Saturday July 27th, 2024, 10:00 PM – Deep Jazz.
In the world of the Big Band, Count Basie is one of the big names. Basie’s orchestra, founded in the 1930s, continued to exist even after his death in 1984 and is alive and well to this day. The Count Basie Orchestra regularly collaborated with guest soloists, including vocalists. One of them was Frank Sinatra.
Sinatra-Basie: An Historic Musical First was released in 1962. Two years later, the combination created the album It Might as Well Be Swing, led by arranger/conductor Quincy Jones. He expanded the orchestra with a string section. Vocalist + arranger + orchestra appear to be an ideal match. The key word in the album title is ‘Swing’. That creates an expectation. And that is amply fulfilled.
I Wish You Love is the American version of a French Chanson from the 1940s. The song has been recorded by dozens of musicians, both instrumentally and vocally. There are versions in Italian and even Arabic.
The piece opens with “Goodbye (….) This is where our story ends (…)” Text, minor key and strings create a melancholy mood. But after this introduction, the verse, it all changes to major! And who has the last word in the closing bars? The Count himself, with his musical signature. ———————————–
The collaboration between orchestra and vocalist suits both parties well. Quincy Jones is also the arranger/conductor when the Sinatra-Basie tandem performs in Las Vegas. Sinatra at the Sands is the title of a live recording from 1966. It is Sinatra’s first live album to be released commercially. And this is also a swing party.
Come Fly with Me, written in 1958 by Jimmy Van Heusen & Sammy Cahn, is a repertoire piece by Sinatra. He is in good spirits and communicates in a relaxed way with the audience and orchestra. He spreads the intro with a spoken story, and then starts the song rather abruptly. The arrangement builds tension and leads to a thrilling finale. Basie’s piano is also here – almost! – the point.
“Don’t worry ’bout me, I’ll get along. Just you forget about me, Be happy, my love.”The love is really over now. How to deal with this… that’s what it’s about. A similarity with I Wish You Love. But the slow tempo and Sinatra’s tone and diction seem to be expressions of a different state of mind.
“It was probably the most exciting engagement I have ever done in my life, since I started performing.” (Frank Sinatra on the concerts at The Sands in 1966)
Playlist in the Guide
Deep Jazz – Hans Mantel
