I was about to do an album of standards and had not completed the set list, so it was great for research. They played female standards singers - Ella, Billie, Carmen McRae, Sassy, Julie London, Blossom Dearie - interspersed with Edith Piaf. I went there regularly, not only for the fine food but also for the music they played. “While I was in Toronto, I frequented a bistro near the hotel where I was staying. “Jeep's Blues” performed by Duke Ellington & His Orchestra He captures and transmits - without words - all we need to know about the situation- in the universal language of tone.ĥ. He said, ‘They’ve got words - I’ve got to do it without the words.’ On this track Miles sings. “It Never Entered My Mind” performed by Miles Davis Billie’s voice here is pristine, and again I am delighted by the horn arrangement.”Ĥ. This was her great gift, and with it, she could make all those beautiful melodic ‘doormat’ sound (written by men for women to sing) sound wise. No one I know could express hurt and loss with such a good-hearted tone - not a trace of self-pity or melodrama in it. “I love Billie Holiday- all phases of her. Listen to Duke as he comes tickling in - the notes wink at you - like the Harlem Globetrotters- delightful! - serious clowning.”ģ. They play together like one instrument - one soul. ”I love this arrangement - the way the colors change - but it’s the sound of the band - the warmth of it - the heart - the humor - the spiritual synchronization - that makes this music so inimitable. “Subtle Lament” performed by Duke Ellington & His Orchestra To this day, I love the trumpet and sad, moonlit melodies.”Ģ. Mama had four nocturnes - Chopin, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’. Papa had two trumpet records - Leroy Anderson and Harry James. We had one, a blonde double-doored console that housed a radio and a turntable and a small space for records. “When I was a child record players were a kind of novelty item - like player pianos - not everyone had one. “Clare de Lune” from Suite Bergamasque by Claude Debussy We’ve got fast cars and cute cars.’ I got the picture. We’re looking for a “look” and a willingness to cooperate!’ Another executive told me, as a prelude to rejecting my (then) last album, ‘We’re selling cars now. I heard one record (company) boss on the radio announcing matter-of-factly, ‘We are no longer looking for talent. Shock was the reigning value and schlock was rating raves in Rolling Stone. “By the end of the 20th century, it seemed to me that the muse had gone out of music and all that was left was the ‘ic’. We talked to Joni Mitchell about her favorite artists and songs. Keith Richards told us about the most powerful blues he ever heard, and Willie Nelson said you have to hear Django Reinhardt if you want to hear the guitar the way it’s supposed to be played. Norah Jones talked about the sound of the snare drum on her favorite Ray Charles song. We came up with the idea for Artist’s Choice because we always wanted to know what our favorite artists were listening to.
17The Stories of the Street - Leonard Cohen.7Saturday Night Fish Fry - Louis Jordan.5Jeep's Blues - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra.4It Never Entered My Mind - Miles Davis.2Subtle Lament - Duke Ellington & His Orchestra.