Mel Tormé

Swings Shubert Alley date

1960

Producer and arranger

Marty Paich

Marty Paich also worked with…

Stan Kenton

The Album is considered an

homage to Broadway

Lonely Town was from the musical…

On the Town (1944)

Lonely Town follows a …. pattern

verse and refrain

Lonely Town refrain follows an … structure

AAB

Bernstein’s version of Lonely Town moved from … for the refrain

Tormé’s version of Lonely Town moves from … for the refrain

E major to E minor, F major to Eb minor

Tormé’s nickname

Velvet Fog

Lonely Town harmony

chord inversions, enharmonic shifts, frequent 7, 9, 11 maj/min chords, aug/dim chords, tritone chord and key shifts

Lonely Town saxophones

carry most of the harmonic work

Lonely Town piano

prominent role at the beginning, interjects a little in the early part of the refrain. Sounds improvisatory, mostly decorative. adds spice to harmony through dissonance mainly in the higher register

Lonely Town drums

very quiet, brushes

Lonely Town bass

steady beat under Tormé’s loose rhythms

Too Close for Comfort was from the musical…

Mr Wonderful

Too Close for Comfort is based on a…

32-bar song form but with a flexible structure to feature the virtuosic musicians

Too Close for Comfort alto sax solo

Art Pepper, virtuosic and colourful, wide array of rhythmic and modal embellishments

Too Close for Comfort begins with an … texture

antiphonal

Too Close for Comfort contains a … modulation during the link to the sax solo

chromatic mediant (C to Eb)

Too Close for Comfort harmony

chord substitutions, extended primary chords, oscillation between maj/min creates modal flavour

Too Close for Comfort pushing words

such temptation

Too Close for Comfort saxophones

syncopated stab chords, dissonant alto decoration at end

On the Street Where You Live was from the musical…

My Fair Lady

On the Street Where You Live trumpet solo

Al Porcino, reminiscent of New Orleans trad jazz with melodic, bright sound

On the Street Where You Live harmony

starts on a dominant pedal, bass part moves in step, lots of the complex harmony is implied

On the Street Where You Live vocals

extension of vocal range (I won’t care if I), yodel-like decoration in third phrase of bridge (the over-powering feeling), added syncopation, shortening and delaying notes

Saxes (alto, tenor, baritone)

Art Pepper, Bill Perkins, Bill Hood

French Horn

Vincent DeRosa

Trumpets

Al Porcino, Stu Williamson

Trombone

Frank Rosolino

Tuba

Red Callender

Piano

Marty Paich

Bass

Joe Mondragon

Drums

Mel Lewis, Mel Tormé

Mel Lewis played with…

Herbie Hancock

Red Callender was part of…

the Wrecking Crew (a group of virtuosic session musicians)

Too Darn Hot is from…

Kiss Me Kate (1948)

Too Darn Hot structure

originally AABA, frequent extensions, link passages and instrumental solos

Too Darn Hot trombone solo

Frank Rosolino, top of range, long notes before moving into virtuosic solo

Too Darn Hot abrupt modulations

Verse 1 to Verse 2 Eb to E minor, Link to Bridge E to F major, Bridge to Verse 3 F to Eb major

Too Darn Hot sax solo

Art Pepper, smears imitate trombone, variety of instrumental effects

Too Darn Hot harmony

lots of extensions and chromaticism, mainly repeating chord patterns of tonic, supertonic, dominant

On The Street Where You Live structure

AABA instrumental BA