Love Songs of the Nile is a beautiful tune that I first came across when I heard that very fine English trumpeter Cuff Billett playing it with his band in the 1990s. I have since discovered that it has been recorded by many of the best traditional jazz bands. The great Shotgun Jazz Band of New Orleans has the song in its repertoire. Here's their cracking version of it:
Click here to view on YouTube.
Click here to view on YouTube.
Apparently this song was written for a 1933 film called 'The Barbarian'; and it was sung in the film by Ramon Navarro. The composers were Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. (Nacio Herb Brown also wrote You Stepped out of a Dream and You Were Meant for Me.)
You can hear it played by the band of De De and Billie Pierce (with George Lewis on clarinet and Louis Nelson on trombone) if you
CLICK HERE.
You can hear it played by the band of De De and Billie Pierce (with George Lewis on clarinet and Louis Nelson on trombone) if you
CLICK HERE.
John Dodgshon of California wrote to me about this tune, pointing out that some jazz bands play a version with a 'simplified' chord sequence. John is right. There is a difficulty in bars 9, 10, 13 and 25 of the Chorus, where the 'simplified' version, possibly based on the De De and Billie Pierce recording, has for example F major chords where there should be Ab7s. Here is the recommended correct lead-sheet that John has kindly sent me. It includes the Verse.
