Here’s the recipe, or perhaps the prescription:
And the first musical exhortation, this by Mamie Smith (Note: I’ve consciously not written out the known personnel on each of these musical therapies, thinking it a distraction. If you need to know who’s in the section, write in and I will look it up in Tom Lord’s discography.):
Step two:
and another contemporaneous version, by Lou Gold and his Orchestra:
and the next step:
and the Fletcher Henderson version, arranged by Benny Carter:
Another step:
and the Ellington version that thrills me — vocal by Chick Bullock (whom I like):
Another step:
and the Red Nichols version, where Jack Teagarden delivers the sermon:
and the frankly amazing recording of Bill Robinson. Follow along!
That’s a hard act to follow, but here are three “modern” versions that have delicious energy of their own. First, Jeff Barnhart:
and one version by Marty Grosz (there’s another, easily found, on YouTube) where he borrows liberally from Fats’ DON’T LET IT BOTHER YOU for the opening:
and this Teddy Wilson-styled small-group masterpiece by Rebecca Kilgore and Hal Smith’s Rhythmakers:
May your happiness increase!
The alas short lived Alex Hill was also a fine pianist. He can be heard in both capacities on two of his originals, Tennessee Twilight and Madam Dynamite, two takes of both, on a great Eddie Condon session that also produced The Eel…
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