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When Lights Are Low (1936)

Origin and Chart Information
Rank349
Music

Benny Carter

LyricsSpencer Williams

Currently, 1000 jazz standards are ranked and have web pages (click on  Songs for the full list).

 The top 100 are fully documented:
 

YearRankTitle
19301Body and Soul
19392All the Things You Are
19353Summertime
19444'Round Midnight
19355I Can't Get Started (with You)
19376My Funny Valentine
19427Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be)
19308What Is This Thing Called Love?
19339Yesterdays
194610Stella By Starlight

Click on Songs for the full list.
Musician's Comments

"When Lights Are Low" is Benny's best-known tune. It is also his best-incorrectly-known tune. Call it on the bandstand and 9 out of 10 players do the Miles Davis bridge. Now, when Miles chose to replace Benny's bridge with the A section in a new key, that was an interesting and valid jazz permutation on the tune. But how many players nowadays know that that bridge was a permutation? How many know the original bridge (which has wonderful changes over which to blow)? Playing that tune is a rough and ready way of finding out whether musicians have taken the time to listen to Carter, or whether the Miles 50s canon (worthy as it is) is as far back as their jazz education goes.

Eric Felten, jazz singer and trombonist
www.ericfelten.com


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Written by the Same Composer or Team...
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.

Benny Carter and Spencer Williams

YearRankTitle
1936349When Lights Are Low

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