When I was growing up there was a tradition among some of the local churches to present variety shows. This was a way to raise some money for the parish. However, it turned out to be both a way to build community as well as an opportunity for creative expression. Because of my early interest in music, I attended the rehearsals and performances of these shows since my mother was always involved.

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!