The Best of the Rest
Okay, I know there's more to the music world that Frank Sinatra (even though Bono described him as the "Big Bang of Pop." It’s hard to argue with a career that lasted for seven decades (1939 – 1994) and the fact that his music is still heard on an almost daily basis everywhere from restaurants and coffee houses to television commercials and movies. A CD boxed set of concerts was released in the fall of 2006 and he was even be the featured performer for two weeks at Radio City Music Hall in 2003—not an impersonator, but specially edited, previously unseen 35-mm movies that Sinatra had produced during the recording of his television specials in the 1950s. Not bad gig for a guy who had been dead five years!
But as I promised, a few of the others occupying a place on my iPods are...
Ella Fitzgerald
The First Lady of Song
What is there to say? A sublime voice that I never get tired of hearing and the perfect companion just about any time of day—exhuberant and joyful, but the night might suit her best. Driving home after a long day, starlight shining through the moonroof, the interior of the car bathed in the soft, orange glow of the instrument cluster, nothing hits the spot like the sweet, soulful swinging of Ella's singing. Diametrically opposed to the introspective, wistful melancholy of Sinatra's early morning mood, Ella is pure bliss.
Want proof, look no further than her legendary songbook albums and these songs from Ella Swings Gently with Nelson, Ella Swings Lightly and The Rodgers and Hart Songbook:
"Call Me Darling"
"My Kinda Love"
"Oh, What A Night For Love"
"With A Song In My Heart"
And when it's that time of year, Ella Wishes You a Swingin' Christmas is hands down the best holiday album availalble.
Nat "King" Cole
For a guy who only wanted to play piano, Nathaniel Coles sure knew how to sing. In fact, the public probably knows him best as a singer and not as the leader of a very popular jazz trio. An artist who died far too young of lung cancer in 1965, he epitomized the style of laid-back, cool swing.
Check out the The Complete After Midnight Sessions for some of his best work with his trio:
"When I Grow Too Old To Dream"
"Sweet Lorraine"
"(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66"
John Pizzarelli
In 1999 the John Pizzarelli Trio performed at the Iowa City JazzFest on the Fourth of July. It was still 100° F when he took the stage at 8 p.m. and the stage faced directly into the setting sun on Washington Street. Despite the heat and humidity, he played almost two hours yet never removed his suit jacket. "The secret is hydration," is all he said as he took a drink of water between numbers.
The son of legendary rhythm guitarist "Bucky" Pizzarelli, he grow up in a house that welcomes an entire Who's Who of jazz greats into their living room. He has an easy-going style that really connected with the audience in addition to being an amazing guitarist in his own right. Seeing him free in Iowa City was a real treat considering it would cost about $100 to see him at Birdland or the Cafe Carlyle in New York City.
Favorite recordings:
"Avalon"
"Kalamazoo"
"Welcome To The Club"
"I Was A Little Too Lonely (And You Were
A Little Too Late)"
The Beatles
It's hard to dispute that the Fab Four changed the face of music in the last half of the twentieth century, but Lennon and McCartney may also have been the last in a long line of Tin Pan Alley-style song writers. Although they took the form far beyond Rodgers and Hart, Sir Paul once said they were his model—hence the simlarly denoted songwriting credit "Lennon and McCartney."
Although there may be too many too list, a few favorite favorite songs are
"Ticket To Ride"
"Day Tripper"
"We Can Work It Out"
U2
Okay, so sharing an office in graduate school with a U2 fan probably predisposed me to liking their music. Fast-foward 15+ years and I again share an office with a U2 fan and became friends with a guy from Ireland, both of whom have shared their iTunes library with me in the office. Regardless of their influence and the fact that Bono is an unabashed Sinatra fan, good music is good music. Their songs are smart, powerful, and sensitive and demonstate that the best music not only connects with listeners through the music and rhythm, but through lyrics that have meaning.
I've always believed that different moods call for different music. Some times are Sinatra times and some a Ella times. Sometimes I just let my iPod "shuffle" mode choose for me. Some days just call for a little U2 to help decompress after a day of work.
Here are just a few favorites (although I could list many more):
"All Because Of You"
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking
For"
"One"
"Angel Of Harlem"