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“...tenor saxophonist
Bennie Wallace seems able to reference
a panoply of jazz legends in his
playing ... This is a fantastic,
underrecognized album.” |
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- Andrew Bartlett
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In
the liner notes for
Ella Swings Gently with Nelson,
jazz critic Benny Green comments,
“’My One and Only Love’ is one of
the most finely wrought ballads
to be written in the postwar period.”
While many would agree with Green
now, the song was far from an instant
hit.
The song originated in 1947 as
“Music from Beyond the Moon,” with
music by Guy B. Wood and lyrics
by Jack Lawrence. In 1948 Vic Damone
recorded the song as did
Tony Martin the following year,
but neither could generate a hit.
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And then Robert Mellin appeared
on the scene. Mellin fit the ballad
with a new set of lyrics, and the
public took notice. The song was
included on the flip side of
Frank Sinatra’s 1953 recording
of “I’ve
Got the World on a String” and
rose to number 28 on the charts.
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Following the song’s A1-A2-B-A3 format, Lawrence’s
lyrics for the first A section start and end with,
“You came along and filled my empty arms … Music
from beyond the moon.” Robert Mellin matches that
with “The very thought of you makes my heart sing
… My one and only love.” Lawrence’s lyrics have
seven syllables as opposed to the six in Mellin’s
“My One and Only Love.” Lawrence fits in his extra
syllable by shoehorning “from” into the same space
as the “be” part of “beyond.” For those who would
like to hear the original “Music from Beyond the
Moon,” it can be found on Vic Damone’s CD’s
Again,
Young Vic and
Cocktail Hour.
-JW
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Musical analysis of
“My One and Only Love”
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| Original
Key |
C Major;
false key change to E minor during the bridge |
| Form |
A1 - A2 –
B – A3 |
| Tonality |
“A” is primarily
major; “B” is minor |
| Movement |
Generally
upward by steps, occasional skips, and an
occasional leap; descent is by step, skip
and leap. It’s a fairly busy melody with
few sustained or long pitches. |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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Descending bass makes for a nice contrast
with the ascending melodic line and creates
interesting chord inversions. Initial chord
progression is common, I – II7 – V7, but
the descending bass and embellishing chords
give it a sophisticated sound. Generally,
the “A” is extremely active both melodically
(mainly eighth notes jumping everywhere)
and harmonically (a chord change every two
beats and sometimes on every beat due to
the bass movement.) After this, the relative
simplicity of “B” with its repetition and
repeated motivic figures is a relief giving
the performer a chance to catch his/her
breath before returning to “A”.
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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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“My One and Only Love”
was included in these films:
- They All Laughed (1981, Art
Tatum and Ben Webster)
- Let’s Get Lost (1988, Chet
Baker) documentary of Baker
- Leaving Las Vegas (1995, Sting)
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Click on a CD for more details
at Amazon.com
John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman
John Coltrane/Johnny Hartman
1995, GRP157
Original recording, 1963, Impulse!
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| This is considered by many to be
the definitive version of the song. Reviewer
Richard S. Ginell comments “… Coltrane’s
eloquence and the warm, masculine baritone
of Hartman can still break your heart.” |
Horace Silver
Stylings of Silver
2002, Blue Note
Original recording, 1957
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| Pianist Silver gives the ballad
some color without straying too far. Saxophonist
Hank Mobley and trumpeter Art Farmer paint
the background, allowing Silver to stay
in the forefront. |
Ranee Lee
Seasons of Love
1997, Justin Time 103
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| Vocalist Ranee Lee delivers a smoldering
rendition of the song that is high on emotion
and elegantly arranged. |
Jimmy Rowles/Red Mitchell/Donald Bailey
Trio
1994, Capri 74009
Original recording, 1998
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| Three masters investigate this standard,
handling it very gently. |
Bennie Wallace
Old Songs
1993, Audioquest 1017
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| There’s a certain sense of irreverence
about the tenor saxophonist whose octave
leaps can shake you out of the doldrums,
but “My One and Only Love” gets the full
romantic treatment here. |
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Tenor saxophonist Charlie Ventura came to prominence
with Gene Krupa’s Orchestra. His 1953 recording
of “My One and Only Love” is a marvelous treatment
of the tune and the first instrumental jazz treatment.
A year later, Benny Carter, the multi-talented
Swing-era icon, recorded a beautiful, lyrical version
on alto saxophone. Carter was an amazing musician
who weathered the stylistic changes in jazz, and
his career continued unabated until his death in
2003 at age 94.
In 1955, ex-Lionel Hampton trombonist Jimmy Cleveland’s
first album as leader contained a first-rate rendition
of the number, plus wonderful tenor saxophone by
Lucky Thompson.
Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian
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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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