Thursday, October 13, 2016

Post-Bop and Avant-Garde Jazz Saxophonist Keith Gamble: Body And Soul Celebrates 87 Years

Post-Bop and Avant-Garde Jazz Saxophonist Keith Gamble: Body And Soul Celebrates 87 Years:      True or false - Coleman Hawkins wrote Body and Soul? The answer is false, but Coleman Hawkins`s 1939 recording of Body and Soul is hist...

Body And Soul Celebrates 87 Years

     True or false - Coleman Hawkins wrote Body and Soul? The answer is false, but Coleman Hawkins`s 1939 recording of Body and Soul is historic. This week we celebrate 87 years of Body and Soul. As saxophonist James Carter says, "'Body and Soul' was and is a sonic beacon that showed us how sensuous and rhapsodic the tenor saxophone could be!!"

     Body and Soul was first performed in 1930. by singer Gertrude Lawrence in her live London performance. Hollywood songwriter and conductor Johnny Green wrote "Body and Soul" for Gertrude Lawrence while in London. Body and Soul was a feature selection in the production "Threes A Crowd" in London, England. Also that year, Body and Soul was recorded by Louis Armstrong. However, the most significant and historic performance comes from Coleman Hawkins in his October 11, 1939 recording of Body and Soul. Body and Soul is such an important piece it has been placed into the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.

     Many have recorded Body and Soul. There are nearly 3,000 recordings and broadcast performances of Body and Soul. Coleman Hawkins` performance of Body and Soul on his 1939 recording is textbook for ballad playing. Coleman Hawkins 1939 recording represents early tremors of bebop, and also established the tenor saxophone as a major jazz instrument. Body and Soul was such a special piece that it represents one of a few standards recorded by John Coltrane. John Coltrane re-harmonized Body and Soul in 1960.

     A defining moment in jazz, Body and Soul is considered an evolutionary leap in jazz. Body and Soul is a beautiful display of interpretation and improvisation of a ballad. Body and Soul represents a major development in jazz evolution, and opened the door for a new era of jazz.