Great American Songbook Saturday – Blues In The Night

Today we head back to 1941, a few months before Pearl Harbor. It is another great example of two people collaborating and creating a hit song. For this week's song, It was composer Harold Arlen who wrote the music, while Johnny Mercer came up with the lyrics. The song would be the title track for … Continue reading Great American Songbook Saturday – Blues In The Night →

Tune Tuesday – Stranger On The Shore

The clarinet celebrates birthday 335 today, and in honor of that, it is Clarinet Day! January 14th is the day the clarinet was invented in Nuremberg, Germany in 1690. The instrument was created by German instrument maker Johann Christoph Denner, or possibly his son Jacob. It had developed from much earlier reed instruments, going right … Continue reading Tune Tuesday – Stranger On The Shore →

Tune Tuesday – Neal Hefti

The amazing Neal Hefti was born today in 1922. Neal may not be a name that you recognize, but I bet that you recognize at least one of the songs that he has composed. He was a jazz trumpet player, arranger, and composer. He began arranging songs in his teens and went on to arrange … Continue reading Tune Tuesday – Neal Hefti →