SONG OF THE DAY
“Prelude To A Kiss” by Duke Ellington & His Orchestra (This Is Jazz #7, Columbia/Legacy, 1996). Written by Duke Ellington in 1938.
MY TAKE
I heard this song today during the credits of the most recent Mad Men episode, and what a thrill…the lyrics and melody came flooding back, and I just knew this had to be the Song of the Day.
I was huge into Duke and the This Is Jazz series throughout high school and a little of college, and this has always stood out as truly one of my favorite jazz melodies and female vocal parts. Though it was probably inevitable that I would love jazz due to my father’s own love of the genre, my love of Duke started specifically because the man and I share a birthday.
When I was fourteen, I bought this album to get to know the man and his music better, and my world was suddenly opened. My fascination for Duke quickly led me to some of the greatest voices to cover his works: Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. I’ve held an undying devotion to both singers for a long time now, and it is entirely due to my earnest search for Duke Ellington recordings that I found them at all. Of course, a discovery of these women greatly expanded my jazz standards horizon, and quickly led to discoveries of Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Decca Records, and the great Bossa Nova movement—all discoveries which I continue to delve deeper into each year.
DOWNLOAD
I was totally dissatisfied with the youtube.com offerings for this song, though I’ll admit that this is entirely due to the fact that I am a purist. For this post and this song, I was not satisfied with a cover or a remake or a reinterpretation (or an Alicia Keys song of the name name which bears no resemblance to the original). So, here’s the MP3 of the version I want you to hear:
Did you hear it? Isn’t her voice ethereal? If only I could find out who SHE is/ was….the track is listed as being recorded by Duke Ellington & His Orchestra….I need to find the liner notes….will update….