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Tatum’s legendary recording brought “Tea for
Two” into the jazz canon ... |
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- Chris Tyle
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“Tea for Two” was introduced
by
Louise Groody and
John Barker in the Broadway
musical, No, No, Nanette,
which opened on September 16, 1925,
at the Globe Theater and ran for
321 performances. The song was known
to the public well before its official
introduction, as the pre-Broadway
run of No, No, Nanette was
so successful in Chicago that its
producer, Harry Frazee, let it play
there for over a year.
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The Benson Orchestra of Chicago
was the first to see their recording
of “Tea for Two” on the pop charts.
Their instrumental rendition was
recorded in August of 1924 and entered
the charts the following January,
rising to number five. That same
month a
Marion Harris recording
climbed the charts to number one
and held that position for three
weeks. All told, the charting
hits were:
- The Benson Orchestra of
Chicago (1925, instrumental,
#5)
-
Marion Harris, (1925, #1)
-
Ben Bernie and His Orchestra
(1925, instrumental, #10)
- Ipana Troubadours (1930,
#15)
-
Teddy Wilson and His Orchestra
(1937, instrumental, #18)
- Art Tatum (1939, instrumental,
#18)
- Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra,
led by Warren Covington (1958,
as “Tea for Two Cha Cha”, instrumental,
#7)
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Also starring Charles Winniger,
No, No, Nanette is about
a wealthy Bible manufacturer accompanying
his ward (Nanette) and her girl
friends to Atlantic City for a weekend.
Problems arise when her boyfriend,
her father’s girlfriends, his wife,
and lawyer arrive unexpectedly.
The show’s score, by composer
Vincent Youmans and lyricists Irving
Caesar and
Otto Harbach, produced a second
jazz standard, “I
Want to Be Happy” (lyrics by
Caesar).
For those familiar with baseball
history, Harry Frazee, former owner
of the Boston Red Sox, is said to
have financed No, No, Nanette
using the proceeds of his $100,000
sale of Babe Ruth to the New York
Yankees in 1919. Red Sox fans have
long blamed the transaction for
the demise of their franchise, calling
it “The Curse of the Bambino.”
According to Glenn Stout, author
of Yankees Century: 100 Years
of New York Yankees Baseball,
“Frazee has become a malevolent
figure like other local symbols
of evil such as the Boston Strangler,
Bucky ‘Bleeping’ Dent, and Don Zimmer.”
Stout goes on to say that, while
it’s a nice story, Frazee did not
use the $100,000 to finance his
play. Frazee was, at that time,
embroiled in an assortment of complex
legal and financial struggles, but
they did not involve his theatrical
interests. If anything, he intended
to use the money for his ongoing
lawsuits, or possibly new ball players.
No, No, Nanette was adapted
to the big screen in 1930 and again
in 1940, both films, at best, mediocre.
In the 1950 Doris Day vehicle entitled
Tea for Two, little of the
No, No, Nanette story line
was retained, but for Day fans it
is considered one of her better
musicals.
In 1971 No, No, Nanette
was revived as No, No, Nanette
– The New 1925 Musical. The
successful show opened January 19,
1971, at the 46th Street Theatre,
ran for 861 performances and won
four Tony awards including Best
Actress for Helen Gallagher. The
revival is also remembered for bringing
tap dancing star Ruby Keeler back
to the stage after 30 years.
For his lyric’s “hook phrase,”
Irving Caesar used the term “Tea
for Two,” originally an 18th
Century English street cry. A vendor
wanting to attract business would
lower the price of a pot of tea
from thruppence to tuppence by shouting,
‘tea for two.’ In the 19th
century, when Victorian ladies and
gentlemen would meet in the afternoon
for tea, the order of “Tea for Two”
was often an early sign of courting.
There are a number of stories
relating how Youmans came up with
the melody for “Tea for Two.” Some
have him so overjoyed with his creation
that he got Caesar out of bed to
write the lyrics. But, according
to David Ewen in his book,
All the Years of American Popular
Music, “Tea for Two” was
written many years before, while
Youmans was still in the Navy. All
accounts do agree, however, that
when he presented the melody to
Caesar, Youmans wanted a lyric then
and there. Caesar wrote what he
thought was a “dummy lyric,” promising
to write the real one the next day.
Apparently Youmans and Caesar reconsidered
in the morning and retained the
quaint lyrics with what Philip Furia
in his book
The Poets of Tin Pan Alley: A History
of America's Great Lyricists
calls “the tritest of rhymes,” the
ee-oo pair.
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Although sentimental, operetta-like
lyrics were fading in popularity
in the early 1900’s, they had not
completely fallen from favor by
1924, especially in Broadway musicals.
But by the middle 1900’s, songs
like “Tea for Two,” thought to be
corny and dated, were relegated
to novelty tune status. A case in
point, “Tea for Two” was the number
Doc Severinsen’s Band would play
while Johnny Carson broke into a
soft-shoe dance when a joke or skit
failed.
Saving the song from extinction,
and responsible for its popularity
as a jazz standard, is the repetitive
and energetic nature of Youmans’
composition. Its refrain is almost
entirely dotted quarter and eighth
notes; its narrow range is just
over one octave; and the bridge
is almost not a bridge, repeating
the main theme in a different key.
William Zinsser comments on “Tea
for Two” and other Youmans songs
in his book
Easy to Remember: The Great American
Songwriters and Their Songs
saying,
By all the laws of music
those songs should be monotonous. But
they’re full of life. Their very
repetitiveness propels them forward, giving
them a nervous momentum…
This coupling of energy and repetition
provides an excellent basis, a unified
composition, upon which jazz musicians
can perform embellishments and improvisations. -JW
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Musical analysis of
“Tea for Two”
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| Original
Key |
Ab major
with false key change to C major during
second “A” section |
| Form |
A1 – A2 –
A3 – B |
| Tonality |
Major throughout |
| Movement |
Almost entirely
in thirds, with a step-wise descent in mm.
1-4 of “B” |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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Melodically repetitive, the harmonic progression
is a fairly undemanding vehicle for improvisation.
In its most basic form (without the embellishing
chords originally written by Youmans), it’s
a ii7 –V7 – I progression in two different
keys until section “B,” which is basically
no more than ii7 – VI7 (V7/ii) – ii7 repeated
several times until a final I –iii˚7 – ii7
turnaround. In reality, Youmans uses several
chord substitutions that make the original
score much more interesting than the way
it is usually played these days. It is worth
the time to track down the original version
when learning this tune. |
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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“Tea for Two”
was included in these films:
- No, No, Nanette (1930)
- No, No, Nanette (1940)
- Tea for Two (1950, Doris Day,
Gordon MacRae)
- Young Man with a Horn (1950,
instrumental)
- With a Song in My Heart (1952,
Susan Hayward dubbed by Jane Froman, Robert
Wagner)
- The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
(1955)
- Sincerely Yours (1955, Liberace)
- Show Biz Bugs (1957, Milt
Franklyn) Bugs BUnny cartoon
- Jazz on a Summer's Day (1960,
Anita O'Day)
- Oscar (1991, Fred Waring and
His Pennsylvanians)
- The Mambo Kings (1992, Mambo
All-Stars)
- Forget Paris (1995)
And on stage:
- No, No, Nanette (1925) Broadway
musical
- No, No, Nanette (1971) Broadway
revival
- No, No, Nanette (1973) London
revival
And on television:
- No, No, Nanette (1951) NBC
Musical Comedy Time
- The Muppet Show (1979, Rowlf,
Lew Zealand) Sseason 3, Episode 62
- Sex and the City (2002, Nancy
Shane) HBO TV series, Season 4, Episode 63,
"Change of a Dress"
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Click on a CD for more details
at Amazon.com
Anita O’Day
Ultimate Anita O’Day
1999, Verve
Original recording, 1956
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| The performances for this compilation
were selected and annotated by fellow vocalist
Alan Paul of Manhattan Transfer. “Tea for
Two” was revived in popularity after O’Day
gave it this signature treatment. |
Lester Young
Lester Young and the Oscar Peterson Trio
1997 Verve 521451
Original recording, 1952
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| “Tea for Two” in the hands of tenor
saxophonist Lester Young is bouncy and sharp.
The incomparable ‘trio’ that accompanies
him is made up of Oscar Peterson at the
piano, Ray Brown on bass, Barney Kessel
on the guitar and J.C. Heard on the drums. |
Thelonious Monk
Criss-Cross
2003, Sony
Original recording, 1963, Legacy
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| Pianist Monk is at his slyest on
two takes of the song. Both tracks are highly
imaginative with touches of humor and a
vibrant splash of ragtime. Bassist John
Ore and drummer Frankie Dunlop are the perfect
foils for Monk’s improvisations. |
Jacky Terrasson/ Cassandra Wilson
Rendezvous
1997, Blue Note 55484
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| Pianist Terrasson and vocalist Wilson
combine to deliver an almost unrecognizable
version of “Tea for Two.” Under their care
the song is slow and melancholic. |
Erroll Garner
That’s My Kick & Gemini
1994, Telarc 83332
Original recording, 1967, Octave Records
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| Hand drums set a highly rhythmic
pace before pianist Garner comes in--on
harpsichord! The unusual Latin setting seems
oddly right for the ancient instrument.
Switching to piano for the mid-section,
Garner keeps it swinging very hard and fills
in the harmony. He closes the tune on harpsichord
with insistent, Monkish single lines. |
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No discussion of this tune would be complete
without crediting Art Tatum, the man who would inspire
generations of jazz musicians with his brilliant
treatment of “Tea for Two.” Although Tatum’s piano
solo recording shared last place with
Teddy Wilson in the pop chart recordings list, it has turned out to be one of
the most famous and influential recordings in jazz
history. Tatum had been playing “Tea for Two” for
years before the recording. It was the song he played
in 1931 at his first cutting session (competition
between bands or musicians) with
Fats Waller and James P. Johnson. That evening,
one man after another took turns, each topping the
other until, with some coaxing from Waller, Tatum
took a seat and played his “Tea for Two.” When he
was done you could hear a pin drop. The gentlemen
had met their match!
Tatum’s legendary recording brought “Tea for
Two” into the jazz canon, but that was not all it
accomplished. His use of substitute chords, popularized
by his 1939 recording in which he completely
transforms the third chorus, would have a profound
and lasting effect on the way jazz musicians improvise
on popular songs.
Renowned jazz pianist Michel Camilo remembers
hearing Tatum’s “Tea for Two” on the radio at age
fourteen. As a result the classically trained youth
decided to become a jazz musician. “I found out
that was called jazz, and I fell in love with it.
Then I found out that was improvisation, which for
me is instant composition.”
Jazz historian Joe Mosbrook, in his Jazzed
in Cleveland series (www.cleveland.oh.us/wmv_news)
tells how Oscar Peterson first met Tatum at the
Cleveland club, Val’s in the Alley.
[Peterson recounts,] “We had a beer or two and
I said, `Hey, man, I’d like to hear you play!’ Tatum
said, `You play first.’” Peterson said he was young
and eager, so he did. “When I finished, Tatum told
me, `Hey, I like your style very much.’” Tatum asked
him what he wanted to hear. Peterson said, “Something
like `Tea For Two.’” “I couldn’t believe what I
was hearing, said Peterson, “I’m about six foot
four and I was leaning against the piano and my
legs just went to water. By the time he got through
three more numbers, I couldn’t take it anymore….”
Art Tatum’s 1939 recording of “Tea for Two”
was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in
1986.
The grand master’s collection of standards,
Piano Starts Here, illustrates the unmatched
clarity and speed of his playing and contains his
1933 rendition of “Tea for Two.” -JW
The Quintette of the Hot Club of France, the
group that starred Belgian-gypsy guitarist Django
Reinhardt and French violinist Stephane Grappelli,
recorded a sublime rendition of “Tea for Two” in
May, 1939.
Reinhardt and Grappelli open the proceedings
on the verse, out-of-tempo. This is a version of
the tune without fireworks, taken at a medium tempo,
perfect for dancing at a Montmartre cabaret. Django’s
solo is magical, perhaps one of his best, especially
the second-half where he repeatedly hits a single
note, allowing it to resonate, then improvises a
few bars. Grappelli follows him in a solo borrowing
some ideas from the virtuoso American jazz violinist
Joe Venuti. The tune ends with a shortened version
of the verse, as before out-of-tempo, with just
Django and Stephane. Jazz musique par excellence.
Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian
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| This section shows the jazz standards
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Additional information on “Tea for Two” may be found in:
1 paragraph including the following types of information: music analysis.
3 pages including the following types of information: history and lyric analysis.
2 paragraphs including the following types of information: history.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: film productions, history and performers.
1 page including the following types of information: music analysis.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: summary, lyric analysis and music analysis.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: history and performers.
1 page including the following types of information: history, performers, style discussion and song writer discussion.
Includes the following types of information: song lyrics.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: history.
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