Song Analysis: "It's Only a Paper Moon".

"It's Only a Paper Moon" was written in 1933 by Harold Arlen (music) and E.Y. Harburg (lyrics). Both were probably most famous for having written "Over the Rainbow".  The song was originally written for a Broadway play that went nowhere, and Harburg was asked specifically to write the song from the point of view of a Coney Island street vendor.  The song has been covered numerous times, and its structure embellished in someways to the point where the main melodic theme is virtually unrecognizable.  That being said, the melody carries itself, not leaving entirely too much room for vocal interpretation, which probably isn't necessary for a song whose lyrics are deceptively obtuse when juxtaposed against the major key bounce of the music:  the world is a facade, an oppressive, fake place and only another person's love would make it feel real.  Pretty kick ass for pre-WWII America.

 The version the jazz band I've been honored enough to sing with follows is the Paul McCartney one from the 2012 "Kisses on the Bottom" album.  I could spend an entire entry on what it means when a former Beatle decides to record an album worth of jazz standards and name it "Kisses on the Bottom," as the concept itself makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit, but I won't.  What I will say is that McCartney's gentle, unassuming voice lends itself well to interpreting the song.  There's a little call-and-response he has during the B-section with the clarinet, that we've attempted to emulate with the band, but I can't whistle, so I whip out my falsetto, which isn't always dependable.  But there's a potential there for a little loose improvising, which I dig.

It wouldn't be hard to convince me that there are probably a hundred more genuine versions of "Paper Moon" than McCartney's, but it is true to the song, and the arrangement is pretty tasteful and straight forward.

Then again, there's always Lester Young in 1946.  Post World War II, having been kicked out of the army because he was caught on base with dope and booze, Young played a smooth, swaying tenor saxophone and, of all the versions I've listened to, this seems to be the only one that adds some sort of edge to the song.  The melody floats along like a seagull over a (cardboard) sea, in and out, and at times seems a bit explosive.  It's, by far, my favorite version.







Shoot me, but I've never been able to really 'get' Nat King Cole.  Like most of the crooners in the '40s and '50s, he covered about every jazz standard every written.  His voice is pleasant, non-threatening, smooth and predictable, and I mean this in the nicest way.  He is good with the pacing and phrasing and this version of the song- a live, color version of a 1963 for-TV performance is pretty hot, especially the musical interlude after the first two verses, some great, laid back guitar work.  You can view the entire concert on YouTube.





Of course, the coup de grace of all "It's Only a Paper Moon" covers would be James Darren's very special version recorded especially for an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" during the show's seventh season.  The scene prominently featured Quark's Bar, run by a typically business savvy Ferengi- these were the short characters with bulbous, silly putty like heads.  I especially admire how Quark has fallen to the irresistible jazz graces of James Darrens' swagger.

"It's Only a Paper Moon," indeed.  Even in space, you still need love to realize that some things are still, very much real.




In the end, I sing the song very true to the original melody.  It isn't the most challenging, or exciting song to sing, but I really do like the lyrics, and the bridge leaves a little room for creativity, which I hope to work out eventually.

Improving the Jazz Vocabulary, Part 2

Fred Astaire:  "Steppin' Out: Astaire Sings"

Pat Metheny Group: "The Way Up"

Return to Forever: "Light as a Feather"

Thelonious Monk: "Brilliant Corners"

Jose James:  "No Beginning, No End"

Gregory Porter: "Be Good"

Improving The Jazz Vocabulary

I started sitting in with a jazz band that does a lot of standards. It's a really new, invigorating approach to singing for me, and I feel it is actually more in tune with the tone of my voice than the funk/R&B stuff I'm doing with my other band. Plus it is exciting to be able to start digging into a genre I've all but ignored the past two decades. I've done a bit of research and so far have obtained the following albums:

Miles Davis: "Kind of Blue".

Duh.  Where else are you supposed to start?

The Dave Brubeck Quartet:  "Time Out"

I could say the same about this album.  "Take Five" has become such part and parcel of not just jazz culture, but pop culture as well, that it is easy to be dismissive of it sometimes.  I'm trying convince the jazz band I sit in with to cover it.

Charles Mingus: "Ah Um"

There was a time, a couple of decades ago, when me and my roommate were really getting into jazz. We'd sit around in the laundry room doing shots of potato vodka and listen to "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady" by Mingus, which was my favorite jazz recording at the time.  I opted for "Ah Um" because it seemed to be the most commonly referenced Mingus album when it came to identifying his 'best'.  It's propulsive, melodic, loose and groovy.  Any album that starts with a tune called "Better Git it in Your Soul" is going to be a beast.

John Coltrane: "Blue Train"

These first four albums are monsters.  I'm pretty intimately familiar with "A Love Supreme", but wanted to start with an album that might be more 'traditional' in a sense, as opposed to the spaces Coltrane took with 'Supreme'.  

Sarah Vaughan w/Clifford Brown

Here's something I can speak about with a modicum of authority: singing.  And, man, nobody could sing like Sarah Vaughan.  The way her voice moves from one octave to another is effortless and breathy. Stunning.