Wednesday, February 12, 2014

What's your favorite jazz love ballad?


As Valentine’s Weekend approaches, we'd love to know: what’s your favorite jazz love ballad?

We started a conversation on Facebook and Twitter yesterday that posed this very question. To get the ball rolling, the SFJAZZ Staff came up with a few:

“Save Your Love For Me” (Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley)
"It's Always You" (Chet Baker)
"You're My Everything" (Miles Davis)



A steady stream of responses came in throughout the day. On Facebook, Aaron Levin commented: "Charles Mingus - 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat' (yes, it is a love ballad!)." A different kind of love, perhaps? Rebecca Jensen Flanegan later added, "'Midnight Sun' written by Hampton/Burke/Mercer and sung by Sarah Vaughan." View more favorites on SFJAZZ Facebook.

Responses also came in on the Twitter-verse. Neil Shurtz ‏(@NeilShurtz) tweeted "'I'm Old Fashioned,' Chet Baker's version in particular." Joanna Sage ‏(@Jazzjoanner) later responded, "'All of You' by Cole Porter." See highlights from the Twitter feed.


SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Directors, Collective members and family also chimed in. Pianist Jason Moran (@morethan88) tweeted, "'My One and Only Love' - Hartman & Coltrane." Saxophonist Miguel Zenón then added "'Embraceable You' (George & Ira Gershwin)" and pianist Eric Reed contributed "'It's Easy to Remember' (Rodgers & Hart)." The Hartman/Coltrane collaboration was by far the most popular pick across the board. Late to the conversation, drummer Eric Harland admitted that Jason Moran "took mine, so --> 'Peace' - Horace Silver." Take a moment to think about your favorite jazz ballads and please tell us about it in the comments...


To see what's up at the SFJAZZ Center over Valentine's Day weekend, visit sfjazz.org.

1 comment:

Joshua Bleier said...

"Beautiful Love". Composed by Abdullah Ibrahim, but the version that really tugs at your heartstrings is the one from Charles Fambrough's "The Charmer". Ibrahim is featured on the piano for this track, and it brings tears to my eyes every time.

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