As I work at my winter rehearsals, I’m pouring through the “Real Book”. Trying to match singers to the songs. I hit on “April in Paris”. The Veron Duke / Yip Harburg tune from the movie “Walk A Little Faster” with Doris Day 1932. I loved Ella’s and Mel Torme’s takes on this tune.
Being a Singer first, and a Pianist second, it takes me quite a while to begin to feel comfortable with most jazz charts. It also forces you to sing on auto pilot: as your brain is racing 100mph in the background trying to figure out how you want to play the next change and then then next phrase.
Jane and I love Paris. I’ve only spent a week there, and it was magic. I wrote a tune called C’est laVie . I recorded it alone in my demo studio and added a great Trumpet player for the video version. It is all pictures of that week in Paris with some of my fav. art.