SONG OF THE DAY

“Moody’s Mood For Love” by Elliott Yamin (American Idol Season 5 Encores, RCA Records, 2006). An improvisation by James Moody based on Jerome Kern’s “I’m In The Mood For Love”, with lyrics later added to the jazz improvisation by Eddie Jefferson.

MY TAKE

For the records, American Idol: Season 5 was the last season I watched because I couldn’t stand the show after Elliott Yamin was kicked off. He got third place, so actually I didn’t even watch the finale that season; he wasn’t on it, so I didn’t care. Also, it was quite possibly the most successful group of performers American Idol has ever had in one season because this was the season of Chris Daughtry, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, and, of course, ma’ boy Elliott Yamin, who’s released five albums since Idol (more than idiot winner Taylor Hicks).

This isn’t the song that made me love Elliott; it was his cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks Me Off My Feet” which I blogged about yesterday for Valentine’s day which first slayed me because it’s one of my ultimate favorite songs, and he did that number proud. But his R’n’B interpretation of this classic jazz song introduced me to the world of James Moody, and for that I am forever grateful. So today’s interesting facts are not about Elliott, but instead are a tribute to the legend James Moody (who died just this year) and his masterpiece, “Moody’s Mood For Love”.

INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)

– James Moody (March 26, 1925 – December 9, 2010) was an American jazz saxophone and flute player.

– He was best known for his hit “Moody’s Mood for Love,” an improvisation based on Jerome Kern’s “I’m in the Mood for Love”; in performance, he often improvised vocals for the tune.

– Growing up in New Jersey, he was attracted to the saxophone after hearing George Holmes Tate, Don Byas, and various saxophonists who played with Count Basie, and later also took up the flute.

– He joined the US Army Air Corps in 1943 and played in the “negro band” on the segregated base.

– Following his discharge from the military in 1946 he played be-bop with Dizzy Gillespie for two years. Moody later played with Gillespie in 1964, where his colleagues in the Gillespie group, pianist Kenny Barron and guitarist Les Spann, would be musical collaborators in the coming decades.

– In 1948 he recorded his first session for Blue Note Records, the first in a long recording career playing both saxophone and flute.

– That same year he relocated to Europe, where he stayed for three years, saying he had been “scarred by racism” in the U.S.

– His European work, including the first recording of “Moody’s Mood for Love” saw him add the alto saxophone to his repertoire and helped to establish him as recording artist in his own right, and were part of the growth of European jazz.

– Then in 1952 he returned to the U.S. to a recording career with Prestige Records and others, playing flute and saxophone in bands.

– In a 1998 interview, Moody stated that he believed jazz has definite spiritual resonance.

– On November 3, 2009, Moody appeared live in an interview conducted in both Italian and English (Moody spoke Italian) with the jazz aficionado, Nick “The Nightfly”, on Radio Monte Carlo’s late-night “Monte Carlo Nights” program. The chat featured an amiable Moody talking about his career.

– Moody was an active member of the Bahá’í Faith.

– In 2005, the Moodys established the Moody Scholarship Fund[6] at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College-SUNY.

– Moody was an NEA Jazz Master and often participated in educational programming and outreach, including with the International Association for Jazz Education, or IAJE.

– On November 2, 2010, Moody’s wife announced on his behalf that he had pancreatic cancer, and had chosen not to have it treated aggressively. Moody died in San Diego, on December 9, 2010, of complications from pancreatic cancer.

– Two months after his death, James won the Grammy Award posthumously for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for his album Moody 4B.

– As a sideman, Moody solo’d on Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra – Live at the Royal Festival Hall (1989) “Kush” and “Night in Tunisia”

– “Moody’s Mood for Love” is jazz saxophonist James Moody’s 1949 instrumental solo based on Jerome Kern’s 1935 song “I’m in the Mood for Love” with lyrics later added by Eddie Jefferson.

– James Moody created his improvised solo in 1949 on a visit to Sweden. Moody’s version clearly shows the influence of Charlie Parker.

– Later in 1952, jazz singer Eddie Jefferson wrote lyrics to this improvisation by Moody, a practice known as vocalese. This particular arrangement of the song did not come to be known by its now common title of “Moody’s Mood for Love” until King Pleasure released a very popular vocal version in 1954.

– Following King Pleasure’s successful hit version of “Moody’s Mood for Love” Jimmy McHugh the original author of “I’m in the Mood for Love” sued for copyright infringement and won a partial victory in court. He and Moody eventually agreed to share the proceeds on sales of any versions of the tune.

– King Pleasure’s version included vocals by Blossom Dearie as well as instrumental contributions from Teacho and Band.

– Other artists who later released renditions of the song include Van Morrison, George Benson, Aretha Franklin, Queen Latifah, Tito Puente, Kermit Ruffins, Amy Winehouse, and Quincy Jones in collaboration with Brian McKnight.

– The Tony award-winning musical Jersey Boys featured the song.

– The song also has been featured on an episode of The Cosby Show, as well as in an early 1990s Gap television commercial .

– Another repercussion of Jefferson’s lyrical marriage to Moody’s solo was the impact it had on jazz singer Jon Hendricks. The story goes that Hendricks was sitting in a café when the King Pleasure recording of “Moody’s Mood” came on the jukebox. According to Hendricks, he had been writing “unpopular” songs for some time, but when he heard the recording and realized that it was a saxophone solo with words he decided to change his approach to songwriting. “I didn’t have to stop at 32 bars. Now I could write lyrics for all the parts in the orchestra.” He went on to collaborate with singer/arranger, Dave Lambert, and singer, Annie Ross, to form the group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. The group multi-tracked their voices and recorded the album Sing a Song of Basie in which they sang lyrics by Hendricks to the full arrangements of the Count Basie Orchestra (Ross singing all the trumpet parts, Hendricks singing the saxophone parts and Lambert singing the trombone parts). With the exception of a small rhythm section, all 13 horn parts were reproduced by the three voices dubbed over.

– In 2006, American Idol contestant Elliott Yamin performed the song. His version appears on the album American Idol Season 5: Encores. This version just missed the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #1 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

and live on American Idol: