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Why this tune? This week’s song is one of ten originals I chose to record in October for my next album. I’m traveling to Los Angeles for the sessions, working there with an experienced producer and an array of talented LA-area musicians, including some of my favorite singers. I’m planning to sing two songs on Continue reading "Tunes on Tuesday: Harmony"
Why this tune? I shared an instrumental version of this classic Jimmy Van Heusen song a few years ago. I’m returning to it this week with a vocal version, trying to do justice to Johnny Burke’s elegantly crafted romantic lyric. It’s been recorded almost 500 times since Bing Crosby sang it first in 1947, so Continue reading "Tunes on Tuesday: But Beautiful"
Why this tune? I’ve been working on my singing lately, preparing for a recording session in LA in October. I committed to singing two of the ten original songs on my next album, a fun swinging tune and a ballad. I am working with a vocal coach and have started to sing a few songs Continue reading "Tunes on Tuesday: Nice ‘n’ Easy"
Why this tune? This week’s tune marks Bastille Day, the French national holiday, with a silly song about how we rely on a French phrase to start our meals in the USA. I responded to a songwriting prompt to use “foreign words” and took this idea to an absurd extreme. This was the second of Continue reading "Tunes on Tuesday: Appetite"
Why this tune? Once in a rare while, inspiration strikes and there’s no choice but to follow it. That happened to me on the morning of July 4, when we celebrated the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. I had an image in my head of an enormous American flag flying over a Continue reading "Tunes on Tuesday: My Country"
Why this tune? In honor of this week’s celebration of Emancipation Day in the US Virgin Islands and US Independence Day, I’m sharing “Be Free,” a song I wrote back in 2018 for The Lucky So and So’s, a funk/latin/jazz/hip-hop band I was part of for a while in DC. The song has a simple, Continue reading "Tunes on Tuesday: Be Free"
Why this tune? This week’s tune comes from the songbook of the late great Dave Frishberg, a brilliant pianist and songwriter who passed away in 2021. If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember his classic “I’m Just a Bill” from Schoolhouse Rock, or other classics like “I’m Hip” and “Peel Me a Grape” which Continue reading "Tunes on Tuesday: You Would Rather Have the Blues"
Why this tune? This week’s tune “Day By Day” is a popular song from 1945 written by Alex Stordahl and Paul Weston with lyrics by Sammy Cahn. Frank Sinatra and Jo Stafford recorded it first soon after it was written. Sinatra returned with another version in 1961. The song has remained a popular standard in Continue reading "Tunes on Tuesday: Day By Day"
Why this tune? This week’s tune is an update of my Torah Tune for Parashat Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1). It tells the story from Numbers 27 about the five daughters of Zelophehad, who successfully petitioned to inherit their late father’s share of the Promised Land, establishing a rule that daughters could inherit property if there were Continue reading "Tunes on Tuesday: What About Us"
Why this tune? For this week’s tune, I’m, going back to my ongoing Torah Tunes project with a song for this week’s portion, Beha’alotcha (בְּהַעֲלֹֽתְךָ֙). The song was inspired by the story of the Israelites’ journey through the desert starting in Numbers 9. The lyrics reference the cloud that covered the Tabernacle during the night. Continue reading "Tunes on Tuesday: On the March Again"
