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I'm only asking this for fun, but is there a jazz standard you just can't get along with? For me, this is Misty - something about the initial descending melody figure for "look at me..." followed by those "I'm as helpless as a kitten in a twee" lyrics just make me feel rather queasy. I'm overstating it a bit - I can appreciate that it is a great song, but still, it would be somewhere near the bottom of my personal list.
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09-17-2010 09:51 AM
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Satin Doll.
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Plenty of standards had cheezy or goofy lyrics. I have made it a point in the last few years to get as many vocal versions of tunes as I can, rather than just the instrumental stuff.
Not sure I have a least favorite. I can see Misty or Satin Doll, just because of how much they are done.
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mine all seem to revolve around female singers, for some reason...
"feelin' good" and "fever" make me want to physically harm people.
As for instrumental jazz tunes, I'll will admit, "Satin Doll" is pretty tired.
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I've been sourcing many of my tunes from the Real Vocal Book lately. I'm contemplating some duo or trio gigs where I'd be singing some of the tunes. Lyrics are a real make or break feature for me. I don't want to sing songs that I can't identify with in some way.
I don't mind playing Satin Doll, but I'd never sing it.
OTOH, I'd probably never call P.S. I Love You as in instrumental, but the words are fun.
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I would have to say Satin Doll after one of the bands I worked with used it for an opening, warm-up tune for a few years.
wiz
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i like to mash "satin doll" together with "batida diferente." the heads are in different keys, but the choruses share the same key. try it—it's fun! (start with the head of "satin doll," then the chorus of "batida diferente," finish up "satin doll." then play the head of "batida diferente," the chorus of "satin doll," and finish with the end of "satin doll.")
i hear "feelings" every now and then—not often enough that i consider it a standard ... and for that, i am thankful.Last edited by patskywriter; 09-17-2010 at 03:23 PM.
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been through hating satin doll and like it again. can't stand my favorite things i don't care who has played it .
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Yeah, I am with you. If I have a least fav, it has to be Feelings. Just brutal for me.
Originally Posted by patskywriter
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"My Favorite Things," is my least favorite!
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"You Stepped Out Of A Dream." It has one of the most uninspiring melody I've ever heard, I dislike the harmonic progression, and I hate every rendition I've ever listened to, regardless of tempo.
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My Favorite Things, My Funny Valentine, Fly Me to the Moon, All of Me.
Although this is getting a little negative, maybe we should are our favorites?
I Hear A Raphsody, Stella By Starlight, Body and Soul, The Song is You, and Darn that Dream.
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+1, I can't stand that tune. One of my students wanted me to transcribe some licks for Tal Farlow's version. That was a brutal lesson. Originally Posted by FatJeff
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I can't really say I personally dislike any standards. The only one I don't care for playing is "The Girl From Impanema". Everytime I play restaurant gig, usually I'll have someone request that song and usually, depending how many they put away, they will come up and sing it!
It is a great tune. I just get a little tired of it sometimes.
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I really like Jobim. Bossa Nova is hip, His songs are well-crafted pop music, in the best sense. Good melodies and interesting chord progression. BUT... they tend to sound "elevator-friendly" in a way that a take-no-prisoners bebop number will not. Maybe someone can post a YouTube link to change my mind... Originally Posted by Gambrosius1984
Does anyone else feel this way?
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harmonize the first four melody notes of "ipanema" this way:
Fmaj13: 1 x 2 2 3 3
Bb7b5: 6 x 6 7 5 x
Am7: 5 7 5 5 8 x
Ab7#5: 4 x 4 5 5 x
Hip as hell (learned that from a fellow guitar player who learned it from this monster 19 year old pianist!)
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I humbly class myself as a sub-newbie; despite its apparent high pedagogic value, I can't even start 'Autumn Leaves'. Some kind of subconscious blockage; can't bear it. Originally Posted by Meggy
Misty, however, has been, and still is, a challenge to me. The Vanilla book has recently given me the underlying structure I had been looking for; it's up to me now to work out how to bring out the melody, which I like greatly. I never listen to the words of any song, anyway, when playing; to me it's an instrumental. No hang-ups with 'soppyness' (the spell checker rejects 'soppyness'; how odd...)
Sorry, Meggy; guess we're just not made for each other after all (sigh...)
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my friend trader bob (may he rest in peace) used to say...in all sincerety..."all the girls are pretty, some's just prettier than others"...
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This is very funny, I love the way you express your dislike - thank you for putting a smile on my face! Originally Posted by FatJeff
It would seem not! In a way I do like Misty - clearly it is a classic song with one of those beautifully crafted melodies/chord sequences that so many of the great standards do have - I can see all that but it still makes me feel sick somehow! Autumn Leaves however... I love that tune! Originally Posted by Dad3353
Don't want this to be negative either, just some light-hearted fun hopefully. Besides Autumn Leaves, another one I love playing is "Just Friends" Originally Posted by jeffstritt
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I know I'm gonna get some flak on this. Not even sure if it classifies as a standard. Certainly a Jazz standard.
Giant Steps... there, I said it!
Trane described it as an exercise, and to my ears, that's what it sounds like.
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No flak here; you're entitled to your opinion. A guitarist I used to do duet work with would always say that and refused to play it; I never realized Trane said it too. I love it, even though I guess it can't be considered a standard in the vein of Porter, Gershwin, Arlen, etc. Since it was his gig I never argued the point. Originally Posted by RonD
I know I'm gonna get some flak on this. Not even sure if it classifies as a standard. Certainly a Jazz standard.
Giant Steps... there, I said it!
Trane described it as an exercise, and to my ears, that's what it sounds like.
I was in a quintet about 20 years ago that played this awful brunch gig in a hotel, awful because the owner was such a (insert any profane word or phrase you think of). It was the piano player's job; a great player who we used to call "Bill Evans" because he would lean introspectively over the piano and call bebop and modal stuff that really didn't fit this type of venue, where the average age was "deceased". They only wanted old standards and some melodic later pop (Joel, Beatles, etc) which wasn't the piano player's bag so how he got this gig I never quite figured out. He was the type of guy who would play "Giant Steps" on a wedding job (when those actually used to exist). I'm a big believer in playing the room but he wasn't.
The owner was a sophisticated chap who used to say things like "Don't play none of that fast jazz shit" before skulking off into the corner to drool and glare at us. On one job the leader called "Giant Steps" just to piss this guy off and during the break the owner came up to him and said he'd fire us if we played anything else like that. So in the next set he calls the tune again and had us play it as a slow ballad and this neanderthal stood in the back, smiled, and gave us the thumbs up. Hah! Then he says "that's more like it." Had NO IDEA it was the same tune. Definitely one of those jobs where I was greatful to leave with my 75 bucks, my club sandwich (no musicians at the brunch buffet please!) and my kneecaps still intact.
This pianist had an "any Jobim but Ipanema" rule and we would play any tune he wrote except that. I like it but it's over done.
If I have to pick one standard I hate it would have to be "Feelings". Awful.Last edited by paynow; 09-18-2010 at 10:33 PM.
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"Pennies from Heaven". I used to play in a quintet with a violinist and it was his signature tune. When we were playing three gigs a week it was painful. I love "On Green Dolphin Street" and "Autumn in New York".
Last edited by bfff; 09-19-2010 at 12:56 AM.
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When the Saints Come Marching In. I don't need to ever hear it again.
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You've most definitely heard what I would call the definitive version of The Girl from Ipanema, performed by Gilberto and Getz, which has a very interesting arrangement. I figured it out by ear, and I have never played the standard as it is transcribed in the Real Book since. Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
I've attached said transcription below.
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i have this version, along with many others ... but my favorite versions of "the girl from ipanema" are jobim's version on the 'tide' album and sergio mendes's version on the 'swinger from rio' album (art farmer takes one of the most beautiful solos ever on it). Originally Posted by Isiyac
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