The first time that I actually participated in one of these church shows was in a comic skit created by my brother and I along with our ventriloquist dummy Jerry Mahoney. My first musical performance in a show took place a couple of years later when I was 14, and this ignited my interest in developing my musical talents more seriously. The following year, being the aspiring young musician I was, I began carefully observing the paid professional music director, pianist Henry Michaels. Michaels was a graduate of Mannes College of Music and created instant arrangements from a Fake Book for each singer’s solo. When the performances actually took place, the arrangements really came to life because Michaels’ piano playing was enhanced by the addition of a professional bass player and drummer. What I didn’t realize during the rehearsals was that Michaels’ seemingly instant arrangements had been conceived with the concept that the other instrumental parts would complement and expand the keyboard role so beautifully.

One year the planning committee came up with the idea of using the theme of songs with Moon in the title (or lyrics) as a way of unifying the show. As an aside, I often recommend to my piano students that they create medleys of songs that they like. The reason for this is that it’s so easy to forget the songs that a student has practiced and studied if she doesn’t play them consistently. The more tunes she knows, the more challenging it is to keep them in shape. By organizing pieces into medleys it makes it much easier for her to review her repertoire.

There are many ways of organizing songs into medleys: by composer, by accompaniment type (e. g. beguine bass), by Broadway Show, etc. Perhaps my thought about possible ideas for combining songs into medleys dates back to the church variety show of Moon songs. After all that was the first time I heard Jimmy Van Heusen’s Polkadots and Moonbeams.

This standard, published in 1940, was one of the first collaborative creations by the composer and lyricist Johnny Burke. It has the distinction of being Frank Sinatra‘s first hit record, and it was recorded with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Like Imagination, Polkadots and Moonbeams did not come from either a Broadway Show or a movie. It was a standalone song. Perhaps its association with the singer who later became known as the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra and the well-known Tommy Dorsey Orchestra was enough to propel its popularity as well as put it in the position of becoming one of the most often performed 100 jazz standards.

London pianist Tim Richards and his trio offer a sensitive ballad recording of Polkadots and Moonbeams. Toronto drummer Jay Boehmer‘s trio give the tune a medium swing tempo. Representing the USA is the vibrant New York jazz vocalist Vicki Burns. She starts her swing version by singing solo (first scat improvisations and then the first verse) accompanied only by the drums. The rest of the excellent ensemble then enters as the audience at Anna’s Jazz Island Jazz Club (Berkeley, CA) applauds with delight. There is one more energetic example that I also want to mention because it brings back some musical memories.

Multi-reed man Magnus Lindgren hails from Sweden. For his quartet’s electrifying up tempo swing live performance of Polkadots and Moonbeams at the Getxo 2000 Jazz Festival International, Lindgren plays the flute. His well-rehearsed tight-knit ensemble is technically flawless and as we say in jazz lingo, smokin’. When Magnus improvises on the flute he introduces a special vocalizing sound technique that was made popular by Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull back in the late 1960s. The flute player from my jazz quartet often incorporated this sound into his playing. Because I found ways to incorporate this into my jazz compositions, it helped to popularize the Ed Mascari Jazz Quartet (with jazz and non-jazz audiences alike) throughout the New England area in the early 1970s.

As you can see from the example of Polkadots and Moonbeams as well as all of the songs from this Jimmy Van Heusen composer blog series, there are many ways to play pieces on the piano. The key to this is to develop your musical knowledge along with your keyboard skills.
If you want to learn how to personalize your piano playing, taking piano lessons is the first step in the process.

If you live near our well-established Ed Mascari Piano Studio Natick Studio location or close to our convenient centrally located Hudson Studio, you can learn to play the piano by taking lessons in a relaxed environment from piano teachers who are always patient and encouraging.

So take 20 seconds right now and contact us to find out more about piano lessons (and this also includes keyboard lessons too). We’ll show you how you, or your son or daughter, can get started.

As always, all of us at the Ed Mascari Piano Studio are delighted and excited to help you learn to play the music you love!

Like Piano Man, many pop songs written after 1960 incorporate the descending bass line technique in as a way of connecting one chord to another. In contrast to this, the standards of the American Popular Songbook usually emphasize the ii – V and ii-V-I chord progressions as the method for relating and joining one chord to another. Certainly, the use of the handi variation aka minor line cliché is common to both styles of music. However, Like Someone In Love is more of a exception than the rule for the standards.

In any case, I got to thinking about how composers from every era often found ways to express a non-musical image by using a certain compositional technique. For example, many of my students play James Bastien‘s arrangement of the theme from the 5^th movement of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. In many instances, I tell these students about how amazed I am every time I listen to the section of the piece in which the composer created the effect of a chirping /singing bird by using real instruments. No computers or synthesizers necessary!

In last week’s blog that featured the Mercer-Van Heusen collaborative creation, I Thought About You, I referred to the effect of Mercer’s train trip to Chicago on his lyric writing. Not only did this inspire the words for this particular standard, but it also launched a series of train-themed songs. To me the descending bass line technique that Jimmy Van Heusen used in Like Someone In Love suggests motion and movement.

I really don’t think that this is a coincidence. Not long after the composer and lyricist Johnny Burke started working together in Hollywood, singer/actor Bing Crosby convinced Paramount Pictures to hire the Van Heusen/Burke team to create the music for Road to Zanzibar. This film was the second of the seven “Road” pictures featuring Crosby and his long-time partner Bob Hope. Meanwhile, Crosby’s influence had been responsible for putting the song-writing team in a position to create the music for several motion pictures as well as dozens of hit songs.

As was the case with Here’s That Rainy Day, which came from the unsuccessful 1953 musical Carnival in Flanders, Like Someone In Love was one of the songs written for the unsuccessful 1944 film, Belle of the Yukon. Nevertheless, Bing Crosby’s recording of this standard reached #15 on the charts during the following year. Consequently, due to its popularity as well as to its compositional quality, Like Someone In Love found its way into the performing repertoire of many jazz instrumentalists and vocalists.

In listening to Rhapsody Music’s track offerings of Like Someone In Love, I was amazed by the number of pianists and organists who contributed performances to this musical library. An extremely successful native of Andover, MA by the name of Bill Cunliffe switched from his regular keyboard (piano) to the Hammond B-3 for his swinging organ trio version. Also included was Oscar Peterson‘s two-piano duet with radio host Marian McPartland from his appearance on her NPR Piano Jazz series. On the more traditional solo piano side were Dick Hyman (who did the music for several of Woody Allen‘s films) and Dick Wellstood (whose live performance was recorded at the Sticky Wicket in Hopkinton, MA – the place formerly known as the home base of the New Black Eagle Jazz Band). The list of mainstream jazz pianists goes on to include Cedar Walton, Dave Brubeck, Bill Evans, Red Garland, Mal Waldron, Hal Galper, Hank Jones and George Shearing.

Of all the songs that I have recorded and written about for this Jimmy Van Heusen blog post series, Like Someone In Love stood apart from the others in that the performances stayed with the swing style almost exclusively. And they all worked wonderfully!

Nevertheless, the fact that most of this composer’s other standards offer opportunities for a variety of interpretations speaks to the high caliber of his work. So whether you want help exploring your options for playing one of the great standards or would like to have the opportunity to personalize your performance of a particular piece, taking piano lessons at the Ed Mascari Piano Studio is the most dependable way to get the results you want.

You can find out all about both our Standard Lesson Program and our unique Flexible Schedule Lesson Program by taking just ten seconds to Contact Us. Both our centrally located Natick Piano Studio and conveniently situated Hudson Piano Studio will provide you with just the right supportive and encouraging atmosphere that will propel your piano playing progress.

As always, our patient piano instructors are delighted and excited to help you learn to play the music you love!

Ms. L’Engle had dealt with her own need to balance her roles in life, that of being a writer as well as a wife and mother. In the book, she dispels the myth of our image of Beethoven walking through the woods and having all of the music for a symphony just pop into his head. The creative process is certainly a complex one. I have explored the concepts of psychologist Carl Jung, studied the content of my former composition teacher Lukas Foss‘ Boston University Faculty Lecture, and read many biographies of classical composers. As a result I have come to realize that creativity certainly involves a combination of many components.

One of the elements that can evoke and energize our creativity is to discover a successful working method that we can practice until it becomes a habit. Although this will NOT guarantee that we’ll compose a great symphony or write a bestselling novel, it will certainly contribute to the quality and amount of material that we can create. Over the years, I have observed that many of my piano students will arrive at one of their lessons and proudly produce a piece of music that they have composed or arranged. For some, it’s music written down on staff paper, for others it’s something that they can play on the piano and for a few, it’s a notated musical score along with a MIDI recording that they have produced on their computer.

One of the reasons that my piano students tap into their creativity so often is that they are in touch with their own music on a day to day basis. It’s while they are in the process of practicing the music for their piano lessons that an idea occurs to them. Since my teaching methods are designed to help each individual student understand how music works as well as to develop a personal piano playing style, the openness to following the creative urge comes comfortably and naturally to him or her. You may enjoy hearing some examples of how our Ed Mascari Piano Studio students use their creativity on our Spring Recital website page.

Somehow my own creative process took a surprising turn once I began writing today’s blog post. Perhaps part of the reason for this is that I was inspired by learning about the short term collaboration between composer Jimmy Van Heusen and lyricist Johnny Mercer. Today’s featured musical selection, I Thought About You, happens to be one of my favorites. From the moment I saw the music in The New Real Book, I just jumped in, started playing this standard and have enjoyed it ever since. I certainly loved playing it for my solo piano recording that goes with this post.

Meanwhile, I became fascinated by learning in my research how this song became the solid standard that it is. As I mentioned previously in my first post in this Jimmy Van Heusen blog series, Darn That Dream, the composer had worked with lyricist Eddie DeLange in New York City during the late 1930s. Following this period, he moved to Hollywood and began his long partnership with Johnny Burke whom I’ve mentioned in the Here’s That Rainy Day and Imagination posts. As often happens in life, events happen for a reason.

In 1939, the newly established Mercer-Morris Music Publishing Company managed to catch Van Heusen for a three-song collaboration with one of its owners, Johnny Mercer. Mercer was one of the most versatile and active lyricists who contributed to the repertoire of the American Popular Songbook during his career. In fact, he is mentioned in nine of my blog posts written since January of 2009. Mercer wrote two songs with Jimmy Van Heusen, of which I Thought About You was the most popular.

As I mentioned in my Early Autumn blog post,  Johnny Mercer preferred to listen to and have the music in hand before he even considered writing one word. He needed the time to let the musical ideas germinate in the privacy of his own space (he was probably an introvert like yours truly). This was his creative process, he knew and understood it and he made it a habit. We can be glad he did! And so it probably won’t surprise you to learn how Mercer wrote the lyrics for I Thought About You.

Apparently, Van Heusen played the music for what was to become I Thought About You for Johnny Mercer in the afternoon. That night, the Mercer took the train to Chicago. He had trouble sleeping because the tune kept playing over and over in his head. That’s all it took. Not only did his normal working method help him to make sense out of his musings, but it also enabled him to be open to his environment. Thus traveling by train became the springboard for his train-themed songs. In fact the lyrics of I Thought About You begin as follows,”I took a trip on the train.” The following year (1940/1941), Blues in the Night, was added to the list. We’ll explore this standard, composed by Harold Arlen, in our next featured composer blog series scheduled to begin in late March.

Hopefully, you can see from Johnny Mercer’s example that discovering and practicing a working method until it becomes a habit is the secret to unlocking your own creative gifts.

As you know from watching the Winter Olympics, athletes definitely need a coach. In the same way, piano students need a teacher to train, encourage and guide them on a regular basis.

Contact us today to find out how taking piano lessons at the Ed Mascari Piano Studio’s Hudson or Natick location can not only help you to improve your piano playing proficiency but will also inspire you to use your creativity at the keyboard as well as in the rest of your life.

As always, our patient piano instructors are delighted and excited to help you learn to play the music you love!

So what’s wrong with this? Nothing is wrong! 

However, your acquaintance with a particular song is probably making you think that a song can only be performed one very specific way – the way you heard it.

Here’s the good news…..

There are usually many ways to interpret songs. Such is the case with today’s featured blog selection, Jimmy Van Heusen’s Imagination. I must tell you that during the past week, I felt like my listening relationship with this great piece was more typical to that of my students than to that of my normal overview.

Here’s what I mean…

When I was growing up, my mother would have the radio playing in the house. Many of the standards were sung by Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Jack Jones, Andy Williams, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, and others. If my mother heard a song that she really liked, she would go to the piano and play the melody with a make-shift accompaniment. Had this been my only listening practice, I would not have spent the past 40 years as a professional musician.

What happened?

Just before my 16^th birthday, I played my first G.B. gig, as we used to call them. It was a private dinner dance at the Embassy Club (similar to VFW or Italian-American Clubs) in Dobbs Ferry, NY. These folks danced enthusiastically and effortlessly to all of the standards in a variety of ballroom styles. I, on the other hand, stumbled through the songs like the true novice I was. This experience was embarrassing to me, but it also inspired me to make a significant change in my life. In fact, it was one that laid the groundwork for the rest of my life.

The next day, I put my all of my Beach Boys, Ventures and other pop music albums aside. Instead of listening to these as I did on a regular basis, I pulled out the four jazz albums that I had and found some of the songs that I had played (poorly, I might add) the night before. Because I already knew many of songs after hearing my mother play and sing them, I immediately noticed that there was something very different about the way that jazz musicians interpreted these same standards.

And so, it all started there and I never looked back.

Today, when I introduce a piece from the American Popular Songbook to a student, one of my goals is to help him or her see the potential inherent in each tune. Often, I’ll demonstrate some of the possible stylistic approaches to the song on the piano. Sometimes I’ll play a recording of the piece that I have in my Natick or Hudson Studio to serve as another example. Usually, I’ll then recommend that a student look online for different versions of the particular standard that he or she is studying. I’ll also typically provide names of performers who will be wonderful models of what can be done.

And so as I said at the beginning of this article, I was caught off guard by some of the interpretations of Imagination that I listened to.  At first, my idea of the Jimmy Van Heusen music written in conjunction with the lyrics of his celebrated collaborator Johnny Burke (I spoke about this partnership in last week’s blog post that featured Here’s That Rainy Day) was that it would best be performed as the beautiful ballad that it is. This jazz oriented approach, enhanced by colorful harmonies along with a heartfelt melodic interpretation, certainly stands in marked contrast to the commonly played commercial big band style of ballroom ballad that was performed in the 1940s and early 1950s.

Two imaginative interpretations of Imagination particularly inspired me. The first of these is none other than a jazz waltz rendition by pianist Harry Happel, from the Netherlands. His live solo jazz piano performance Belgium’s Pinehill not only works wonderfully well as a surprising stylistic statement of this song, but it also serves as an excellent example of the how to play a jazz waltz. This model matches my method of teaching this musical style so well, that I plan to share it with my students. Happel even extends this benefit further because he finishes the song with one of my favorite types of endings.

The other unique and unusual recording of Imagination came from American jazz vocalist Betty Carter (1929 -1998). Despite the fact that there are several jazz singers who are more well-known than Ms. Carter, she always performed with an improvisational insight that distinguished her interpretations from those of her peers. Since I had heard several of her recordings, I decided to attend her faculty recital at New England Conservatory back in 1973. (Little did I know then, that I would receive my graduate degree 20 years later.) During a brief break from our quartet’s traveling timetable, I wanted to take advantage of my time off. I’m glad I did.

Betty’s trio of piano, bass and drums was positioned in the front of Brown Hall. The large room was dimly lighted and all of a sudden Ms. Carter’s unaccompanied voice resonated from the rear of the hall. As she proceeded slowly up the center aisle, she continued to sing as the instrumentalists added the accompaniment. It was magical! When I heard Betty Carter’s rendering of Imagination, I immediately recalled that concert. Starting with an extended improvisational up tempo swing section, her recording defies identification. Even when she slows down, you’re not quite sure of what’s coming next as she identifies the word “imagination” with a variety of interpretations. She eventually sings the entire standard as only she can.

Hopefully, by now you realize that all of us at the Ed Mascari Piano Studio want to inspire piano students just like you to use their imagination when it comes to interpreting songs.

How about you? Are you ready to learn to play the piano in a way that fits you personally? We’ll show you how.

Contact us today. It’s easy. It only takes 10 seconds to get started.

Whether you live near our Natick Studio or your home is closer to our Hudson, MA location, our patient and encouraging piano instructors will be delighted to help you Learn to Play the Music You Love!.

Last week’s featured selection, Darn That Dream, marked the beginning of Van Heusen’s most prolific period. Not long after collaborating on this tune and several other songs with lyricist Eddie DeLange, he began his long-time partnership with lyricist Johnny Burke. Burke, like his soon to be collaborator, started out as a staff pianist for a music publisher. In this case, it was Irving Berlin‘s company.

Burke headed for Hollywood in 1936 and within four years he and Jimmy Van Heusen began making their mark on song writing history. As a matter of fact, four of the six standards that I selected for this blog post series come from this collaboration. As I mentioned earlier, I have played Here’s That Rainy Day since the earliest days of my performing career.

During all of these years, or perhaps because of this, I have played Here’s That Rainy Day as a ballad, a Bossa nova, a swing tune as well as an arrangement combining all three. It’s just one of those terrific tunes that work well no matter how you play it. About a year ago, I talked about this in my Over the Rainbow blog post.

Although I have no clear recollection of being inspired to learn and perform Here’s That Rainy Day after hearing a specific recording of it, I was delighted to find tracks by so many of my favorite jazz artists among Rhapsody Music’s 400 offerings, in a huge variety of styles which all work beautifully. One performance comes from an album called That’s the Way It Is featuring a quintet led by vibraphonist Milt Jackson.

Jackson had been a charter member of the sophisticated Modern Jazz Quartet known internationally for its “chamber music” style of jazz. Because the MJQ’s performances were so highly structured (as was evidenced by the group’s members always wearing matching outfits), Milt also led swinging small ensembles that performed and recorded the standard repertoire in a less formal way. That’s the Way It Is was recorded in performance at Shelly’s Manne-Hole, a well-known jazz club in Hollywood, California, which brings back a very special musical memory for me.

Not long after this recording was released; a promotional copy arrived at Worcester’s Public Radio Station WICN-FM where I was hosting a Tuesday night jazz show. The album instantly became one of my favorites and I often played cuts from it on my program. A few months later, a friend of mine named Dan Harrison invited me and a couple of other friends to drive into New York City to hear the Milt Jackson Quintet perform at a jazz club called Slugs. (I mentioned Dan in my Bossa nova series blog post that featured A Day in the Life of a Fool  A Morning of Carnival Along the Road to Rio . When we arrived, the group was swinging in the New York jazz style that I mentioned in last week’s post when describing Cedar Walton’s rendition of Darn That Dream.
As a matter of fact, Cedar was the quintet’s pianist that evening. And although he and the other ensemble members (except Jackson, of course) were different from those on That’s the Way It Is, the music had the same wonderful quality. That is until…….the second set.

After the intermission, the piano bench was occupied by a special surprise guest: Jamaican born pianist Monty Alexander who had been the pianist on the original Jackson recording. Although this may have accounted for some of the additional energy that the ensemble exhibited, the performance, fueled by Monty’s enthusiasm, took on a life of its own. To say it was electrifying is an understatement. And this, my friends, is one of the reasons that I’m still teaching people how to play the piano nearly 40 years later.

Special musical moments like these are rare indeed, even for professionals. Nevertheless, music touches the deepest parts of all of us. What I have found over the years is that when individuals invest time and energy in learning to play the piano, they not only benefit from acquiring a particular skill, but they also become acutely aware of the music all around them. This, in turn, enriches their lives and makes them happier people besides.

No wonder adults continue to contact us to find out about piano lessons. It’s because they want to learn how to play the piano. Whether they are rank beginners, students who are returning to lessons after a long hiatus or simply amateur pianists who want to broaden their musical horizons, more and more adults are realizing that there’s no time like the present do what they have always wanted to do….take piano lessons.

How about you? Are you tired of letting everything else get in the way? Contact us today. It’s easy. It only takes 10 seconds to get started.

Whether you live near our Natick Studio or your home is closer to our Hudson, MA location, our patient and encouraging piano instructors will be delighted to help you Learn to Play the Music You Love!

Although I never used a stage name, this practice was so common among performers that anyone who wanted to join the musicians’ union had to list his or her stage name on the membership application. Thinking back to a few professional musicians who used stage names, I am reminded of an experience I had on one of my summer hotel gigs in the Catskill Mountains. A few weeks into the season, a saxophonist came with his family to stay at the hotel for his annual vacation. Apparently the owner of the hotel had promised him free room and board if he would perform with our trio in the casino (as the lounge was called) every night during his stay.

And so without any discussion or warning, this gentleman introduced himself by his real name and then proceeded to show us all sorts of promotional materials that used his stage name which I think was Paul Whiteman (not to be confused with the band leader who premiered Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue). To make a long story short, this older man took over the leadership of our group by becoming both the featured soloist and the emcee. Oh yes, he also showed up to perform in a white dinner jacket with his tuxedo so he would stand out from the three of us who wore black tuxedos.

Need I say more?

Well that brings us to the composer of today’s song selection, Darn That Dream: Edward Chester Babcock.

Who?

I thought you might be wondering. Born in 1939 in Syracuse, NY this ambitious young lad began writing music at age 16. While still in high school, he was asked to appear on a local radio show. As a result, he immediately adopted a stage name. Being familiar with the famous Phillips-Van Heusen shirt making company, Edward Chester Babcock became Jimmy Van Heusen and the rest as they say, is history.

Not too long after becoming Jimmy Van Heusen, the young composer became friends with Jerry Arlen, the younger brother of song writer Harold Arlen. With Harold’s help Van Heusen was able to make the transition from college student (Syracuse University) to professional composer. Beginning with writing songs for the Cotton Club review, Van Heusen moved on to become the staff pianist for some of the Tin Pan Alley publishers culminating in the 1938 song It’s the Dreamer in Me which had lyrics by Tommy Dorsey.

The following year found Jimmy Van Heusen collaborating with lyricist Eddie DeLange (1904-1949). Among the songs that they produced together was Darn That Dream. Although this piece came from the unsuccessful 1939 Broadway musical, Swingin’ the Dream, Benny Goodman‘s recording of Darn That Dream (with vocalist Mildred Bailey) became a hit record. Today, more than 70 years later, I was amazed by the number of versions available on Rhapsody Music.

For the most part, performers tended to follow the sheet music’s direction to play this piece as a medium ballad. Lest you think that this limited the variety, think again. In addition to this song’s popularity with guitarists including Jim Hall, Tal Farlow and Howard Roberts, saxophonists Eric Alexander, Sonny Rollins and Stan Getz played Darn That Dream with passion. Brass players Tom Harrell, Kenny Dorham, Mike Metheny and Maynard Ferguson also made beautiful contributions to the extensive track listing. Rounding out my playlist were quite a few offerings by jazz pianists as well.

In addition to my usual favorites, I particularly enjoyed Cedar Walton‘s rendition of Darn That Dream taken from his CD Manhattan After Hours. As a veteran of the New York City jazz scene, Cedar’s group moved effortlessly from the medium ballad tempo into the double time section for the improvised solos. As I listened, I could recall the many times I went to jazz clubs in the Big Apple to hear Cedar and many of his peers perform. There’s something special about the New York jazz style. It really speaks to me!

After all of my comments, it may surprise you to know that I rarely played Darn That Dream on my gigs over the years. As a result, I needed to do some practicing and score study as I prepared to perform my recording to go with this post. One of my challenges was to find ways to keep the music flowing especially for the measures that had 3 or 4 chords in them. The composer’s creative use of ii-V and ii-V-I chord progressions (especially by adding chromaticism) certainly keeps the music interesting. The fact that this song is written in the key of G major (key signature: one sharp/ F#) and has a bridge written in Eb Major (key signature: three flats: Bb, Eb, Ab) is quite unusual.

So I’m glad that I had the opportunity to share Darn That Dream with you, because learning it gave me a chance to grow musically. Musical growth is something that I value deeply. Perhaps you feel the same way.

We live in a society that values learning. Playing the piano is no exception. Whether our students are adults or children, beginners or advanced, young or old, use a keyboard or a grand piano, every person who comes to the Ed Mascari Piano Studio to take lessons tells me that their desire to learn comes from deep within them.

How about you?
Are you tired of letting everything else get in the way?
Well, you are not alone.
Many people continue to take the simple step to contact us to find out about piano lessons.
It’s easy. It only takes 10 seconds to get started.

Whether you live near our Natick Studio or your home is closer to our Hudson, MA location, our patient and encouraging piano instructors will be delighted to help you Learn to Play the Music You Love!.