A Sneak Peak of Videos and My Birthday!

Hi. I hope everyone is having a lovely start to the holiday season. Ready for a sneak peak of the videos I made for my new jazz band? I got together with Vic Wong of Panique Jazz,  Brandon Essex of No Coasters and Brian Campbell of Campbell’s Jazz Soup. Take a listen to a couple of songs that have been added to the set. We did “Straighten Up and Fly Right” and “Sweet Pea”. The band is now ready for bookings, so if you have an event you want live music for, find me.

On another note, it was my birthday today. What a great day it was! I spent the morning singing songs with my son, did a bit of work for the day, and then spent time alone sitting in the sun before it went down, writing in my journal and making a vision board. Then I ended the night with a fabulous spaghetti dinner and a bit of vegan chocolate pecan pie for dessert, all homemade by my wife. It doesn’t get much better.

That’s all folks. See you on the flip side in December!

Rachel

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New friends. Old renditions.

I’ve been making new friends this week. Musician friends that is. I went to play with a new ensemble, went to hear a great New Orleans jazz band in Oakland, and scheduled a few upcoming meet ups to play with a couple of piano players and other bands. I took this little amp and some new songs with me to play with the new jazz ensemble.AmpChartsI’ve also been doing more research on renditions of songs I’m including in my set list. I went back to one of my all time favorite jazz standards, How High The Moon and my favorite rendition of it by Mary Ford and Les Paul. I just love Mary’s voice on this version and if you watch the video you can see Les Paul using some early multitrack recording tactics, which he pioneered. HowHighTheMoonI’ve also been listening to some older Norah Jones songs. I might have to add my own version of Come Away With Me to my set.

NorahJones

That’s all folks. Have a great week. See you on the flip side.

 

 

My 66 Favorite Jazz Standards

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As you know, I’m in the process of putting together a jazz ensemble. I’ve been digging around, figuring out songs to put on the set list. In the process, I’ve been re-discovering some songs I really just love. Songs like “You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To” by Cole Porter and “My Funny Valentine” by Rodgers and Hart. Below are my 66 of my favorites!  Why 66, you ask? Well, it’s just how many were really moving me this week. It also had such a nice “Route 66” ring to it! There are probably 1 or 2 on the list that aren’t officially jazz standards (Nina Simone), but I couldn’t resist including them. What are your favorites? Have any recommendations of songs I should add to this list and maybe add to my live set?

  1. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
  2. I Could Write a Book
  3. My Baby Just Cares for Me
  4. It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)
  5. My Funny Valentine
  6. All of Me
  7. Body and Soul
  8. But Not For Me
  9. You Go To My Head
  10. Round Midnight
  11. Misty
  12. It Had To Be You
  13. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
  14. Blue Skies
  15. For Sentimental Reasons
  16. Take The A Train
  17. They Can’t Take That Away from Me
  18. Someone to Watch Over Me
  19. St. James Infirmary
  20. Our Love is Here To Stay
  21. Straighten Up and Fly Right
  22. Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby?
  23. Ain’t Misbehavin’
  24. Stompin’ at the Savoy
  25. Satin Doll
  26. Blue Gardenia
  27. Autumn Leaves
  28. Lullaby of Birdland
  29. High How the Moon
  30. Black Coffee
  31. Night in Tunisia
  32. I Wan’t a Little Sugar in My Bowl
  33. Summertime
  34. Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby?
  35. I’ve Got a Crush On You
  36. Black Coffee
  37. Come Rain or Come Shine
  38. My Baby Just Cares For Me
  39. Feelin Good
  40. A Tisket a Tasket
  41. Just One of Those Things
  42. Stella by Starlight
  43. Witchcraft
  44. Skylark
  45. Girl from Ipanema
  46. Nice Work if You Can Get It
  47. Stormy Weather
  48. Tea for Two
  49. Cheek to Cheek
  50. (I’ve got you) Under my Skin
  51. Honeysuckle Rose
  52. Fly Me to the Moon
  53. Stompin at the Savoy
  54. PaperMoon
  55. When I fall in Love
  56. Someone to Watch
  57. The Nearness of You
  58. Old Devil Moon
  59. Autumn in New York
  60. Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?
  61. Embraceable
  62. La Vie En Rose
  63. Lush Life
  64. At Last
  65. Birdland
  66. La Mer