VARIOUS ARTISTS / Skylark Mixtape
"Skylark" was written by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The scuttlebutt is that it took Mercer close to a year to complete the lyrics and that they were written responding to a past affair with Judy Garland. This was alleged in a biography of Mercer written by Philip Furia. Regardless of the veracity of the rumor, the song has become a classic of love lost. The composition is also a favorite of jazz artists, both vocalists and instrumentalists.
"Skylark" was first recorded in late 1941 by The Gene Krupa Orchestra featuring Anita O'Day on vocals. Shortly thereafter Helen Forrest recorded it with Harry James. Within one year there were at least six other major recordings. Over seventy-five years later it is still the subject of new recordings.
This week's Mixtape "limits" itself to eighteen versions—as always we were aiming for stylistic variety and musical quality rather than mere quantity. Enjoy.
—Kalamu ya Salaam
Skylark Mixtape Playlist
01 It's Me - Abbey Lincoln
02 I Rememeber Duke, Hoagy & Strayhorn - Ahmad Jamal
03 Queen In Waiting: The Columbia Years - Aretha Franklin
04 Yardbird Suite - Frank Morgan
05 The Complete Ralph Burns Sessions - Carmen McRae featuring Ben Webster
06 New Moon Daughter - Cassandra Wilson
07 The Body & The Soul - Freddie Hubbard
08 A Little Moonlight - Dianne Reeves
09 The Greatest Garner - Erroll Garner
10 A Song for You - Ernestine Anderson
11 Next Album - Sonny Rollins
12 Some Of My Best Friends Are Singers - Ray Brown featuring Kevin Mahogany
13 Magic Voices - Singers Unlimited
14 Art Blakey In Sweden - Art Blakey
15 Candlelight - Leon Ware and Dave Grusin
16 Nnenna Freelon - Nnenna Freelon
17 Water - Gregory Porter
18 Getting To Know You - Sunny Sumter
This entry was posted on Monday, March 5th, 2012 at 12:47 am and is filed under Cover. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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