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Thelonious Monk’s
“Evidence” was first titled “Justice”
and then “We Named it Justice,”
both puns of the song on which it
was loosely based, “Just You, Just
Me.” |
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- JW
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Marion
Davies and
Cliff Edwards introduced “Just
You, Just Me” in the 1929 MGM film
Marianne. Also in the cast
were Lawrence Gray, George Baxter,
and Benny Rubin. Marianne
was only moderately successful at
the box office. According to Clive
Hirschhorn in
Hollywood Musicals, it was
“the only musical in the history
of the genre in which the leading
lady and a pig attempt to upstage
one another.”
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“Just You, Just Me” has fared
much better than Marianne,
becoming the most recognized song
written by either Jesse Greer or
Raymond Klages. The 1929
Cliff Edwards recording was
on the pop charts for two weeks,
rising to number 13, and subsequently,
“Just You, Just Me” was recorded
hundreds of times by over one hundred
artists.
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Raymond Klages was a lyricist
for numerous Broadway and Hollywood
musicals. Jesse Greer was actually
the pen name for vaudevillian comedienne/singer
Josephine Harmon, whose real name
was Josephine Greer. She has been
called a “kind of cross between
Sophie Tucker and Fanny Brice,”
and, in addition to performing,
she wrote nearly 200 songs which
appeared in Broadway and Hollywood
musicals during the 1920s and 1930s.
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According to www.monkzone.com
the “Official Thelonious Sphere
Monk Website,” the (Monk) composition,
“Evidence,”
which was first recorded on July
2, 1948, went by various names,
notably “Justice” and “We Named
it Justice,” both puns of the song
on which it was loosely based, “Just
You, Just Me.” “Just Us” became
“Justice” and finally “Evidence.”
Both “Just You, Just Me” and “Evidence”
are available from a 1964 session
on
Thelonious Monk's,
Live at the It Club
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Musical analysis of
“Just You, Just Me”
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| Original
Key |
C major |
| Form |
A – A – B
– A |
| Tonality |
Major throughout |
| Movement |
Generally
downward by step, with some upward skips.
Sustained and repeated notes; some arpeggiation. |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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Slow rhythm, both melodically and harmonically,
makes this an ideal “jam” tune. Melodic
structure is generally confined to chord
tones, making it easier to use exotic chord
substitutions and extended harmonies. The
progression of “A” bears some relation to
“rhythm changes” (“I
Got Rhythm”) in that a I – VI7 – ii
– V7 is used, followed by a variation of
I– I7 – IV – iv. (This tune substitutes
a bVII7 – Bb7 in the key of C – for the
iv chord.) The differences are that this
tune goes through the I – VI7 – ii V7 only
once, with each chord lasting twice as long–and
that VI7 is substituted for vi. The last
four measures of “B” turn this progression
on its head, going I – vi – II7 – V7. (The
vi here is preceded by a III7, presumably
because of the melody note at that point.) |
K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com
Check out K. J. McElrath's book of Jazz Standards Guide Tone Lines at his web site (www.bardicle.com). |
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The melody of “Just You, Just Me” starts with
a simple two-note ascending motif (“just you”) then
follows with the same motif a little bit lower (“just
me”). That’s it--a total of four notes in the first
four measures of the tune! And in case you didn’t
get it, the same motif appears at the beginning
of the bridge (“oh gee”). It’s a classic example
of “sometimes simple is better.”
The chord progression of this tune is particularly
attractive. Thelonious Monk liked it so much that
he used it as the basis for his own tune “Evidence.”
Jazz composers have made a common practice of setting
new melodies to old chord progressions. Gershwin’s
“I Got Rhythm” spawned several subsequent bebop
tunes, such as Charlie Parker’s ”Anthropology” and
Sonny Rollins’ “Oleo,” just as Cole Porter’s “What
Is This Thing Called Love” led to Tadd Dameron’s
“Hot House.”
A student of mine came into his lesson a few
months ago and proudly presented me with a new tune
of his called “Acquittal,” based on “Evidence”;
he was shocked to discover that the lineage was
even longer than he suspected!
Randy
Halberstadt, jazz pianist and professor
www.randyhalberstadt.com
Are you a
published Vocalist or Instrumentalist?
Add a comment and we'll credit you with a link
to your site. (more...)
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“Just You, Just Me”
was included in these films:
- This Could Be the Night (1957)
- New York, New York (1977,
Liza Minnelli)
- Everyone Says I Love You (1997,
opening song, Helen Miles Singers)
- The Prize (1963)
- Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
- Nat King Cole: Encore
(2004, compilation DVD)
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Click on a CD for more details
at Amazon.com
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Swings Lightly
1992, Polygram 517535
Original recording, 1958
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| Ella is backed here by the superb
Marty Paich Dek-tette in an up-tempo version
of “Just You, Just Me.” |
Nat King Cole
The Complete After Midnight Sessions
1999, Blue Note
Original recording, 1956, Capitol
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| This is Cole’s jazziest vocal album,
featuring his trio--John Collins (g) and
Charlie Harris (b)--with guests, Lee Young
(d), Willie Smith (as), Harry Edison (tp),
Stuff Smith (violin), and Juan Tizol (tb).
They cover three top standards—“Just You,
Just Me,” “Caravan,” and “Sweet Lorraine.” |
Benny Green
Green’s Blues
2001, Telarc
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| In this solo piano outing Green
polishes off “Just You, Just Me” with a
flurry of notes, displaying the technique
that made him Oscar Peterson’s protégé. |
Lester Young
Verve Jazz Masters 30
1994, Verve 521859
Original recording, 1943
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| This is a three-minute version with
Johnny Guarneri (p), Slam Stewart (b), and
Sid Catlett (d). The CD includes six different
small group sessions and is an excellent
introduction to the saxophonist. A seven-minute
version is available on Lester’s
In Washington D.C., 1956, Volume Three. |
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Xylophonist/vibraphonist Red Norvo’s 1938 version
of this 1929 composition features an arrangement
by Eddie Sauter and some fine solos. A bop-influenced
big band arrangement by Benny Carter from 1943 features
the leader both on alto saxophone and trumpet.
Pianist Eddie Heywood’s 1944 combo recording
spotlights a neat arrangement and great solos by
trombonist Vic Dickenson, alto saxophonist Lem Davis,
trumpeter Doc Cheatham and the leader.
The tune picked up great momentum post-WW2 with
a plethora of small combo recordings. An interesting
recording from 1946 of Buddy Rich’s big band features
a marvelous arrangement by Tadd Dameron, who would
feature prominently in the bebop movement as an
arranger, bandleader, and pianist.
Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian
Red Norvo and His Orchestra
1937-1938
Classics 1192
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Eddie Heywood and His Orchestra
1944-1946
Classic 1038
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Buddy Rich and His Orchestra
1947-1947
Classic 1099
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| This section shows the jazz standards
written by the same writing team. Click on a name
to see all of a writer's jazz standards.
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Additional information on “Just You, Just Me” may be found in:
1 paragraph including the following types of information: film productions and summary.
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