Ed Mascari

Conversations at the Piano

I’ll never forget the time that I found out Michael Landon’s real name. Years ago, many actors and actresses used a stage name rather than their real name as a way of helping their fans remember them. Can you imagine seeing the youngest of Ben Cartwright’s three sons on Bonanza being billed by his birth name, Eugene Horowitz?

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.
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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!.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 4:33 am and is filed under jimmy van heusen, music theory, piano lessons, piano playing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.