Post 511: 'SIDE BY SIDE' AND THAT MOST COMMON OF MIDDLE EIGHTS

Yesterday I was playing Side by Side and I couldn't help noticing that its middle eight chord structure was just the same as the most common and simple structure found in so many other of our tunes. It offers a really good demonstration of the effectiveness of the 'Circle of Fifths'.

A few examples of other tunes with the same pattern are:
Do Your Duty
Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue
Girl of My Dreams
Give it Up
Hometown
I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me
Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall
Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
Stevedore Stomp

To begin with, the Middle Eight's first chord is III7 (for example A7th in the key of F). This happens in the Middle Eight of dozens of our tunes.

And over the eight bars, we find two bars on each of the 'Circle of Fifth' chords as we head towards the usual V7th.

To make clear what I am trying to explain, the result (in the key of F) is:

A7 | A7 | D7 | D7 | G7  | G7 | C7 | C7

How does it sound? Surprisingly effective, in this and a huge number of other tunes our bands play.

Side by Side was composed in 1927 by the great Harry Woods. Words were provided by Gus Kahn.

For an interesting performance of the tune, CLICK HERE.

The Middle Eight starts at 48 seconds.

Post 405: CHLOE, ALBANIE; AND 'WHAT A LITTLE MOONLIGHT CAN DO'

One of the loveliest videos I have seen recently was filmed by James Sterling of Florida when he spent a long weekend in New Orleans during June 2016.

Like me, James is a fan of Chloe Feoranzo and Albanie Falletta, so, when he heard that they had recently got together and would be playing with Kaladeva Chandra and John Joyce in a quartet at the dba music club in Frenchmen Street, he eagerly went to see them.

James requested one of his favourites - What a Little Moonlight Can Do. They told him they had never played it together before. However, after a little chat among themselves about how to tackle it and in which key, off they went.

The result is so good that I really must recommend it to you. All four musicians are brilliant and Albanie's singing is utterly charming. Watch the video BY CLICKING HERE.

By the way, What a Little Moonlight Can Do was composed (both words and music) in 1934 by Harry Woods. He wrote it for the movie Road House, which was filmed in England while Harry was working for a brief spell in London. It was sung in the movie by Violet Lorraine.

What a phenomenal contribution Harry made to our music: The Clouds Will Soon Roll By, I Wish't I Was in Peoria, I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover, Paddlin' Madeline Home, River - Stay Away From My Door, Side By Side, That's All There Is - There Ain't No More; Try a Little Tenderness, We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye, When Somebody Thinks You're Wonderful, When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain, When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin' Along, - all of these are examples of the songs he composed.

Harry Woods lived from 1896 until 1970. Two sad points about him are these: he was born without fingers on his left hand; and he died when knocked down by a car right outside his house in Glendale, Arizona.

What a Little Moonlight Can Do is a little unusual. Most popular songs of this kind were at the time constructed in 32 bars, usually consisting of four sets of 8 bars. Harry Woods has 'doubled up' in the structure of this song. There are four sets of 16 bars, making 64 bars in total. The first 32 bars have much in common with the second 32. In fact, Bars 1 - 11 are Bars 33 - 43 are identical in melody and chord structure.

As an aide-mémoire for playing the tune on my cornet, I have this sheet in my filofax. I make no claim that's it's 100% accurate. I put the tune in the key of C, as that is comfortable for me. But in the video, Albanie and Co. play it in G, as you may have noticed. 

Post 182: 'THAT'S ALL THERE IS! THERE AIN'T NO MORE!; AND THE GREAT HARRY WOODS

I guess that the song That's All There Is! There Ain't No More used to be popular with traditional jazz bands wishing to end their concert in a rousing but definitive way. I've made my own leadsheet of it. To my ear it seems to go like this.

If I'm right, it's a great one to play: taking it fairly fast, you can make it sound exciting and the a-a-b-a  structure with simple chord pattern lends itself easily to improvisation.

I think the tune was composed in 1925 by the great Harry (Henry MacGregor) Woods, who was also responsible for The Clouds Will Soon Roll By, I Wish't I Was in Peoria, I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover, Paddlin' Madeleine Home, River Stay Away From My Door, Side By Side, Try a Little Tenderness, We Just Couldn't Say Goodbye, When the Red Red Robin, When The Moon Comes Over the Mountain and When Somebody Thinks You're Wonderful.

What a CV!

What a phenomenal contribution he made to popular music and the repertoire of traditional jazz bands!

Harry lived from 1896 until 1970. He worked mainly in New York. What you may not know is that - from birth - the unfortunate chap had no fingers on his left hand.