Music and Political Agita

One thing both Biden and Trump voters seem to agree on is that there’s a lot at stake in this election. The degree of partisanship itself signals how much everyone is worried about the results. Of course, the more partisan you are, the more likely you are to believe that only your side has due cause for concern. The degree to which you accept the idea that someone on the other side has a right to be concerned is the degree to which you accept them as fully human. If you can take a breath and step back from this combative environment, you’ll see there’s kind of an ironic symmetry in this situation and that there are probably emotions that people on both sides are experiencing. 

There may not be a lot of overlap in the musical tastes of Biden and Trump adherents, but music does address at least some of the emotions at play. I’ve been experiencing a complex and wearisome welter of emotions and have tried to choose some tunes that reflect the way this is playing out in my gut. I hope some of it resonates with you and that after this near-civil war, music will offer a way for us to find some common ground.

Coaxing Spring

Why not take credit?  This show was meant to bring Spring out of its hibernation and the day after the broadcast, the weather took a decided turn for the better. Must be living right; or maybe it was the music.

LISTEN HERE

PLAYLIST

Sarah Vaughan "Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year" 1953 on Columbia

Charlie Parker "April In Paris" from "Bird With Strings" 1950 on Verve
 
Blossom Dearie "They Say It s Spring" from "Jazz Masters 51"1956 on Verve

The Dave Pell Octet "Spring Is Here" from "Plays Rogers and Hart" 1954 on Pacific Jazz

Ella Fitzgerald "Spring is Here" from "Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers and Hart Songbook, Vol. 2" 1956 on Verve
 
Clifford Brown & Max Roach "Joy Spring" from "Clifford Brown & Max Roach" 1954 on Emarcy
 
Tony Bennett and Bill Evans "You Must Believe In Spring" from "Together Again" 1976 on Columbia
 
Dave Brubeck "Spring In Central Park" from "Jazz Impressions of New York" 1964 on Columbia


Chick Webb & Ella Fitzgerald "I Got The Spring Fever Blues" 1936 on Decca
 
Bob Dorough "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most" from "RIght on My Way Home" 1997 on Blue Note
 
Freddie Hubbard "Up Jumped Spring" from "Backlash" 1966 on Atlantic
 
The Four Freshmen "Their Hearts Were Full of Spring" from "The Freshman Year" 1961 on Capital
 

The Young Sassy

My personal predilection is for early to middle-period Sarah Vaughan. Her voice was golden from beginning to end, but I believe the amount of ornamentation she used later in her career sometimes overwhelmed the material itself. 

On this edition of the Duplex Mystery Jazz Hour (08/21/2014), I played only early recordings, starting with her first session in 1944 with the Eckstine band and ending in 1948, with her a cappella version of Nature Boy, which, at that time, challenged Nat Cole's version in popularity. 

Ballads dominate here. My take is that record producers wanted Sarah to crossover and thought this was the way to sell female talent (unless it was targeted to the "race" audience).

Go HERE to hear the show.

Billie Eckstine "I'll Wait and Pray" (1944) on Deluxe 

Dizzy Gillespie And His All Stars Quintet "Signing Off" (1945) on Continental 

Dizzy Gillespie And His All Stars Quintet "Interlude" (1945) on Continental 

Billy Eckstein Orchestra "No Smoke Blues" (1945) on Continental 

BIlly Eckstine and His Orch. "Don't Blame Me" (1945) on Spotlight 

Sarah Vaughan "Lover Man" (1945) on Guild 

Sarah Vaughan "What More Can A Woman Do"  (1945) on Continental 

Sarah Vaughan "I'd Rather Have A Memory Than A Dream" (1945) on Continental 

Tony Scott & his Down Beat Septet "All Too Soon" (945) on Gotham 

John Kirby and His Orchestra "Time and Again"  (1946) on Musicraft 

John Kirby and His Orchestra "I'm Scared" (1946) on Crown 

John Kirby and His Orchestra "You Go to My Head" (1945) on Crown 

John Kirby and His Orchestra "I Could Make You Love Me" (1945) on Crown 

Sarah Vaughan w. Dicky Wells' Big Seven "We're Through" (1946) on H.R.S. 

Georgie Auld and His Orchestra "A Hundred Years From Today" (1946) on Musicraft 

Sarah Vaughan w. Tadd Dameron "If You Could See Me Now" (1946) on Musicraft 

Sarah Vaughan w. Tadd Dameron "I Could Make You Love Me" (1946) on Musicraft 

Sarah Vaughan w. Tadd Dameron"My Kinda Love" (1946) on Musicraft 

Georgie Auld and His Orchestra "You're Blase"  (1946) on Musicraft 

Sarah Vaughan w. George Treadwell Orch. "I've Got a Crush on You" (1946) on Musicraft 

Sarah Vaughan w. George Treadwell Orch. "Everything I Have Is Yours" (1946) on Musicraft 

Sarah Vaughan w. George Treadwell Orch. "Body and Soul" (1946) on Musicraft 

Teddy Wilson Quintet "September Song"  (1946) on Musicraft 

Sarah Vaughan w. George Treadwell Orch. "I Cover The Waterfront" (1947) on Musicraft 

Sarah Vaughan w. George Treadwell Orch. "A Ghost of a Chance (I Don't Stand - With You)"  (1947) on Musicraft 

Sarah Vaughan w. George Treadwell Orch. "Tenderly"  (1947) on Musicraft 

Sarah Vaughan w. Ted Dale Orch. "I Can 't Get Started" (947) on MGM 

Sarah Vaughan w. Ted Dale Orch. "Love Me or Leave Me" (1947) on Musicraft 

Sarah Vaughan w. Ted Dale Orch. "I Get a Kick Out of You" (1947) on Musicraft [I didn't have much info on the Ted Dale Orchestra, so if anyone has anything interesting to say about them, please chime in].

Sarah Vaughan "What A Difference A Day Makes" (1947) on Musicraft 

Sarah Vaughan w. Earl Rodgers Choir "Nature Boy" from "Nature Boy" (Jazz, 1948) on Musicraft