Harlem Nocturne

This is one I will never ever forget. I just heard it, after 50 years I still remember where I was and who I was with when I first heard it. <sigh> I was wishing I knew how to dance at my High School prom. My date Barbra wanted to dance to this tune soooooo bad. 

Hearing it again brought back that same feeling...Wish I could dance.

Harlem Nocturne long version by The Viscounts

"Harlem Nocturne" has been recorded by many diverse artists, but this version by the The Viscounts is by far the best.

 

“Harlem Nocturne”  - “Harlem Nocturne” is a saxophone-saturated song born in 1939 that has had a long shelf life –a song that found pop fame 20 years, and again nearly 50 years, after its first release.

 

A Symphony Of The City -  Duke Ellington‘s “Mr. Cotton Club” in Harlem connection to “Harlem Nocturne” is a fascinating tale of musical inspiration and cross-pollination in the jazz world. 

 

“Harlem Nocturne” (1940) Ray Noble and (1969) Ted Heath - Swing & Beyond

 

... Wonder if my Physics teacher remembers who he danced with while this played? 

Rhapsody in Blue

Oh! That opening solo! 

Gershwin's Rhapsody is up there at the top of my list with Baker Street. To my ears its a mix of classical and jazz. I remember watching a late evening tv move about it, American in Paris, I think it was called.  

Rhapsody in Blue has been interpreted as a musical portrait of New York City. It was used in a segment from the film Fantasia 2000, and also used in the opening sequence of Woody Allen's 1979 film Manhattan.


Brian Wilson, leader of The Beach Boys, has said on multiple occasions that Rhapsody in Blue is one of his favorite pieces. He first heard it when he was two years old, and recalls that he "loved" it. It was also a heavy influence on his Smile album. He also came to think of "Good Vibrations" as "a smaller, psychedelic version of Rhapsody in Blue".

Rhapsody in Blue was played simultaneously by 84 pianists at the opening ceremony of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

 George Gershwin - Rhapsody in Blue - Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic (1976)