Standard jazz tunes written by non-Americans

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

I was listening to Wild Bill Davis at Birdland a week or so ago and, after his swinging treatment of 'Lullaby of Birdand' it occurred to me to wonder how much standard jazz material was written by non-Americans. I couldn't think of much. Four or, possibly, five is all I came up with.

George Shearing - Lullaby of Birdland

Toots Thielemans - Bluesette

Django Reinhart - Nuages

Joe Zawinul - Mercy, mercy, mercy

Ray Noble - Cherokee ? (not sure whether this was a converted pop song or if it was intended to be a jazz instrumental)

I'm sure it's only my lack of knowledge that's made the list so short. Please fill in the enormous gap.

MG

[BillF]

Try this for starters:

http://www.allmusic.com/album/hits-by-brits-mw0000483722

Edited December 19, 2015 by BillF

[fasstrack]

Sometime Ago, bySergio Mihanovich.

Estate, Bruno Martino (music) and Bruno Brighetti (lyrics).

(Excuse the weird fonts,copied and pasted from a google search for the composers).

Edited December 19, 2015 by fasstrack

[sidewinder]

'So Near So Far' - Tony Crombie

[jazztrain]

There are lots of examples.

More Ray Noble standards include:

• The Touch of Your Lips
• The Very Thought of You
• I Hadn't Anyone Till You

"Autumn Leaves" by Joseph Kosma (music) and Jacques Prevert (lyrics)

"Besame Mucho" by Consuelo Velasquez

Lots of Antonio Carlos Jobim tunes.

 

 

 

[JSngry]

 

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

17 minutes ago, jazztrain said:

There are lots of examples.

More Ray Noble standards include:

• The Touch of Your Lips
• The Very Thought of You
• I Hadn't Anyone Till You

"Autumn Leaves" by Joseph Kosma (music) and Jacques Prevert (lyrics)

"Besame Mucho" by Consuelo Velasquez

Lots of Antonio Carlos Jobim tunes.

 

 

 

Thanks for mentioning the songs. But all the ones you mentioned started off as songs. I'm looking for jazz instrumentals that started off as jazz instrumentals and became part of the jazz musician's regular book.

Don't know about Jobim tunes and seeing his name, I thought about:

'Samba d'Orfeu' and 'Carnaval', both from the film 'Black Orpheus' and by Luiz Bonfa. I don't THINK either of those  started out as pop songs. From what I can remember, they were instrumentals in the film and not Brazilian pop songs.

The only Jobim tune I know that was an instrumental is 'Desafinado' but I don't think it's anything like as much a part of the jazz book as 'Girl from Ipanema', which was a song. Though 'Wave'... ? Dunno.

MG

PS And Jim, 'O sole mio' was a pop song. And who played it as a jazz number except Gator Tail?

NB FOREIGN pop music is as much pop music as Gershwin's.

 

[jazztrain]

So, are you looking for songs without lyrics or that originally had no lyrics?  Something like Ellington's "Concerto for Cootie" which became "Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me?"  Of course, that was written by an American.  Just trying to understand your parameters.

[fasstrack]

2 minutes ago, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

 

'Samba d'Orfeu' and 'Carnaval', both from the film 'Black Orpheus' and by Luiz Bonfa. I don't THINK either of those  started out as pop songs. From what I can remember, they were instrumentals in the film and not Brazilian pop songs.

 

MG

Samba d'Orfeo was sung in the film by those charming kids who believed that Orfeo could make the sun rise. The film ends with that scene. I also believe Manha de Carnival was sung in the film by the Orfeo character.

Maybe not 'pop' songs, but songs. 

[BillF]

5 minutes ago, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

Thanks for mentioning the songs. But all the ones you mentioned started off as songs. I'm looking for jazz instrumentals that started off as jazz instrumentals and became part of the jazz musician's regular book.

 

 

Victor Feldman's "Seven Steps to Heaven" and "Joshua" are the first to come to mind.

[jazztrain]

How about "Frenesi" by Alberto Dominguez?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Ah! I had the feeling that Vic must have written a standard. Thanks Bill. Yes, even Dr Lonnie has recorded 'Seven steps to heaven'.

'Joshua' - don't know the tune, only the song about the one who fit the battle of Jericho into a small briefcase.

MG

7 minutes ago, jazztrain said:

So, are you looking for songs without lyrics or that originally had no lyrics?  Something like Ellington's "Concerto for Cootie" which became "Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me?"  Of course, that was written by an American.  Just trying to understand your parameters.

Yeah, that's right. Lots of Ellington stuff falls into that category.

MG

51 minutes ago, fasstrack said:

Sometime Ago, bySergio Mihanovich.

Estate, Bruno Martino (music) and Bruno Brighetti (lyrics).

(Excuse the weird fonts,copied and pasted from a google search for the composers).

I don't know that tune at all. Never even heard OF it to my (present) knowledge. Has it been much recorded or played by jazz musicians?

MG

10 minutes ago, jazztrain said:

How about "Frenesi" by Alberto Dominguez?

Damn good! Looked it up and it WAS an instrumental, written for the marimba. Words apparently added later.

MG

[fasstrack]

8 minutes ago, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

Ah! I had the feeling that Vic must have written a standard. Thanks Bill. Yes, even Dr Lonnie has recorded 'Seven steps to heaven'.

'Joshua' - don't know the tune, only the song about the one who fit the battle of Jericho into a small briefcase.

MG

Yeah, that's right. Lots of Ellington stuff falls into that category.

MG

I don't know that tune at all. Never even heard OF it to my (present) knowledge. Has it been much recorded or played by jazz musicians?

MG

 

 

10 minutes ago, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

Ah! I had the feeling that Vic must have written a standard. Thanks Bill. Yes, even Dr Lonnie has recorded 'Seven steps to heaven'.

'Joshua' - don't know the tune, only the song about the one who fit the battle of Jericho into a small briefcase.

MG

Yeah, that's right. Lots of Ellington stuff falls into that category.

MG

I don't know that tune at all. Never even heard OF it to my (present) knowledge. Has it been much recorded or played by jazz musicians?

MG

Don't know to which you refer, but both Estate and Sometime Ago have been recorded multiple times. Notable examples: Chet Baker (Estate), and Joe Pass (Sometime Ago).

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

54 minutes ago, sidewinder said:

'So Near So Far' - Tony Crombie

Another one I've never heard of. Have any jazz musicians, except Mr Crombie and his Rock & Roll Rockets recorded it?

MG

[fasstrack]

2 minutes ago, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

Another one I've never heard of. Have any jazz musicians, except Mr Crombie and his Rock & Roll Rockets recorded it?

MG

Miles Davis. Joe Henderson (in a tribute to Miles CD by, I think, the same name).

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

3 minutes ago, fasstrack said:

 

 

Don't know to which you refer, but both Estate and Sometime Ago have been recorded multiple times. Notable examples: Chet Baker (Estate), and Joe Pass (Sometime Ago).

'Estate ' is a tune? Oh, I thought it was part of the credits.

Shows up my lack of knowledge: neither Baker nor Pass (without McCann) are on my radar.

MG

1 minute ago, fasstrack said:

Miles Davis. Joe Henderson (in a tribute to Miles CD by, I think, the same name).

No one else? I know if MIles played something rafts of musicians will do it too, but I STILL never heard of it

MG

[JSngry]

28 minutes ago, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

'O sole mio' was a pop song. And who played it as a jazz number except Gator Tail?

 

 

After he did it, who else needed to?

[fasstrack]

5 minutes ago, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

'Estate ' is a tune? Oh, I thought it was part of the credits.

Shows up my lack of knowledge: neither Baker nor Pass (without McCann) are on my radar.

MG

Pronounced Esh-tah-tey. I don't know how to indicate the foreign pronunciation mark---whatever it's called. 

Edited December 19, 2015 by fasstrack

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

2 minutes ago, JSngry said:

After he did it, who else needed to?

Well, of COURSE!

MG

5 minutes ago, fasstrack said:

Pronounced Es-tah-tey. I don't know how to indicate the foreign pronunciation mark---whatever it's called. 

Must be an acute e. When faced with one, I type the word café then copy the é.

Well, are those two tunes real standard parts of the jazz musician's book, or just one or two?

MG

[JSngry]

Shirley Horn did a beautiful version of "Estate". I assumed that it has always had pre-English lyrics, perhaps not? Either way, this began asa pop song, correct? Not what is being looked for, correct? I am confused, correct!

 

[Teasing the Korean]

Several by Michel Legrand, including "I Will Wait for You," "Watch What Happens," "Pieces of Dreams," "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life," and "Once Upon a Summertime."  

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

52 minutes ago, JSngry said:

Shirley Horn did a beautiful version of "Estate". I assumed that it has always had pre-English lyrics, perhaps not? Either way, this began asa pop song, correct? Not what is being looked for, correct? I am confused, correct!

 

Oh, I have that song 'Here's to life' by Irene Reid! And that's 'Estaté'; well, well.

MG

36 minutes ago, Teasing said:

Several by Michel Legrand, including "I Will Wait for You," "Watch What Happens," "Pieces of Dreams," "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life," and "Once Upon a Summertime."  

Oh, some of those were instrumentals to start off with, I'm sure; 'Watch what happens', 'Pieces of dreams', both of which I SHOULD have remembered, and... 'Once upon a summertime'? I know Miles recorded it with, I think, Gil Evans, on a Latin LP I used to have of his, but was that the start of it? I somehow doubt it.

(And yes, I did buy half a dozen Miles albums before I gave him up as a bad job.)

I'm sure the other two started out as songs, but maybe they changed their titles when someone wrote words.

'I will wait for you' makes me think of Dizzy Gillespie and 'Tin tin deo', which was written by Mr Pozo, a Cuban. So that one DEFINITELY goes in the list.

And didn't Mongo Santamaria write a jazz standard? Can't remember, but I CAN remember that he did (I think).

MG

[sidewinder]

1 hour ago, The Magnificent Goldberg said:

Another one I've never heard of. Have any jazz musicians, except Mr Crombie and his Rock & Roll Rockets recorded it?

MG

Joe Henderson.... Miles

[BillF]

Estate (es-tah-tay) means summer in Italian and has no accents.

Where are you, Porcy?

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

12 minutes ago, sidewinder said:

Joe Henderson.... Miles

 

12 minutes ago, sidewinder said:

Joe Henderson.... Miles

Two recordings (one a tribute to the other) hardly make a standard part of the Jazz literature.

MG

18 minutes ago, BillF said:

Estate (es-tah-tay) means summer in Italian and has no accents.

Where are you, Porcy?

Oh, I just looked up the Irene Reid version of the song, and it's not the song! It's the title song of the Shirley Horn album! (Written by two different people; P J Molinary and Artie Butler.)

Oops! Bad misunderstanding.

MG