo improvisation.
Here is another take on Cole Porter’s “Night & Day“. This time I videoed it on my 7 String. I always use a loose structure for songs, my goal is to never play them exactly the same way every time or as a set arrangement. The improvisations must all vary as well as the use of the various chord voicing . This is what I am striving for….I will keep working on it!
“Night and Day” was written by Porter for the 1932 musical “Gay Divorce”. It is now an integral part of the American Songbook and considered a jazz standard.
Here’s a quick solo improvisation on Cole Porter’s “Night & Day”. I was practicing this morning with my Dale Ungar 6 string American Archtop so I decided to use it for the video instead of my usual 7 string.
“Night and Day” was written by Porter for the 1932 musical “Gay Divorce”. It is now an intregal part of the American Songbook and considered a jazz standard.
It has been recorded by a multitude of artists over the year so there are many versions to choose from. My favorite version of the tune is on the “Virtuoso” by Joe Pass. It is a solo version and I highly recommend you check out the entire album if you are not already familiar with the “Virtuoso” recordings by Joe.
Here is a solo version of John Coltrane’s classic jazz standard “Giant Steps”. The melody is stated in the first chorus with a walking bass line accompaniment. The second and third choruses are improvised lines over the changes. For the out chorus, I switch to 3/4 and re harmonize the melody.
Please check out Coltrane’s original recordings of “Giant Steps”. For guitar players. I recommend checking out solo versions recorded by Joe Pass and Jimmy Bruno. Also Pat Metheny recorded a nice trio version.