Laura

This is my instrumental cover of the classic theme from the classic 1944 film “Laura”.

Laura is a 1944 American “film noir” produced and directed by Otto Preminger. It stars Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews. The American Film Institute named it one of the 10 best mystery films of all time.

The theme was composed by David Raskin. Inspired by a “Dear John” letter he received from his wife, Raskin composed the haunting theme, also entitled “Laura”, for which Johnny Mercer later wrote lyrics. It eventually became a jazz standard recorded by more than 400 artists.

Tenderly

This is an instrumental quartet arrangement of “Tenderly”.

First published in 1946 with music by Walter Gross and lyrics by Jack Lawrence. It has since become a popular jazz standard.

When Sunny Gets Blue

This is my instrumental cover of “When Sunny Gets Blue”. It was written by Marvin Fisher and Jack Segal, and became a jazz standard. The song was first recorded by Johnny Mathis and Ray Conniff and his Orchestra in 1956 as the “B side” to “Wonderful, Wonderful” and became a big hit inits own right.

Here’s That Rainy Day

This is a cover of “Here’s That Rainy Day“, a song with music by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke that was published in 1953. It was first introduced in the Broadway musical Carnival in Flanders. It is an “American Songbook” standard and has been recorded by countless vocal and instrumental artists in many genres.

Rosse Forp

“Rosse Forp” is an original instrumental intended to be in the style of the Shadows…more specifically in the “quasi-jazz” style of their tunes “Nivram” and “Dean’s Theme”.

Cast Your Fate to the Wind

This is my cover of “Cast Your Fate to the Wind”, an instrumental which was originally written and performed by jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. His recording was a top-40 hit in 1963, reaching #22 and staying on the charts for 18 weeks.

Despite the its popularity and straight-forward nature, I could find no recordings by and instrumental guitar bands such as the Ventures or Shadows.

I Will Say Goodbye

This is my instrumental cover of “I Will Say Goodbye”, with music by Michel Legrand. The original French title was “Je Vivrai Sans Toi”. For my arrangement, I tried giving it a setting in the style of the Shadows.

 

Summertime

This is my instrumental version of “Summertime“, which was composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess.  The song soon became a popular and much recorded jazz standard.

The Ventures included a cover on their 1962 album, “Mashed Potatoes and Gravy”, with Nokie Edwards playing the lead.

Corcovado

This is my instrumental version of “Corcovado” (known in English as “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars”) It was written by Antônio Carlos Jobim in 1960. An English lyric was later written by Gene Lees. The Portuguese title refers to the Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro.

Manhã de Carnaval

This is my sixties-style instrumental arrangement of “Manhã de Carnaval” (“Carnival Morning”) by Brazilian composer Luiz Bonfá and lyricist Antônio Maria.

“Manhã de Carnaval” appeared as a principal theme in the 1959 Portuguese-language film, “Black Orpheus”. It was one of the first Bossa Nova compositions to gain popularity outside Brazil. Particularly in the United States, the song has become a jazz standard and is considered to be one of the most important Brazilian Jazz/Bossa songs that helped establish the Bossa Nova movement in the late 1950s.

We Few

“We Few” is an original jazz/fusion composition that I wrote back in 2011, during my “Palindrome” period. The guitar part shows has some country influence. I think this is one of my better original tunes.

Mainstream

“Mainstream” is an original “smooth jazz” tune. I recently came across the original lead sheet I made for this, and got a bit of a shock. I wrote this FORTY F***ING YEARS AGO!!!. The genre classification “smooth jazz” hadn’t even emerged yet in 1979, even though George Benson pretty much set the table for it with his “Breezin” LP. It was derisively called “Fuzak” back then.

The Lady in my Life

This is my cover of “The Lady in my Life”, written by Rod Temperton, which was first released as a track on Michael Jackson’s album “Thriller” in 1982. It was one of only two tracks on the album to NOT be released as a single. However, countless other artists have covered it.

Night Train

“Night Train” is a twelve-bar blues instrumental first recorded by Jimmy Forrest in 1951. It has been recorded and performed countless times, by musicians in virtually every genre.

The Ventures recorded at least two versions, the first released on their 1960 album “Walk Don’t Run” and the second on the 1964 album, “Walk Don’t Run ’64”.

My arrangement is not a cover of any one specific rendition, but incorporates elements of many.

Caravan

“Caravan” was composed by Juan Tizol and Duke Ellington and first performed by Ellington in 1936.  Irving Mills wrote lyrics, but they are rarely sung.

It quickly became a jazz standard, frequently performed and recorded.

In 1960 the Ventures included the tune on their album “Walk Don’t Run”. It shortly became a staple of their live performances, featuring extended drum solos by Mel Taylor and later Leon Taylor.

My arrangement was inspired by the Ventures approach, although the drum break is fairly short.