I Won’t Dance is Just Plain Fun
Tuesday, August 31st, 2010Some songs are just plain fun to play. I Won’t Dance is a great example of this. The easiest way for you to understand what I mean is to think of the feeling you get from watching a romantic comedy. It seems that there are films and TV shows for every generation that capture this character. From Breakfast at Tiffany’s to Annie Hall to Pretty Woman to When Harry Met Sally to The Devil Wears Prada just to name a few.
In light of this mood, jazz vocalist and former WICN-FM disc jockey, Carol Sloane teamed up with trumpeter/vocalist Clark Terry to create a wonderfully enjoyable performance. Their recording is reflective of the light-hearted earlier rendition created by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Keeping to the duet format, three other vocalists managed to capture a similar mood by combining their talents with excellent pianists. Susannah McCorkle’s recording with English pianist Keith Ingham features the latter’s stride piano style during the instrumental interlude. French singer Isabelle Georges offers yet another example in combination with pianist René Urtreger. A more modern version follows this same model: California’s Nina Blade joining forces with the wonderful pianist Bill Mays.