|
|
|
| By the late 1940s the song’s unconventional characteristics became assets, and it found favor as a bop vehicle, most notably with Bud Powell and Charlie Parker. |
|
 |
|
- JW
|
|
| |
As a jazz standard, “I’ll Remember April” first appeared in a rather unlikely performance. Dick Foran introduced the song in the 1942 Abbott and Costello comedy Ride ‘Em Cowboy. The action takes place on a dude ranch where peanut/hotdog vendors Abbott and Costello are pretending to be cowboys. Portraying an author of westerns, Foran croons the song to the ranch owner’s daughter, played by Anne Gwynne. As one critic declared, “For a few brief minutes, ‘I’ll Remember April’ was an oasis of sanity in the madness.”
For jazz fans the film holds yet another attraction. Ride ‘Em Cowboy was one of a handful of films to feature Ella Fitzgerald, playing a maid but nonetheless singing “A Tisket A Tasket” and joining the Merry Macs in another De Paul/Raye song, “Rockin’ ‘n Reelin’.”
|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
Published in 1941, “I’ll Remember April” was recorded by Woody Herman and His Orchestra and entered the pop charts in March of 1942, rising to number twenty-three. With its unusual melody and form “I’ll Remember April” did not catch on in a big way with the pop world. Despite this there were a number of early recordings, including Martha Tilton, Bing Crosby, and the Nat “King” Cole Trio with vocalist Anita Boyer.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
Even at the specified moderato tempo, Gene De Paul’s composition has a wandering, drawn out feeling compared to the average pop song. The 48-bar A-B-C-D-A-B’ gives the feeling of a doubly long A-B-A composition, requiring the listener to wait thirty-two bars before a repeat instead of the eight required by an A-A-B-A form. As a result, “I’ll Remember April” is difficult to hum after the first or second listen.
|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
Raye’s and Johnston’s narrative relates how two parted lovers will remember the past, a similar theme to the one employed by Dorothy Fields in 1936’s “The Way You Look Tonight.”
|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
I’ll Remember April is the name of a 1999 movie set during World War II in which four boys find a Japanese sailor on the California shore. It is also the title of a 1945 mystery starring Gloria Jean, who sings the title song.
|
|
|
|
More information on this tune... |
|
- Jeremy Wilson
|
|
| This section suggests definitive or otherwise significant recordings that will help jazz students get acquainted with
“I'll Remember April.” These recordings have been selected from the Jazz History and
CD Recommendations sections.
|
Modern-day performances of “I’ll Remember April” are generally done with a Latin-feel vamp played as an introduction and ending and for the first eight measures of each A-section. This practice can be heard on Bud Powell’s trio recording of the tune ( The Complete Blue Note and Roost Recordings), which preceded other significant Powell versions as a sideman with Charlie Parker and Charles Mingus. Unlike the Powell recording, though, the tune now tends to be taken at a bright tempo, and that trend (as well as some commonly-used material for the vamp sections) can be best heard on the classic version by the Clifford Brown and Max Roach Quintet with Sonny Rollins ( At Basin Street).
Noah Baerman - Jazz Pianist and Educator
|
|
Musical analysis of
“I’ll Remember April”
|
| Original
Key |
G major;
false key change to Bb major during the
first eight measures of the bridge |
| Form |
A1 – B –
A2 |
| Tonality |
Major throughout |
| Movement |
Primarily
by steps in both directions |
|
Comments
(assumed
background)
|
|
Initially, the harmonic progression gives
the impression of “How High The Moon” or “On Green Dolphin Street” with its I turning
into parallel minor. However, unlike the
other two examples, this tune goes up to
ii7, then delays the final resolution back
to the tonic by proceeding to iii7(b5) –
VI7(b9), taking the circle of fifths back
to “home base.” The chord progression of
“B” starts with a iv7 functioning as the
ii7 of a new key built on the flatted third
degree of the scale (Bb in the key of G).
The first eight measures of “B” are harmonically
identical to the first four measures of
“B” in “A Kiss To Build A Dream On” (the
bridge of “Blue Moon” also uses this briefly in mm 5-6
of its “B” section). However, where “A Kiss
to Build a Dream On” turns minor in measure
5, this tune turns to the major– actually
returning to its tonic key. However, because
of the set-up and what follows, the ear
doesn’t recognize it as such; it is followed
by a viiø7 (F#m7(b5)) in the original),
which finally resolves, via III7, to VIma7,
giving the impression (in the original key)
of E major. The E major here is followed
by Am7, however, which quickly gets the
tune back to G major by way of the D7. This
tune, while fine as written, lends itself
to many chord substitutions and alterations,
but these should be chosen carefully so
as to at least imply a logical harmonic
progression. |
|
K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com |
|
By the late 1940s the song’s unconventional
characteristics became assets, and it found favor
as a bop vehicle, most notably with Bud Powell and
Charlie Parker. Today, “I’ll Remember April” may
be found on CD’s by most of the great jazz musicians
with multiple recordings by Bud Powell, Charlie
Parker, Chet Baker, Clifford Brown, George Shearing,
Harry James, Lee Konitz, Sonny Rollins, and Stan
Kenton, and by vocalists Dinah Washington and Carmen
McRae.
An interesting comparison of pre-bop versus bop
renditions of “I’ll Remember April” can be made
with big band vocalist Anita Boyer’s romantic and
languid take (The Nat King Cole Trio: The MacGregor
Years 1941-1945 disc 4) versus Bud Powell’s
definitive bop piano (The Complete Blue Note
and Roost Recordings disc 1). -JW
Vibraphonists Lionel Hampton and Red Norvo both
recorded “I’ll Remember April” in 1950. Norvo began
playing the xylophone and marimba in the 1920’s,
and by the 1930’s he was leading his own band, followed
by stints with
Benny Goodman and
Woody Herman.
In 1950 Norvo formed a trio consisting of Tal
Farlow, guitar, and Charlie Mingus, bass. The group’s
music was given the sobriquet of “chamber jazz,”
a name that aptly described the trio’s sound. Their
unique arrangements set the pace for an approach
utilized by other trios for several years. One of
their more compelling arrangements was on the tune
“I’ll Remember April,” a number which had only been
recorded a few times prior to their recording.
Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian
|
Additional information for "I'll Remember April" may be found in:
|
|
|
Robert Gottlieb, Robert Kimball
Reading Lyrics
Pantheon
Hardcover: 736 pages
(Includes the following types of information: song lyrics.)
|
|
|
|
|
Henry Martin
Enjoying Jazz
Schirmer Books
Paperback: 302 pages
(1 paragraph including the following types of information: music analysis and performers.)
|
|
|
|
|
“I'll Remember April” was included in these films:
- Ride ‘em Cowboy (1942, Dick
Foran)
- Strictly in the Groove (1942,
Mary Healy, The Diamond Solid-Aires)
- Eve Knew Her Apples (1945)
- Bring Me the Head of Alfredo
Garcia (1974)
- The Color of Money (1986,
Charlie Parker)
And on television:
- The Sopranos (1999, Bobby
Darin) Season 1, Episode 13 "I Dream of Jeannie
Cusamano"
- The Sopranos (2001, Bobby
Darin) Season 3, Episode 6 "University" Episode
32
|
|
|
|
Comment Policy
- Your comments are welcome, including why you like
this tune, any musical challenges it presents, or additional background information.
- Jazz musicians, fans, and students of all ages use this website as an educational resource.
As such, off-topic, off-color, unduly negative, and patently promotional comments will be removed.
- Once submitted, all comments become property of JazzStandards.com.
By posting, you give JazzStandards.com permission to republish or otherwise distribute your comments in any format or other medium.
JazzStandards.com reserves the right to edit or remove any comments at its sole discretion.
|
|
| Click on any CD for more details at Amazon.com |
Charles Mingus
Mingus At Antibes
1990 Atlantic 90532
Original recording 1960
|
|
This searing performance documents a classic Mingus group featuring Eric Dolphy. Sitting in on piano for this tune is pianist Bud Powell, who plays with a fire not always heard in his later years.
|
Sonny Rollins
Night at the Village Vanguard
Blue Note Records
Original Recording 1957
|
|
Rollins burns through this tune, displaying his unparalleled mastery of the piano-less trio format. His trio-mates here are bassist Wilbur Ware and a young Elvin Jones on drums.
|
Jim Hall With the Ron Carter Duo
Alone Together
Ojc
Original Recording 1972
|
|
Guitarist Hall and bassist Carter give a slow, soulful performance that displays their melodic inventiveness and almost telepathic level of interplay.
|
Andy Bey
Tuesdays in Chinatown
2001 Encoded Music
Original recording 1991
|
|
Vocalist Bey’s interpretation of “I’ll Remember April”’ is gentle and lightly swinging. He gives the melody a faithful reading while infusing it with the blues.
|
|
Keith Jarrett
Tokyo '96
2000, ECM
|
|
Drummer Jack DeJohnette sets the pace with his opening solo. Jarrett then establishes the Latin groove on piano, states the melody, and then creates his own tune over the harmonic structure. This trio, which includes bassist Gary Peacock, has been together for over two decades and is at its creative best on this live performance.
|
|
Clifford Brown/ Max Roach
At Basin Street
1990, Polygram 814648
Original recording, 1956
|
|
Here’s a superb bop reading of the song in which saxophonist Sonny Rollins makes an impressive debut with the short-lived quintet. His musical rapport with trumpeter Clifford Brown is inspirational yet bittersweet. A few months after this recording Brown and pianist Richie Powell would lose their lives in a car accident.
|
Sonny Clark
Sonny Clark Trio
2002 Blue Note 33774
Original recording 1957
|
|
The sidemen sit this one out and pianist Clark delivers an elegant solo rendition of the ballad.
|
Chet Baker & The Lighthouse All-Stars
Witch Doctor
1991, Orig. Jazz Classics 609
Original recording, 1953
|
|
Here’s a great live version of the song as trumpeter Chet Baker performs at the legendary California jazz spot. The band is quick and tight, and the solos tumble out.
|
|
|
|
