The featured song this week was written by one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, an Austrian jazz keyboardist and composer. This standard has since become a staple in the repertoire of almost every jazz musician.
While this week’s selection does not include a detailed back story or highlight a relevant political message, the lives and careers of those who performed and produced it were nothing short of fascinating.
The life and career of at least one of the performers (whose cover version will be presented later), was marked by meteoric success, followed by an equally rapid, tragic descent into oblivion, truly a tragedy of a Shakespearean proportions. A book describing this flamboyant musician’s life has since become the subject of ongoing debate and controversy.
This humble writer is now convinced that the career of a rock historian must be one of the most intriguing avocations in existence. Anyone know of any openings?