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“When I
finally met Mr. Haggart with the
letter from Warner-Chappell and
photos of my meeting with them,
he was really surprised...” |
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- Catherine
O'Brien
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Bass player and arranger Bob Haggart composed the song “I’m Free”
in October of 1938 while a member
of
Bob Crosby’s Orchestra. Haggart
wrote the solo within the song with
fellow band mate, trumpeter
Billy Butterfield, in mind.
The band would record “I’m Free”
that very day.
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The following year the publishers
of the song decided “I’m Free” had
potential as a vocal hit, and Johnny
Burke was enlisted to write the
lyrics. In an era when cute and
romantic had given way to urbane,
Burke devised a clever gimmick to
tell a love story: casual conversational
lyrics telling only one side of
the conversation. The result was
“What’s New?”
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The song’s evolution doesn’t
end there. In the 1990’s Australian
jazz vocalist Catherine O’Brien
was visited by piano player, journalist,
and historian Dick Hughes, who told
her that in his opinion, “the best
trumpet solo of all time was
Billy Butterfield playing the
Bob Haggart composition ‘I’m Free’
recorded with the
Bob Crosby Band in 1938.” O’Brien
suggested Hughes write lyrics to
the original title, and when he
declined she spent the course of
an evening and night writing her
own. After tackling another Haggart
song, “My Inspiration,” and gaining
encouragement from local veteran
jazz musicians, O’Brien contacted
Bob Haggart and delighted him by
singing her lyrics over the
phone:
I'm free
You’ve said goodbye and I’m
free
...
© 1994
Catherine O'Brien. All
rights reserved.
(Used by permission)
It took O’Brien a couple of years
to finance a trip to the United
States, but in 1996 she crossed
the Pacific. The singer obtained
copyright permissions for publishing
“What’s New?” as “I’m Free” with
her lyrics and, with paperwork in
hand, met with Haggart at a jazz
festival and again when he was playing
at Zinno’s in Greenwich Village.
O’Brien explains “When I finally
met Mr. Haggart with the letter
from Warner-Chappell and photos
of my meeting with them, he was
really surprised and impressed that
I had met with them and he took
the letter. He told me the history
of the songs and their recordings
over lunch - fascinating stuff!”
Catherine O’Brien recorded both
“I’m Free” and “My Inspiration”
on her 1996 CD LA or Busk.
To see her work, visit
www.catherineobrien.com.
“What’s New?” was introduced
by
Bob Crosby and His Orchestra
with vocalist
Teddy Grace in 1939, rising
to number ten on the pop charts.
Recordings to make the pop charts
include:
-
Bob Crosby and His Orchestra (1939,
Teddy Grace, vocal, #10)
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Bing Crosby (1939, #2)
- Hal Kemp and His Orchestra
(1939,
Nan Wynn, vocal, #11)
-
Benny Goodman and His Orchestra
(1939,
Louise Tobin, vocal, #7)
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And in 1983, “What’s New?” was
the title track for Linda Ronstadt’s
first of three standards CD’s with
arrangements by Nelson Riddle.
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Musical analysis of
“What's New?”
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| Original
Key |
C major,
modulating to F major for the bridge |
| Form |
A1 – A1–
A2 - A1 (see “Comments”) |
| Tonality |
Major throughout |
| Movement |
Primarily
step-wise, descending |
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Comments
(assumed
background)
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This is a lush ballad with a chord progression
similar to “Here’s
That Rainy Day” and the bridge of “Where
Is the Love” (a.k.a. the “Ladybird Turnaround”).
The I goes up to a bIII, proceeding up to
the bVI before dropping a half-step to V7
(in the original key, this is C –Eb7 – Ab7
– G7). The V7 then resolves to the parallel
minor (i), taking a bit of a tonal “detour”
before resolving. The rising movement of
the harmony makes for nice contrast to the
descending motion of the melody (which may
have inspired the lyric, in which the singer
says one thing but is feeling something
else altogether).
The bridge, normally a “B”section, is
simply the same tune and chord progression
with some slight melodic alteration in the
last two measures.
Ballads can be as much of a challenge
to the performer as fast tunes, often more
so. This is a piece that was definitely
meant to be sung and should be performed
in a cantabile manner, requiring
great breath control and tone support for
wind players. Pianists, guitarists and vibraphonists
will definitely want to explore the guide
tones for countermelodies and secondary
motifs that can maintain melodic interest
under the long sustained notes.
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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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I was surprised and interested to learn that the title didn't become
“What’s New” until lyrics were written. I had always assumed that the
title referred to all the “new” keys in the song.
I don’t understand why your analysis (above) says that the tonality is major
throughout, since it goes to the key of Cm in the A-sections and Fm in the
bridge. I understand why you’re calling the bridge another type of A
section, but to me, it still makes sense to think of the song as AABA.
Your analysis shows C - Eb7 - Ab7 - G7. I confess I’ve never heard the
original, but I don't think I’ve ever heard it with a dominant 7th on the bVI chord, and I very much dislike it that way. I do it as
C |Bbm7-Eb7 |
Abmaj7 | Dm7b5 - G7 | Cm6 | Dm7b5-G7 | C
etc. In other words, I see it
as I, then ii-V-I in Ab, then ii-V-i in Cm, then ii-V-I in C. The bridge
is I in F, ii-V-I in Db, and ii-V-i in Fm (and it does not return to major
as the A-sections do).
Gary E. Myers, musician, author
MusicGem
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“What's New?”
was included in these films:
- Dive Bomber (1941)
- Captains of the Clouds
(1942)
- Torch Song Trilogy
(1988,
Billie Holiday)
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Click on a CD for more details
at Amazon.com
Milt Jackson
Wizard of the Vibes
2001, Blue Note
Original recording, 1952
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| Vibraphone master Milt Jackson makes
the difficult look easy with this wonderful
bop rendition of the song. |
Karrin Allyson
Ballads
2001, Concord
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| In this tribute to John Coltrane
vocalist Allyson invests “What’s New?” with
sincere emotion. Nice solos by pianist James
Williams and saxophonist Bob Berg. |
Serge Chaloff
Blue Serge/Boston Blow-Up
2004, Definitive Classics
Original recording, 1955
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| Baritone saxophonist Chaloff would
have been one of jazz’s most prominent musicians
had he not died so young. His work has long
been unavailable, so we can be grateful
for this opportunity to hear this most fluid
of players making the bari seem light as
a feather. |
George Benson
Giblet Gravy
2000, Polygram
Original recording, 1968
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| Guitarist George Benson delivers
“What’s New” with two alternate takes which
build on his slightly funky yet reverent
style of play. |
J.J. Johnson
The Trombone Master
1990, Sony 44443
Original recording, 1957, Columbia
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| Trombonist Johnson gives “What’s
New?” a plaintive reading in the company
of Tommy Flanagan (p), Paul Chambers (b),
and Max Roach (d). |
Frank Sinatra
Only the Lonely
1998, Capitol 94756
Original recording, 1958
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| Whether or not you consider Sinatra
a jazz singer is beside the point. This
early “concept” album with Nelson Riddle
deserves mention for its excellence. |
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Trumpeter
Billy Butterfield was featured on the inaugural
Decca issue of this tune with
Bob Crosby’s Orchestra. Butterfield recorded
the piece several more times: on a session with
pianist Jess Stacy (who had just joined Crosby’s
band) in 1939; with Eddie Condon in 1944; and with
his own band in 1947.
Pianist/composer Tadd Dameron’s 1949 recording
featured brilliant trumpeter Fats Navarro. A few
months later alto saxophonist Charlie Parker produced
his own version. On an album with strings, Clifford
Brown, another brilliant trumpeter (whose life was
cut short by a tragic auto accident), performed
a critically-acclaimed version. Throughout the 1950s
and ‘60s the tune appeared on a number of jazz recordings.
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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Additional information on “What's New?” may be found in:
2 paragraphs including the following types of information: music analysis.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: history and performers.
1 paragraph including the following types of information: history, lyric analysis and performers.
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