Session of Fools (2014Apr01)

Peter Cianflone came by on April Fools Day and here is the result, played on Piano, Bongos, and Assorted Tympani….

 

The Girl from Ipanema

The Girl from Ipanema

 

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April Fools Improv No. 1

 

April Fools  Improv No. 2

April Fools Improv No. 2

 

The Look Of Love

The Look Of Love

One Grisly Nightmare [& Two(2) Piano Covers]

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Five Spot for (2014Mar26)

You’ll find lots of flubs and fluffs in the two sheet-music videos–can’t be helped. Try the three Improvs–they’re more listenable.

When You Wish Upon A Piano (2014Mar16)

XperDunn plays Piano Covers
March 16th, 2014

Improv – Th’Irish Wristwatch:        All credit goes to Geo. Takei’s FB post of this seasonal (St. Pat’s Day) tongue-twister!

Improv – Debbie Reynolds & Tony Randall:    I just watched their amusing movie (on Turner Classic Movies channel): “The Mating Game (1959) is an MGM film directed by George Marshall and starring Debbie Reynolds, Tony Randall, and Paul Douglas in his final screen appearance…          It’s a great film, especially if you enjoy 1950s-1960s rom-coms. It stuck with me, and I needed a title for this piece….QED

George Winston’s “Longing” and “Lullaby”:  I’m a rabid fan of George Winston–when I first began piano lessons, one of my goals was to be able to play some of his music someday–and while that day is yet to come, I get a real kick out of sight-reading through the music-book score!

 

 

 

A Great Bounty (2014Feb24)

Please enjoy:

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20140224XD-Improv-Intrelago(TitlesCARD)

20140222XD-SomeSongs(TitlesCARD)

Seven Songs from the Sixties:
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[NOTES & CREDITS]
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Strangers in the Night
[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]:
“Strangers in the Night”
is a popular song credited to Bert Kaempfert with English lyrics by Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder. Kaempfert originally used it under the title “Beddy Bye” as part of the instrumental score for the movie A Man Could Get Killed. The song was made famous in 1966 by Frank Sinatra.

“Strangers In the Night”
Song by Frank Sinatra from the album Strangers in the Night
Released 1966
Recorded April 11, 1966
Genre Traditional pop
Length 2:35 (original album/single version, incorrectly listed as 2:25 in the original back cover)
2:44 (extended version from “Nothing But the Best”)
Label Reprise
Writer Bert Kaempfert, Charles Singleton, Eddie Snyder
Composer Bert Kaempfert
Producer Jimmy Bowen

Strangers in the Night (1966)
Writer : Bert Kaempfert, Charles Singleton, Eddie Snyder
Composer : Bert Kaempfert
========================================
Suzanne
[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]:
“Suzanne”
Song by Leonard Cohen from the album Songs of Leonard Cohen
Released 1967
Genre Folk
Length 3:48
Label Columbia
Writer Leonard Cohen
“Suzanne” is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen in the 1960s. First published as a poem in 1966, it was recorded as a song by Judy Collins in the same year, and Cohen himself recorded it for his 1967 album Songs of Leonard Cohen. Many other artists have recorded versions, and it has become one of the most-covered songs in Cohen’s catalogue.

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The Sweetest Sounds (1962)
Song by Richard Rogers

The Sweetest Sounds
[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]:
“The Sweetest Sounds”
Song from No Strings
Published 1962
Writer Richard Rodgers
Composer Richard Rodgers

“The Sweetest Sounds” is a popular song, written by Richard Rodgers (unlike most of his compositions, writing both music and lyrics) for the musical No Strings, in 1962. It is also used in the film adaption Cinderella starring Brandy, Whitney Houston and Whoopi Goldberg in 1997. Barbra Streisand recorded the song for “Barbra Streisand…And Other Musical Instruments”. Sergio Franchi recorded the song in 1963 on his RCA Victor Red Seal album Broadway, I Love You. Ella Fitzgerald’s swinging version can be heard on her Verve Records release “Hello, Dolly!”. The melodic theme appears to have been inspired by an orchestral figure in the final movement of Johannes Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 2 (Brahms) (measures 64-80).

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Those Were The Days (1968)
Writers: Boris Fomin and Gene Raskin
Those Were the Days (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the All in the Family theme song, see All in the Family#Theme song.
“Those Were the Days”
Single by Mary Hopkin
B-side “Turn! Turn! Turn!”
Released 26 August 1968 (US)
30 August 1968 (UK)
Format 7″ single
Recorded mid-July 1968
Genre Folk[1][2]
Length 5:05
Label Apple
Writer(s) Boris Fomin and Gene Raskin
Producer(s) Paul McCartney
“Those Were the Days” is a song credited to Gene Raskin, who put English lyrics to the Russian romance song “Dorogoi dlinnoyu” (“Дорогой длинною”, lit. “By the long road”), composed by Boris Fomin (1900–1948) with words by the poet Konstantin Podrevskii. It deals with reminiscence upon youth and romantic idealism.

Georgian singer Tamara Tsereteli (1900–1968) and Russian singer Alexander Vertinsky made what were probably the earliest recordings of the song, in 1925 and in 1926 respectively.
The song is featured in the 1953 British/French movie Innocents in Paris, in which it was sung with its original Russian lyrics by the Russian Tzigane chanteuse Ludmila Lopato, but is probably best remembered in English-speaking countries for Mary Hopkin’s 1968 recording, which was a top-ten hit in both the US and the UK. On most recorded versions of the song, Raskin is credited as the writer, even though he wrote only the later English lyrics and not the melody.

History:

In the early 1960s Raskin, with his wife Francesca, played folk music around Greenwich Village in New York, including White Horse Tavern. They released an album which included the song, which was taken up by The Limeliters.

Raskin had grown up hearing the song, wrote lyrics in English and then put a copyright on both tune and lyrics. The Raskins were international performers and had played London’s “Blue Angel” every year, always closing their show with the song. Paul McCartney frequented the club and, after the formation of The Beatles’ own Apple Records label, recorded the song with Mary Hopkin, McCartney’s agent having purchased the song rights from Raskin’s.

The song was subsequently recorded in over twenty languages and by many different artists and Raskin was able to live very well on the royalties, buying a home in Pollensa, Mallorca, a Porsche Spyder and a sailing boat.

At the peak of the song’s success, a New York company used the melody in a commercial for Rokeach gefilte fish, arguing that the tune was an old Russian folk-tune and thus in the public domain. Raskin successfully sued and won a settlement, since he had slightly altered the tune to fit his lyrics and had taken out the valid new copyright.

Although the song was popularized in the early 1960s by The Limeliters, Welsh singer Mary Hopkin made the best known recording, released on 30 August 1968, shortly after Hopkin had been signed to the Beatles’ newly created Apple label. Hopkin’s recording was produced by Paul McCartney and became a #1 hit in the UK Singles Chart.

In the US, Hopkin’s recording reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Billboard Easy Listening charts for six weeks. In the Netherlands it topped the charts for 2 consecutive weeks.

The Russian origin of the melody was accentuated by an instrumentation which was unusual for a top ten pop record, including Balalaika, clarinet, hammer dulcimer, tenor banjo and children’s chorus, giving a klezmer feel to the song.

Paul McCartney, who produced the session, also recorded Hopkin singing “Those Were The Days” in four other languages for release in their respective countries: Spain, Germany, Italy, France.
========================================
A Time For Us
-Romeo and Juliet (1968 film soundtrack)

[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]:

Romeo and Juliet 1968 film Soundtrack album
Released October 8, 1968
Genre Film score
Label Capitol
Producer Neely Plumb

The soundtrack for the 1968 film Romeo and Juliet was composed and conducted by Nino Rota.

It was originally released as a vinyl record, containing nine entries, most notably the song “What Is a Youth”, composed by Nino Rota, written by Eugene Walter and performed by Glen Weston. The music score won a Silver Ribbon award of the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists in 1968 and was nominated for two other awards (BAFTA Award for Best Film Music in 1968 and Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score in 1969).

The soundtrack is referred to as “Original Soundtrack Recording” on the front cover with further credits to the film itself.

Composition:

The original track list includes anthems, song snatches, compositions for the ball and for a strolling trombone player.
The neo-Elizabethan ballad “What Is a Youth” is performed by a troubadour character as part of the diegesis during the Capulets’ ball, at which Romeo and Juliet first meet. The original lyrics of “What Is a Youth” are borrowed from songs in other Shakespearean plays, particularly Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice.

Although Rota’s original manuscript is believed to be lost, the love theme is known to have an original published key of G minor. Romeo’s theme was described as “a slow-paced minor key idea, first played by a solo English horn with strings”. In the scene, where Romeo sees Juliet dancing with her family, the theme is sounded by a solo oboe over a background of tremolo strings.

========================================
The Times They Are a-Changin’ (1963)
Song by Bob Dylan

[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]:
“The Times They Are a-Changin'”

Single by Bob Dylan
from the album The Times They Are a-Changin’
Released January 13, 1964 (album)
March 8, 1965 (single)
Format 7″
Recorded October 23 – 24, 1963 at Columbia Studios, New York City
Genre Folk
Length 3:15
Label Columbia
Writer(s) Bob Dylan
Producer Tom Wilson

“The Times They Are a-Changin'” is a song written by Bob Dylan and released as the title track of his 1964 album, The Times They Are a-Changin’. Dylan wrote the song as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change for the time, influenced by Irish and Scottish ballads. Released as a 45 r.p.m. single in Britain in 1964, it reached number 9 in the British top ten and was Britain’s hundredth best selling single of 1965.

Ever since its release the song has been very influential to people’s views on society, with critics noting the general yet universal lyrics as contributing to the song’s everlasting message of change. The song ever since has been an occasional staple in Dylan’s concerts. The song has been covered by many different artists, including The Byrds, Peter, Paul, and Mary, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beach Boys, Joan Baez, Phil Collins and Bruce Springsteen. The song was ranked #59 on Rolling Stone’s 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Inspiration and composition:

Dylan appears to have written the song in September and October 1963. He recorded it as a Witmark publishing demo that month, a version that was finally released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991. The song was then recorded at the Columbia studios in New York on October 23 and 24, and the latter session yielded the version that became the title song of Dylan’s third album.

Dylan recalled writing the song as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change for the moment. In 1985, he told Cameron Crowe: “This was definitely a song with a purpose. It was influenced of course by the Irish and Scottish ballads …’Come All Ye Bold Highway Men’, ‘Come All Ye Tender Hearted Maidens’. I wanted to write a big song, with short concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. The civil rights movement and the folk music movement were pretty close for a while and allied together at that time.”
========================================
Try To Remember (1960) from “The Fantasticks” –
with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones

[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]:

“Try to Remember” is a song from a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones, “The Fantasticks”.

It is the first song sung in the show, to get the audience to imagine what the sparse set suggests.
Its lyrics famously rhyme “remember” with “September”, “so tender”, and “December”, and repeat the sequence -llow throughout the song:
Verse 1 contains “mellow”, “yellow”, and “callow fellow”;
verse 2 contains “willow”, “pillow”, “billow”;
verse 3 contains “follow”, “hollow”, “mellow”;
and all verses end with “follow”.

“Try to Remember” was originally sung by Jerry Orbach in the Original Off-Broadway production of The Fantasticks.
“Try To Remember” made the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart three times in 1965 in versions by Ed Ames, Roger Williams, Barry McGuire, The Kingston Trio, The Sandpipers, and The Brothers Four. Patti Page released a version in 1965 on her album Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte. Andy Williams released a version in 1966 on his album The Shadow of Your Smile. Perry Como released a version in 1968 on his album Look to Your Heart.
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Three Songs And An Improvisation (2014Feb12)

 

20140212XD-3Standards(TitlesCARD)

XperDunn plays Piano
February 12th, 2014

3 Standards: ‘Look of Love’, ‘Lovers Concerto’, ‘Love Is All Around’

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[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

The Look of Love (1967 song)
Released January 29, 1967
Recorded Philips Studios, London
Composer: Burt Bacharach Writer: Hal David

Ursula Andress inspired Burt Bacharach to compose “The Look of Love” watching her in an early cut of the film Casino Royale.

The track is played while Vesper Lynd seduces Evelyn Tremble, observed through a man-size aquarium.

“The Look of Love” is a popular song composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and sung by English pop singer Dusty Springfield, which appeared in the 1967 spoof James Bond film Casino Royale.

In 2008, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. It also received a Best Song nomination in the 1968 Academy Awards.
====================================
====================================
[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

“A Lover’s Concerto” a single by The Toys

from the album: The Toys Sing “A Lover’s Concerto” and “Attack!”
Released 1965
Writer(s) Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell, Christian Petzold

“A Lover’s Concerto” is a pop song, written by American songwriters Sandy Linzer and Denny Randell and recorded in 1965 by The Toys.

Their original version of the song was a major hit in the United States, the UK and elsewhere during 1965. It peaked on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 2
====================================
[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

“Love is All Around”
Single by The Troggs
Released October 1967
Label(s): Page One/Fontana UK; Fontana (Mercury) US
Writer(s) Reg Presley

“Love Is All Around” is a song composed by Reg Presley and originally performed in 1967 by Presley’s band, The Troggs, featuring a string quartet and a ‘tick tock’ sound on percussion, in D-major. Purportedly inspired by a television transmission of the Joy Strings Salvation Army band’s “Love That’s All Around”, the song was first released as a single in the UK in October 1967.

On the US Billboard Hot 100, the record entered at No.98 on 24 February 1968, peaked at No.7 on 18 May 1968, and spent a total of 16 weeks on the chart.
====================================
Lastly, the graphics are by Hokusai

Four by Three (2014Jan29)

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20140125XD-Improv-TheSteppes(TitlesCARD)

 

20140129XD-Improv-TheTundra(TitlesCARD)

 

20140129XD-2ByDietzN_Schwartz-DancinNDDark_n_AloneTogethr(TitlesCARD)

Please Note: The last video is two song covers of songs written by : Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Dancing in the Dark (Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz song)

“Dancing in the Dark”
Music by Arthur Schwartz
Lyrics by Howard Dietz
Published 1931
Recorded by Artie Shaw, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, et. al.

“Dancing in the Dark” is a popular song first introduced by John Barker in the 1931 revue The Band Wagon.
The 1941 recording by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra earned Shaw one of his eight gold records.
It was subsequently featured in the classic 1953 MGM musical The Band Wagon and has since come to be considered part of the Great American Songbook.

====================================

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Alone Together (song)

“Alone Together” is a song composed by Arthur Schwartz with lyrics by Howard Dietz.

It was introduced in the Broadway musical Flying Colors in 1932 by Jean Sargent. The song soon became a hit, with Leo Reisman and His Orchestra’s 1932 recording being the first to reach the charts.
The first jazz artist to record the song was Artie Shaw in 1939.
====================================

A Sobering Tuesday

 

(with my apologies for the mistakes…)

 

Notes:

Illustration from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s “The Rhyme Of The Ancient Mariner”
Engraved by “Paul” Gustave Doré [Jan. 1832–Jan. 1883]

[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]:
“Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)”

Single by Barbra Streisand
from the album A Star Is Born: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

B-side “I Believe in Love”
Released December 1976
Label Columbia

Writer(s) Barbra Streisand, Paul Williams
Producer Barbra Streisand, Phil Ramone

Streisand and Williams earned an Academy Award for
Best Original Song as composers of the song.

With “Evergreen”, Streisand also earned a
Grammy Award for Song of the Year.

She and Williams also won Golden Globes
in the category of Best Original Song for the song.

Almost Made It–But The Battery Pooped Out On Me

Four New Vids (2013Dec20)

Okay, I have a long one here, 20 minutes or so of xmas carol songs–I neglected to sing along, so it’s just the piano part.

Then I did two improvs in that same recording session that I’m calling ‘xmas stuff’ & ‘more xmas stuff’.

And the final upload, a left-over from a few days back, totally non-holiday-related.

Enjoy…

 

 

 

 

 

Xmas Carols

 

Sunday, December 01, 2013                3:32 PM

Well, it’s December, at least—long past the appropriate time to bring up the holiday season, to most marketers. But Xmas is not so easily tamed. We give our thanks in November, we give our presents in December, and we give ourselves new goals at New Year’s, the first day of next year. Xmas is in the middle but gets the lion’s share of the focus—giving things to each other calls to that materialism we all have at least a spark of—but it is an event, and in so many senses, more engaging than the more ritualistic form of the ‘book-ends’ holidays.

So I prefer to keep each event to its place and I never begin to play Xmas carols on the piano (and worse yet, sing) until December 1st. Xmas has pressure enough—and in the nadir of Winter—with the expectations needing filling and the mandatory purchases having unbalanced a recently comfortable account balance.

More’s the pity—the Winter fest of Europe’s ancienter times was a blow-out in every sense of the word—even sometimes electing a ‘governing fool’ who gave orders to the gentry—but always including drinking too much, brawling for no reason, and debauchery among the adults of the community. Even burning down a house or two was considered no great extreme—and the first thing the Reformed Protestant Churches did was outlaw the celebration of Twelfth Night, or Yuletide.

This did not stop people from celebrating—and it’s my guess that the raucous outburst of pent-up tension was the very best way to prepare for the group to live all huddled together, indoors, for most of the winter. Today, with stress an unavoidable fact of life, it makes little sense to have the holidays be filled with guilts and repressions—as it is celebrated by a tremendous number of Americans today. But even that undertow of familial and social demands on the celebrants does not define Xmas (no matter what Chevy Chase would have us believe).

I believe that Xmas has become an emotional refuge, its most important function being to allow us the fantasy, at least for a day or few, of thinking our lives have the same simplicity and cyclic regularity that those pagans once enjoyed. Most rituals have been stripped away from modern life, aside from weddings and birthdays—the number of people with ashes on their brow on Ash Wednesday is so sparse that it can disturb non-Catholics coming upon it the first time that day—they impulsively tell one he or she has a smudge on their forehead.

Those fortunate enough to be raising children focus the entirety of the ‘Season’ to their children’s (hopefully) treasured memories—the things parents hope their children will reproduce with their own families, some day. And no childhood fantasy is so seriously guarded as the ‘belief in Santa Claus’. This dichotomy between kids and adults has its good side, I guess, but I could never see it as different from ‘lying’, so we had no great emphasis on Santa’s reality—the kids are more interested in the presents, anyway.

That it is a stupid idea is confirmed, by my reckoning, by the number of stupid Christmas movies that focus on the maintenance of this myth as a humorous plot point.

Xmas has to do with being in the northern states, Washington to Maine, or thereabouts, and walking through snow to bring your freshly chopped-down pine tree into your living room. Anything else is not a Hollywood-approved location for this coziest of holidays—one can never feel quite as good about oneself as when donating to (or better yet, feeding) the wretched poor when the ground is covered with snow.

New York City has a slightly different take on the season, but is still within prescribed conditions to be a ‘real’ Christmas. It adds a lovely dollop of urbanity—window displays, municipal decorations, office parties (though not as solid a tradition as once was) and seeing the toys in FAO Schwarz’s and the big Xmas Tree in Rockefeller Center, on ones way to Radio City Music Hall for the traditional “Nutcracker” show.

 But the full-on, tradition-filled Christmas happens in New England—plenty of indigenous pine trees, a good chance of snow on the ground (before Climate Change, anyway) and tree ornaments that may have passed down through three or four generations. Ordinarily, the head of the clan will have ‘the family’ to their big house and make a short week of the holiday.

I watch nothing but the Hallmark Channel for the whole of December—I can’t get enough of these crazy movies—Elves fall in love with humans; Santa’s son doesn’t want to take over Christmas; a poverty-stricken family somehow find themselves living in a big, beautiful house in a lovely, loving, small town; Santa’s sleigh is stuck in the shop; A reindeer with a fluorescent nose flies at the front of Santa’s team—you know the drill.

However, it isn’t entirely Hallmark’s fault—it was Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” that gave Christmas its wish-fulfillment aspect. It was his idea that the ‘Christmas Spirit’ was a mandatory giver of grace to even the most twisted misanthrope. The idea that hard-nosed business-people were a blight on society wasn’t new, but the ludicrous suggestion that they can be convinced to open their hearts one day a year…  —all Dickens.

And now Hallmark channel has evolved into a cornucopia of sappy, sentimental hogwash, non-stop for 25 full days of nothing but Xmas movies. I am fascinated by their transmutation of human ritual into wish-fulfillment fantasies and Cinderella-type romances. There’s plenty of sneaky elves doing magic and smirking behind a corner at the surprised humans—there are plenty of BFFs that make seemingly trivial remarks that resonate with the movie’s plot-line (or it’s title—which in some cases is the movie in a nutshell, for example: “Snow Globe”).

But sometimes I catch them in a new bit of blasphemy—this year (unless I didn’t notice in previous years) was the use of the tag-line, ‘Hallmark, the Heart of Joy’! Can you imagine? “Joy: def. Intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness”.  In a religious context (if I may suggest that Xmas has a religious context) ‘joyfulness’ is the ecstasy felt by those who worship the newborn son of God. I’m sure Hallmark was just looking for a generic word, like ‘tinsel’ or ‘stocking’, to suggest Xmas without confining their audience to any specific religion—but in my opinion, ‘Joy’ can be seen as overstepping by sensitive folks like me.

Besides, Joy is pretty strong language, especially when describing the most shamelessly sugary genre of cinema in the world today. Maybe ‘Hallmark, the Heart of Sweet’ ? If you want to see something crazy, check out the Xmas Movies listing of your current cable provider, TV, Hulu, or Netflix—thousands of these films—and Hallmark makes five or ten new ones every year, just to cement their place at the forefront of kitsch. So I guess it’s what you call a ‘guilty pleasure’ for me to watch these movies on Hallmark channel for hours on end. I don’t approve of Hallmark’s immersion in the treacle of holiday sentiment—far from it.

Hallmark has a much older claim than computers to destroying our literate holiday traditions—the whole point of a card, back when, was that you made it yourself—put some thought and feeling into it. Lots of people still do that, but very few Americans—‘we care enough to send the very best’, as Hallmark once drummed into our ears, back when they were merely a greeting card company. All the little notes and present tags and letters from old friends—they are nowhere to be seen in modern American Xmases.

So I lie in bed and allow the false joy of Hallmark channel to wash over me. I wonder about the kids of today—how much of their holiday season is torn from their focus on the gadgets they all have now? How many kids get sleds for Xmas, compared to how many get the latest gaming consoles or handheld electronics? And I wonder at the power of my conditioning as a child, that even now as an atheist of decades, I still think Xmas has great value and should be treasured for whatever few truly human exchanges of love and joy (and presents) it still engenders, in spite of the tinsel.

Graphics Explosion

Okay, two new improvs and a look at some of the artwork contained in my video uploads:

GRAPHICS:

Back in the I-beginning, museum sites had no restrictions on downloading graphics of their paintings, sculpture, etc.

Back then, it took minutes for a hi-res graphic to download off a phone jack ISP, but I knew that someday the doors would all be locked–so I downloaded graphics like an obsession. Nowadays, security on graphic image files is pretty tight. It’s all ‘information’ now, and information is ‘owned’ now, too.  But I don’t commercialize my sites, so nobody looks too closely. Also, there are special programs like that of the Rejksmuseum in Netherlands, which allows a user to download graphics of their masterworks for non-commercial use. I still grab stuff off the Google-Image search, but I have to be more careful about snagging something off of those new ‘graphics by fee’ sites–one of them threatened me with legal action a few weeks ago!

Anyhow–here’s some of my latest ‘artwork’ in service to my YouTube channel uploads, and the original files I used for graphics backgrounds. You’ll notice that I over-lighten or over-darken these paintings to make my Text stand out and be legible.

20131019XD-Improv-GYup_01_Art-HorseLexington-1968-Good

20131019XD-Improv-GYup_02_200_Currier_&_Ives_Ready_For_The_Signal

20131019XD-Improv-GYup_03_No_Known_Restrictions_Horse_Racing,_Currier_&_Ives_Lithograph_1890

20131019XD-Improv-GYup_04_Trotting_Cracks_on_the_snow

20131019XD-Improv-GYup_05_english_hunt_fence

20131019XD-Improv-GYup_06_Hunter

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20131019XD-Improv-GYup_(TitlesCARD)

20131019XD-Improv-HYup_(CreditsCARD)

20131019XD-Improv-HYup_(TitlesCARD)

20131022XD-FitzWllmVrgnlBk_XV_Robin(TitlesCARD)

20131022XD-FitzWllmVrgnlBk_XVIII_BarafostusDream(TitlesCARD)

20131022XD-FzwlmVrgnl_17thCenturyEnglishMusic_01

20131022XD-FzwlmVrgnl_17thCenturyEnglishMusic_02

20131022XD-FzwlmVrgnl_17thCenturyEnglishMusic_Barfastus_s_Dream_01

20131022XD-FzwlmVrgnl_17thCenturyEnglishMusic_Barfastus_s_Dream_02_Baschenis_Musical_Instruments

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20131024XD-Improv-PrototypeX(CreditsCARD)

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20131026XD-Improv-AdAstra(CreditsCARD)

20131026XD-Improv-AdAstra(TitlesCARD)

20131026XD-Improv-Aspere(CreditsCARD)

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20131026XD-Rijksmuseum_MyStud_Art-Nouveau_interieur_anoniem_1890-1910

20131026XD-Rijksmuseum_MyStud_Delftsche Slaolie-Jan_Toorop_1894

20131026XD-Rijksmuseum_MyStud_Het_stadhuis_op_de_Dam_in_Amsterdam-Gerrit_Adriaensz-Berckheyde_1672

20131026XD-Rijksmuseum_MyStud_Portret_van_een_vrouw_tussen_bloemen-Eva_Watson-Schütze_ca_1910

20131026XD-Rijksmuseum_MyStud_Seated Cupid-Etienne-Maurice_Falconet_1757

201320811XD-PreRaphWomen_GoldenTrio

20131026XD-Rijksmuseum_MyStud_Mantelpiece_w_relief_of_Paris_n_Oenone-Jan_Baptist_Xavery_1739

‘nocturnal’ 17th Century keyboard works

The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book was published in England in the 17th Century.

The virginal was a small clavier, so quiet it could only be heard in a small parlor in absolute silence. I guess it was of a piece with the way gentleladies were expected to behave in the old days. The music, which has much more life to it than I’ve been able to express herein, is nonetheless very sleep-friendly. One can only imagine what those people would have made of a heavy metal concert….

Robin, etc.

Robin, etc.

20131022XD-FitzWllmVrgnlBk_XVIII_BarafostusDream(TitlesCARD)

mucho musico (October 10th, 2013)

Just a few notes: I made up ‘Wulfric the Bad’–as far as I know, there’s no actual person with that name–Boston, on the other hand, is an actual place, but also the name of my niece’s daughter. The rest is pretty self-explanatory…

 

 

 

 

A Broadway Hit (plus one of my own concoctions)

XperDunn plays Piano
September 29th, 2013

“On A Clear Day You Can See Forever”

 

 

XperDunn plays Piano
September 29th, 2013

Improv – Sweden

 

New Changes

Four (4) Fall Flings

Well, the heat is working, the air is crisp, and TV showing signs of new programming–guess that means it’s back-to-school time.

Saw the DC shootings on CNN–can’t think what to say–can an reservist be a terrorist? Can the armed forces protect themselves against their own -and- should they have to? I’m clueless–just sad.

Anywho, here are my last four stabs at musicality– I think Arioso and ‘O Happy Day’ are the best, but the other two aren’t too bad, either (I hope).:

Improv - Arioso   (2013Sep13)

Improv – Arioso (2013Sep13)

Improv - Capitalization  (2013Sep14)

Improv – Capitalization (2013Sep14)

Improv - Cursive  (2013Sep14)

Improv – Cursive (2013Sep14)

Oh Happy Day (Gospel Cover)

(Cover) Improv on Gospel Song “O Happy Day” (2013Sep16)

That’s all for now–enjoy the crispiness, everybody!

One Improv and Four Covers (2013Aug27)

XperDunn plays Piano
August 27th, 2013

Improv – Shangri – La

 

Well, I think this is my best effort on these favorites from my “Complete Carpenters” for solo piano and voice book–these are the treacliest and most banal of their repertoire–only a real sap has any chance of enjoying those 4 recordings  of their repertoire (which fortunately includes me). I defy you to sit through all four–it can’t be done.

 

 

XperDunn plays Piano
August 27th, 2013

4 Covers of ‘Hits by The Carpenters’:

(1.) “(They Long To Be) Close To You”

(2.) “Rainy Days and Mondays”

(3.) “Yesterday Once More”

(4.) “Sing”

 

“(They Long To Be) Close To You” (2013Aug27)
Words by Hal David. Music by Burt Bacharach

“(They Long to Be) Close to You” is a popular song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The version recorded by The Carpenters, which became a hit in 1970, is the best known.

In 1970, it was released by Karen and Richard Carpenter on their album Close to You, and it became their breakthrough hit. The song stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks.

With “(They Long to Be) Close to You”, The Carpenters earned a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus in 1971. It became the first of three Grammy Awards they would win during their careers.

(c) 1963 by U.S. Songs Inc, USA
——————————————
“Rainy Days and Mondays” (2013Aug27)
Words by Paul Williams. Music by Roger Nichols.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: “Rainy Days and Mondays” is a 1971 song by The Carpenters that went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and it was the duo’s fourth #1 song on the Adult Contemporary singles chart. However, the song failed to chart in the United Kingdom until it went to #63 in a reissue there in 1993. “Rainy Days and Mondays was certified Gold by the RIAA.

The song was composed in 1971 by then fairly unknown composers Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. It was released as the first track on the album Carpenters. The B-side on the single is “Saturday”.

(c) 1970 by Almo Music Corp., USA

“Yesterday Once More” (2013Aug27)
Words by John Bettis
Music by Richard Carpenter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
“Yesterday Once More”, written by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis, is a hit song by The Carpenters from their 1973 album Now & Then. Composed in the key of E, “Yesterday Once More” features a long middle section, consisting of eight covers of 1960s tunes incorporated into a faux oldies radio program. The work takes up the entire side B of the album.

The single version of the song peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart becoming their 5th number two hit and making them the act with the second most number two hits on the chart behind only Madonna. The song also peaked at number 1 on the easy listening chart, becoming their eighth number 1 on that chart in four years.

It is the Carpenters’ biggest-selling record worldwide and their best-selling single in the UK, peaking at number 2. Richard Carpenter admitted on a Japanese documentary that it is his favorite of all the songs he’s written. He has performed an instrumental version at concerts. According to Cash Box, on June 2, 1973, “Yesterday Once More” was the highest-debuting single at No. 71. By August 4, it had reached No. 1.

(c) 1973 by Almo Music Corporation / Hammer and Nails Music, USA

“Sing” (2013Aug27)
Words & Music by Joe Raposo.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
“Sing” is a popular song created for Sesame Street that gained popularity when performed by The Carpenters, who made it a #3 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1973.

“Sing” was written by Joe Raposo, the staff songwriter for the popular children’s TV show Sesame Street. In its initial appearance, the song was sung by adult human cast member, and Muppets, including Big Bird. “The Kids” sang “Sing” for The Sesame Street Book & Record, a recording re-released on the 2003 Songs from the Street CD set.

Karen and Richard Carpenter heard the song for the first time as guests on ABC television special Robert Young with the Young in 1973. The Carpenters loved the song and said in retrospect that they knew it would “be a hit”. Their associates thought they were “nuts”.

The song acted as their debut single from the LP album Now & Then, released in 1973. “Sing” reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number-one on the easy listening chart, and it became the group’s seventh gold single.

Their recording of the song was produced and arranged by Richard Carpenter, and engineered by Ray Gerhardt. The lead vocal was sung by Karen Carpenter, with backing vocals by Karen and Richard Carpenter and the Jimmy Joyce Children’s Choir. Keyboards were by Richard Carpenter, bass by Joe Osborn, drums by Karen Carpenter, and recorders by Tom Scott. In 1974, while touring Japan, The Carpenters recorded their first live album in Osaka.

The album contained a new version of “Sing” with the children’s chorus sung by the Kyoto Children’s Choir. The song is featured on the album Live in Japan which was recorded in June 1974 and released in Japan only on March 7, 1975. This album has since been released on CD and is available as an import.

(c) 1971 by Jonico Music Corp., USA
All Rights Reserved
International Copyright Secured

 

————————————————-

All the above has been cut and pasted

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Once again, many thanks to my cousin, Lisa, for the use of her photo of their 2006 Meridian-408 Motoryacht.

A Song, An Improv, & An “Are You Dunn?” Addendum….

A Song,

An Improv,

& An “Are You Dunn?” Addendum….

click to Play my YouTube Video

XperDunn plays Piano
August 25th, 2013

Cover of the Carpenters’ single, “Goodbye to Love”.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[“Goodbye to Love” : Single by The Carpenters from the album “A Song for You”, Released on June 19, 1972, Label A&M #1367 / Writer(s) Richard Carpenter; John Bettis / Producer Jack Daugherty

“Goodbye to Love” is a song composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis. It was released by The Carpenters in 1972. On the “Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters” documentary, Tony Peluso stated that this was one of the first, if not the first, love ballads to have a fuzz guitar solo.

While visiting London, he saw a 1940 Bing Crosby film called “Rhythm on the River”. Richard Carpenter noticed that the characters kept referring to the struggling songwriter’s greatest composition, “Goodbye to Love”. He says, ‘You never hear it in the movie, they just keep referring to it,’ and he immediately envisioned the tune and lyrics starting with:
I’ll say goodbye to love
No one ever cared if I should live or die.
Time and time again the chance for
Love has passed me by…

He said that while the melody in his head kept going, the lyrics stopped “because I’m not a lyricist”. He completed the rest of his arrangement upon his return to the USA.]
——————————————

click to Play my YouTube Video

XperDunn plays Piano
August 25th, 2013

Improv – Goobers
(music fades out instead of ending–the result of a dead battery-sorry.)

Start and End Cards source: http://www.winslowhomer.org/hound-and-hunter.jsp

Homer’s watercolor sketch for Hound and Hunter showed, lying behind the boy, a rifle that the artist later painted out. When this final canvas was exhibited in 1892, its subject was condemned as a cruel sport then practiced in the Adirondacks. Some viewers believed the youth was drowning the deer to save ammunition. The artist curtly responded, “The critics may think that that deer is alive but he is not—otherwise the boat and man would be knocked high and dry.”

To clarify that the stag is already dead and no longer struggling, however, Homer did repaint the churning water to hide more of the animal. The hunter, therefore, simply ties up a heavy load, calling off the hound so it will not jump into the boat and swamp it.

Homer once asked a museum curator:
“Did you notice the boy’s hands—all sunburnt; the wrists somewhat sunburnt, but not as brown as his hands; and the bit of forearm where his sleeve is pulled back not sunburnt at all? I spent more than a week painting those hands.”
——————————————

Sunday, August 25, 2013            4:06 PM

“Are You Done?” (Cont’d):

I am aware that the previous ‘essay’ (if I may use that word) was both ludicrous and without any substantive ideas for moving forward. I think one point I attempted to make is that People have to wake up to the very powerful forces being arrayed against them at present. And that civil-rights-oriented and community-activity-oriented crowd-sourcing is a very promising new tool that we can either use or have used against us—our choice.

The other point, the main idea I wished to illustrate, was that individuals are wooed by many associations and organizations, including political parties, multi-national corporate giants, and banks—and that the only organization intended for our own self-interest, the federal government, being so wrapped up by capitalized and specialized interests, has ceased to perform that function. And that leaves us with only two choices.

We either have to wrest control of our government back towards the protection of civil rights and the providing of social services, or we have to find some way to sidestep those ‘clogged arteries’ and create an organization outside of government. I had intended to mention, further, that such an organization, by virtue of the digital revolution, and what may be called the enhanced social conscience of our society here at the start of century twenty-one, would operate so much more efficiently, cost-effectively, and speedily that the existing government would be pulled along in its wake, so to speak.

Why do I see this issue in this way? That’s easy—because we have already learned that Authority is not a ‘God-given’ right, such as monarchs used to claim; neither is Authority a prerogative of the wealthy, such as the wealthy have been used to claiming; nor is dogma an Authority, as religious extremists persist in insisting. Authority is a necessary evil, plain and simple—someone has to be in charge to enable groups to create something greater than what they could do as a disorganized group of individuals.

And that greater creation, or ‘progress’, if you will, is always a source of Power to those in authority. Power is an addictive drug which no human has ever been immune to—thus authority inevitably changes its goal from a common good to an entitled elite who skim the cream of organized effort and (usually) begin to work counter to the original common good.

We have attempted, by democracy, by socialism, and by communism, to create a more perfect organization, to put in place checks and balances which restrain, as much as possible, the natural tendency towards corruption in authority, including favoritism, and elitism—but all have been overwhelmed by the constant pressure of those natural human drives. Unfortunately, authority has to reside with someone—so I won’t bother trying to invent a new system that partitions or restrains authority from abuse—it’s like trying to lift yourself by your own bootstraps.

And this is why I have no suggestions as to how to fix ourselves—human society has built-in structural flaws that prevent us from Utopia. The only thing we can hope for is that the Elite become ashamed enough of all the starvation and poverty that they eventually find a way to accommodate the millions of losers in the great game of capitalism. Or, for the truly optimistic, we can hope that our global society matures into something less of a dog pile than it’s always been, and is now. If I had a religion, that would be it—people starting to work just as hard to cooperate with each other as they do now to compete with each other.

New Covers and Improvs

Improv-WingNut

Click to Watch ‘Wing Nut’

Click to watch "Help Me Rhonda"

Click to watch “Help Me Rhonda”

Click to watch 'Woo Hoo!'

Click to watch ‘Woo Hoo!’

20130723XD-Windy-TITLE

2 Song Covers: “Three Coins In The Fountain” & “Time On My Hands” (2013July16)

XperDunn plays Piano Covers – July 16th, 2013
Two (2) Songs: “Three Coins In The Fountain” & “Time On My Hands”

WIKI sez: “From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Time on My Hands” is a popular song with music by Vincent Youmans and lyrics by Harold Adamson and Mack Gordon, published in 1930. Introduced in the musical Smiles by Marilyn Miller and Paul Gregory. Sometimes also co-credited to Reginald Connelly.”

and WIKI also sez: “From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Three Coins in the Fountain” is a popular song which received the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1954.[1]

The melody was written by Jule Styne, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn.[1] It was written for the romance film, Three Coins in the Fountain and refers to the act of throwing a coin into the Trevi Fountain in Rome while making a wish. Each of the film’s three stars performs this act.”

Cover: “There’s a Kind of Hush” (2013July16)

XperDunn plays Piano
July 16th, 2013

Cover: “There’s a Kind of Hush” (All Over The World Tonight)

“There’s a Kind of Hush” is a popular song written by Les Reed and Geoff Stephens which was a hit in 1967 for Herman’s Hermits and again in 1976 for the Carpenters.

[NOTE: The video says July 14th, but this was recorded on July 16th, 2013]

Some Music (2013July08)

Here are some song covers with lots of pretty pictures to look at:

20130708XD-paintings-romanc-lorelei

XperDunn plays Piano     July 7th, 2013

Three (3) Song Covers :    “I Think We’re Alone Now”    “If I Fell”    “Kansas City”

 

 

20130707XD-Improv-StarshipBlues(TITLE)

XperDunn plays Piano    July 7th, 2013    Improv – Starship Blues

 

 

20130707XD-Improv-SabbosGoy_Saul-Chernick

XperDunn plays Piano     July 7th, 2013       Improv – Sabbos Goy

 

20130706XD-Improv-WingDangIt

XperDunn plays Piano    July 6th, 2013      Improv – Wing Dang It

 

 

 

 

“Cute” and Three (3) More Songs, plus 2 Improvs

“Cute” and Three (3) More Songs

A painting of Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David

click for Songs

Click for Improv

Click for Improv

Click for Improv

Click for Improv

Here’s the paperwork on all the Songs in that first video:

“Cute” and Three(3) More Songs (2013June16)

Xper Dunn plays Piano
June 16th, 2013

“Cute” & 3 more songs

‘Cute’
Music by Neal Hefti
Words by Stanley Styne
[ (c) 1958 by Intl. Korwin Corp. ]

Sheet Music / Score Source:
Hal Leonard Piano/Vocal/Guitar Series
“More Top Jazz Standards”
[All rights reserved by: Hal Leonard Publishing Co.]

****

‘Ma Cherie Amour’
Words and Music by
Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy and Henry Cosby
[ (c) 1968 by Jobete Music. Black Bull Music. and Sawandi Music]

‘Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars’ (“Corcovado”)
English Words by Gene Lees
Original Words and Music by
Antonio Carlos Jobim
[ (c) 1962 by Antonio Carlos Jobim ]

‘People Got To Be Free’
Words and Music by
Felix Cavaliere and Edward Brigati, Jr.
[ (c) 1968 (renewed 1996) by EMI Jemaxal Music and Delicious Apple Music ]

Sheet Music / Score Sources:

Cherry Lane Music Company
“Great Songs Of The Sixties”
[distributed by Hal Leonard Corp.]

All images are from the Paintings of:

Jacques-Louis David;
French: (Aug. 30th, 1748-Dec. 29th, 1825)
[an influential French painter
in the Neoclassical style
and Napoleon Buonaparte’s
portrait-painter]

(c) MMXIII by Christopher Dunn

My ‘Self’ & Cole Porter (no relation) for June 6th, 2013 (D-Day’s 69th Anniversary)

I had to get all publicly-respectable-like to visit the transplant clinic for my check-up, so I’m not looking as scruffy as usual in these videos:

 

XperDunn plays Piano on June 6th, 2013 - Piano Improv - 'Self-Portrait'

XperDunn plays Piano on June 6th, 2013 – Piano Improv – ‘Self-Portrait’

 

Here’s one of my favorite Cole Porter songs…

 

XperDunn plays Piano June 6th, 2013 "Every Time We Say Goodbye" by Cole Porter

XperDunn plays Piano
June 6th, 2013
“Every Time We Say Goodbye” by Cole Porter

 

Well, here’s hoping you enjoy hearing these as much as I did playing them.

051

My Dentist Appointment (June 4th, 2013 – Dr. Richard Stauber)

'From This Moment On'  Words and Music by Coie Porter

‘From This Moment On’
Words and Music by
Cole Porter

 

 

June 4th, 2013 My Visit To Dr. Stauber's

June 4th, 2013
My Visit To Dr. Stauber’s

[Today’s Backgrounds are using the Maxwell Parrish work, “Evening Shadows”]

 

Catch Of The Day (so to speak)

I had two videos come of this morning’s recording:

This first one is very exciting–I’ve never improved singing along with my piano improv before (not with any success, at least) but it takes me five minutes or so into it before I ululate–be warned!

20130603XD-Improv-DForceODAir_TitlesCARD_010

The lyrics (I think) are:

I’ll wait ’til you’re free
If you have time for me
I’ll just wait and see
If you can find time for me.

I’ll wait ’til you’re free
Wait and hope and see
I’ll wait, if you have time for me.

These title-card backgrounds,BTW, are graphics made of Winslow Homer’s (Feb. 24th, 1836 – Sept. 29, 1910) famous oil painting “Long Branch, New Jersey” (1869).  [for more about the painting, see:  The Athenaeum]

This second recording is pretty badly jacked-up, but there are moments when I don’t make a mistake for three or four bars…

20130603XD-7SongsByCPorter_TitlesCARD_010

Now, please know that I have nothing but respect for Cole Porter’s incredible legacy–I only do them this violence because I can’t do any better. Apologies all ’round…

O, and of course, feel free to sing along….

4.2.7

Begin The Beguine by Cole Porter (1935)

XperDunn plays Piano
May 29th, 2013

My Piano Cover of
“Begin The Beguine” by Cole Porter (1935)

 

And one more Cole Porter tune:

20130529XD-EasyToLove-Titles(NASA-RingOBlkHoles)

Improv – Rascality [with ‘Sweet Baby James’ piano-cover] (2013May21)

XperDunn plays Piano
May 21st, 2013

Improv – Rascality

[with a ‘Sweet Baby James’ piano-cover ‘chewy center’ – courtesy of the great James Taylor]