Originally, Dani suggested that we collaborate on this great classic by Duke Ellington, but lost in the shuffle while Dani pours out tunes like molten steel from a blast furnace, somehow it was my voice that got behind the tune. ...... ...... Oops!

Also, you've probably noticed Al and Di tearin' up the joint lately, and Di's fabulous voice really belongs here in place of mine, singing the female lyrics.

SATIN DOLL https://soundcloud.com/aleckrand/satin-doll-1

Aleck Rand: guitar, arrangement, vocal

RealTracks Artists

Neil Swainson: phat upright bass
Terry Clarke:...superslick drums

Hey Dean...

I (Al) just took a listen and loving it all the way! Di is already in bed but I'll have her listen to it tomorrow. It's a great old classic and you're not doing too bad of a job yourself! Sounded pretty danged good to me!. And yes, Dani is a music machine.

Nicely done. I'll see what Di has to say tomorrow. Till then...

Al & Di

Very neat song. Very interesting chords. Well sung and played...

Hi Dean,

it's ok with your voice. Can't imagine it to be better
with any different vocals.
Nice guitar as always.

Guenter

Dear friend !:))

You know I tried and failed on this one
so it is more than natural that you sang it
instead ! You did a much better work than I !
That goes for that fabulous guitar solo too !:))


Cheers
Dani

Dean,

Always a pleasure to listen to your work. Enjoyed this one.

Steve

Hi, Dean !

I have not been able to reach you thru email !
I have sent you tunes and even a new jazz tune
for you to play the solo to ? Have you done
some system changes as it seems we are not
able to communicate ??

Cheers
Danilo

Dean,

I reckon that this melody is one of the best ever written. Ellington did a great job. While the lyrics have a dated sound now, Johnny Mercer also came up with some mighty fine words and rhymes that had just the right vibe to match the melody. Prosody at its very best.

That reminds me, I keep meaning to mention to you a book that I think you'd find a very enjoyable read (if you haven't read it already). The book is called ...

"Poets Of Tin Pan Alley"

... and it's written by Philip Furia. It's one of the best summaries and analyses of Tin Pan Alley from the 1920s to the 1950s that I've ever read. I'm just about to re-read it for the fourth time!

Back to the song at hand ...

I enjoyed this one!

All the best,
Noel

Hi Dean.

Can tell you had fun with this one! Vocal and guitar sound terrific.

I thought the bass needed some more oomph. And let that drummer out of the closet...

Nice arrangement.

floyd

A really nice listen and with the typical fine guitar. Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn and Johnny Mercer -- doesn't get any classier.

Hi Steve,

I'm glad you gave a listen and I hope you saw my comment on your Silent Night. I'm always amazed by the way you Texas guys can sang, brother! You know, there's a "Texas sound" among tenor sax players and probably lots of other instruments too. Is it something in the air?

And thank you for the kind remarks.

Dean

Hi Noel,

Good to hear from you. Yes, I have heard of Poets of Tin Pan Alley and after hearing that you're reading it for the fourth (!) time (in my entire life I think there was a single book that I read three times) I'll have to get hold of it.

Yeh, it's true that the lyrics have that "zoot suit"-era nostalgia, but they went hand-in-hand with the music and conjure up a world that once existed but now only in the imagination.

Thanks for your positive comments.

Dean

Hi Guenter,

Thank you for your generous remarks. Most of the melody that I sang was improvised, probably much more than even dedicated jazz singers would do. Satin Doll is deceptively hard to sing, let alone to vocally improvise on, so your comments are especially appreciated.

Dean

Dean, I finally got through the soundclick glitch for a listen. Great arrangement. Nice scattin. Scattin doll. Your guitar work is just great. Thanks for posting. Tom

Hi folks,

You got that right, and that's why I got the ASCAP streaming license. There may be tremendous talent in this Forum but there are no Ellingtons, Strayhorns or Mercers nor will there ever be. Anywhere. Any time.

They are like the great gothic cathedrals. They won't be building any more of those either.

But not everyone knows the music these giants created and I'm determined to try to keep some of it alive.

Dean

Hey Tom,

That you with the red Gibson back in the day? Great pic!

My first good guitar was a red Guild Starfire single cutaway, 2 pickups. Really great guitar - lost it in a car wreck, and occasionally I see them up for sale at EBay. The only reason I don't buy one is that since I got BIAB a couple of years ago, I've gone on a spending spree getting new instruments, including recording equipment (I've just now started to understand how it works). Now there's not an inch of room left for another.

Thanks for the kind remarks - I should have thought of Scattin' Doll for the title. That's great.

Dean

A little joint downtown where the music spills out to the street. You step inside and there's this groovy professional ensemble. The customers might whisper, but mostly they just listen. Nice work.

Why, I don't think I've ever heard Satin Doll quite like that, and I've heard it a plenty!
Tempted to nitpick about voice level too high at the expense of drums particularly... but that voice is just so damn fine for this song