The old songs very often had introductions that went by the wayside when jazz standards became de rigeur. It's a shame because they give context and contrast to the song. Yesterday a friend sang me After You've Gone (written in 1918) with the preamble and it made me smile. It's now on my 'to learn'
You can sit around waiting for inspiration to strike, or you can look a song straight in the eye and work on it. I quite enjoyed the word association exercise I did this week and it resulted in a song. In the end I didn't use a lot of the words on the list, but
I love old songs, especially when they pop up according to what I'm working on. This one landed on my radar in the middle of making a costume for some events about Mrs Muller, the 19th century Umbrella Maker of Ballarat. The Umbrella Man was written in 1924, but not recorded until 1939. It's a
Good live music is so good. Scott Cook's gig tonight at the Ararat Town Hall was quietly wonderful at every level. Great venue, beautiful sound, excellent songs, and two warm-hearted, skilled musicians sharing their music generously with the audience. It's like having your heart tucked up in a big, warm blanket.(And now I have a
'Tis Robbie Burns Day today, in honour of the heartfelt and cheeky Scottish poet and songwriter from the 18th century. He was a prolific writer and collector of songs who published well and thus left us with a substantial œuvre - the Complete Works of Robert Burns is 12 volumes. It has been a delight
cervelas - saucisson cuit, gros et court, haché très fin, assex épicé (cooked sausage, fat and short, very finely minced, a bit spicy). The word, and one can assume the sausage, has its origins in 16th century France. The sausage was orignally made of pork meat and brains, hence the name cervelas, which comes from
I love the power of music to set the tone for the day. I listen to music in the shower (a little habit picked up in a share house in Brunswick in the late 1990s) and this morning's choice was Peggy Lee's Walking Happy, recorded in 1967. It starts simply with a walking bass line
What a treat to find the original manuscript of something centuries old at the tap of a button. I've been learning an old French drinking song - Chanson à Boire - and discovered today that it was published in 1615 by Gabriel Bataille. A little more digging down the rabbit hole of the internet and
Would you rather be at the Ritz in Paris or London than in lockdown at home? I certainly would, even if my budget could never, would never, extend that far. I decided that the next best thing is to pour a glass of wine and sing a song about it. I've been meaning to learn
Rehearsing is always a pleasure. Especially when it's for one of my favourite small festivals - Melbourne Ukulele Festival - and one of my favourite songwriters - Leonard Cohen. I was going to post a clip of Leonard singing Come Healing live in Dublin, but the musical wormhole is a rich place. So much material
