SongTrellis
Music and Musical Know-how For You

Author:  David Luebbert Posted:  1/19/01; 4:47:05 PM Msg#:  1256 (top msg in thread) Prev/Next:  1255/1257 Reads:  2878

I Got Rhythm(s)

The changes of George Gershwin's I Got Rhythm have historically been very important in jazz. It was a tune that was called incredibly frequently at jam sessions. Charlie Parker's composed Anthropology and Dexterity on top of slightly altered I Got Rhythm changes. Duke Ellington's Cottontail uses an altered version of the changes transposed down a major second. Sonny Rollins' Oleo uses a different slightly altered version.

Anthropology, Cottontail , and Oleo changes have been added to the site this week.

Jazz players strip away some of the harmonic embellishments that Gershwin wrote into his score, and add some of their own. I've added four jazz variants of the I Got Rhythm changes for you to listen to and study:

I Got Rhythm (Jazz variant #1),  I Got Rhythm (Jazz variant #2), I Got Rhythm (Jazz variant #3) and I Got Rhythm (Jazz variant #4).

Newest Changes

• Wayne Shorter's Deluge
• Jerome Kern's The Song Is You and Long Ago And Far Away
• Paul McCartney's Yesterday
• Jobim's How Insensitive and Meditation

My favorite jazz recordings

There's a flurry of interest in jazz the last few weeks because of the Ken Burns jazz documentary that's being shown on PBS. Burns (and Wynton Marsalis, by proxy) are not shy about telling everyone what their favorite jazz recordings are.

I figured I should publish my favorites list. When you explore a new art form it's very difficult to figure out where the good stuff is. I must have agonized in front of record and CD racks for hundreds of hours over the years trying to decide if I should take a chance on a particular recording. I eventually found friends who could point me in the right direction but it was hard before that. If a few hundred knowledgeable folks would do this on the web, new listeners would have a much easier time finding the good stuff.

This currently just lists the jazz recordings. I'll add my ethnic, classical, and rock and roll choices over the next few weeks. I'll also add brief commentary to the album listings when I feel I have something to say.

My list in outline form rendered as a directory: Luebbert's favorite recordings Click on the icons that appear to navigate deeper into the directory.

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