Summertime

This post is a part of "standards", and I will always upgrade these posts when I have something new.

How could I draw summer if not with this standard? Summertime is by George Gershwin, from the 1935 opera: Porgy & Bess. It's one of the most known jazz standards, and many jazz musicians have performed it in many ways (that's what I love in jazz standards, the many possible ways of performance).

Summertime,

And the livin' is easy

Fish are jumpin'

And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich

And your mamma's good lookin'

So hush little baby

Don't you cry

One of these mornings

You're going to rise up singing

Then you'll spread your wings

And you'll take to the sky

But till that morning

There's a'nothing can harm you

With daddy and mamma standing by

Summertime,

And the livin' is easy

Fish are jumpin'

And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich

And your mamma's good lookin'

So hush little baby

Don't you cry.

Some albums on which you can hear it:

• Art Blakey Quartet - A jazz message
• Charlie Shavers - Complete Intimate Interpretations
• Chet Baker - The last great concert
• Duke Ellington - Complete Gus Wildi recordings
• Ella Fitzgerald - Pure Ella
• Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - Porgy & Bess
• George Benson - It's uptown
• Jim Hall - The unreleased sessions
• John Coltrane - My favorite things
• Miles Davis - Porgy and Bess
• Ray Brown - Summertime
• Sarah Vaughan - Sarah Vaughan sings George Gershwin

Some videos - Summertime in the performance of:

• Bill Evans Trio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p_dHE5hQIA
• Billie Holiday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5ddqniqxFM
• Chick Corea & Hiromi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2m4Oy9TWmo
• George Benson & Jill Scott: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCaPno7QChY
• Keith Jarrett: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9CjfpWq3M8
• Ray Brown Trio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9frgJdwYNC8