VARIOUS ARTISTS / “Tell Me A Bedtime Story” & “Chan’s Song” Mixtape
I’ve paid kudos before (here) to Herbie Hancock the composer. A melody got stuck in my head, but it kept alternating between “Tell Me A bedtime Story” and “Chan’s Song.” I don’t know why, but I take the ambivalence as a sign to have it both ways, hence we feature both Hancock compositions this week.
“Bedtime Story” is easily the more popular of the two tunes but I favor “Chan’s Song.” Additionally, once again I will refrain from picking a favorite version from the Mixtape mainly because if a version made the cut to be included on the Mixtape it means that there is something either distinctive or intriguing to me. If I don’t like something I don’t include it just to fill up space and if I can’t find enough versions to make a comparative Mixtape, I’ll skip it altogether.
I do want to call attention to one selection because it’s got one foot in and one foot out. John Beasley actually mashes together two different Hancock compositions: “Tell Me A Bedtime Story” (Beasley uses mainly the harmonic structure) and “Maiden Voyage” (using the melody line). The result is far beyond a formal exercise, if you didn’t know it was two different tunes, you might be forgiven for believing that “Bedtime Voyage” is the way Hancock originally wrote the song.
Herbie Hancock is a master at harmonic sophistication as a minimalist, meaning rather than complexity, Hancock’s forte is figuring out how to reduce complexities to their most elemental and easy to grasp level. Perhaps, it has something to do with the way Herbie’s mind works, or it could be his Buddahist life views kicking in. Whatever is the source of his inspiration and orientation, Herbie’s music is a blessing.
—Kalamu ya Salaam
Bedtime Story Mixtape Playlist
“Tell Me A Bedtime Story”
01 Mwandishi: The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings - Herbie Hancock
02 Sounds...And Stuff Like That! – Quincy Jones
03 Right Now! – Howard Johnson & Gravity
04 Faces of Eve - Eve Cornelious
05 Thermal Strut - Jay Lawrence Trio
06 Soul On Jazz - Philip Bailey
07 Live 2006: 3rd Annual Concert Tour - Sfjazz Collective
08 Windows - Marian McPartland
09 Soul's Back Again - Slow Motion Replay
10 “Bedtime Voyage” - Letter to Herbie - John Beasley
"Chan's Song (Never Said)"
11 Face Of Love - Eugene Maslov
12 Letter to Herbie - John Beasley
13 My Shining Hour - Francesco Cafiso, Cinzia Roncelli
14 Skyline - Bobby Hutcherson
15 Round Midnight: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Herbie Hancock & Bobby McFerrin
This entry was posted on Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at 2:17 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.
One Response to “VARIOUS ARTISTS / “Tell Me A Bedtime Story” & “Chan’s Song” Mixtape”
Leave a Reply
| top |