Isomatic UK Weblog

This evening we paid our second visit to Brian White's Magna jazz band's new venue, The Manor in Old Malden. We took advantage of another good feature; a large area of wooden floor suitable for dancing.
As we arrived we learned of the sad news that Pete Towndrow, the regular Cornet player, had died this morning. He will be much missed as a fine musician and a really nice person.
Alan Dandy was absent on holiday so the excellent Jonathan Vinten (keyboard, pictured) deputised.
Our favourite numbers were as follows:
1. Making Whoopee, written by Walter Donaldson with lyrics by Gus Kahn. The link is to the video clip of Michelle Pfeiffer's sexually charged rendition on the grand piano top from The Fabulous Baker Boys.
2. Who's Sorry Now, written in 1923 by Ted Snyder with lyrics by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby. The nostalgic link is to the 1958 million-selling Connie Francis version.
3. Jonathan's feature The Man I love, composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by his brother Ira. It was originally part of the 1927 score for the Gershwin antiwar musical satire Strike Up the Band but was removed from the 1930 version of the show, and, as with many standards of the era, has become more famous as an independent popular song. Popular torch singer Helen Morgan first made the song into a big success but this link is to the great Billie Holiday version.

Labels: Jazz