The underrated recording Indigos (1957) showcases Ellington, Shorty Baker, and Johnny Hodges on a relaxed and bluesy “Prelude to a Kiss.” - JW

Rank 46 Music Duke Ellington Lyrics Irving Gordon Irving Mills   “Prelude to a Kiss” has undoubtedly become one of the top jazz standards, but its evolution to greatness was slow. On August 9, 1938, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, featuring Johnny Hodges, recorded “Prelude to a Kiss” for the Brunswick label. A second version was recorded fifteen days later for the Vocalion label. This time it was by Johnny Hodges and His Orchestra with vocalist Mary McHugh.     More on Duke Ellington   Johnny Hodges’ “orchestra” was composed of members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra including Ellington himself. Mary McHugh was with the Ellington band in 1938, recording a little over half a dozen songs. Along with “Prelude to a Kiss” she was the first to record “Lost in Meditation” with Ellington.     More on Johnny Hodges   The public liked the Mills/Gordon lyrics, and the Mary McHugh rendition went onto the charts in October rising to number thirteen. The instrumental charted a week later, rising to number eighteen.     More on Irving Mills       More on Irving Gordon   Although “Prelude to a Kiss” is more popular with jazz performers today, Ellington’s 1938 million-selling “I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart” overshadowed both of its initial hit recordings. Rising to number one with both the Ellington and Benny Goodman orchestras, “I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart” stayed on the charts for nearly six months.   Chart information used by permission from Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954   According to several Ellington experts, “Prelude to a Kiss” was adapted from a melody by alto saxophonist Otto “Toby” Hardwick. The resulting composition is often characterized as graceful, sensual, sultry, seductive, and tender--a perfect fit for Johnny Hodges’ alto saxophone abilities. In the book Jazz Styles: History and Analysis, author Mark C. Gridley comments that [Hodges] is particularly known for a romantic approach to ballad playing that has pervaded American music ...His work on “Prelude to a Kiss” typifies that side of his talents.     More on Otto Hardwick

More information on this tune... Alec Wilder American Popular Song: The Great Innovators, 1900-1950 Oxford University Press; Reprint edition Hardcover: 576 pages (Wilder, in his definitive book on American popular song, offers a pithy, one-page musical analysis of the song.) - Jeremy Wilson

This section suggests definitive or otherwise significant recordings that will help jazz students get acquainted with “Prelude to a Kiss.” These recordings have been selected from the Jazz History and CD Recommendations sections.

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“Prelude to a Kiss” has received numerous wonderful treatments by Duke Ellington in various configurations, and one could conduct a thorough study of the song simply by examining these. The original instrumental version (The Essential Duke Ellington) is vintage l930s Ellington ballad writing. Meanwhile, the first vocal recording of the tune (This Is Jazz, Vol. 7) features a smaller ensemble drawn from the Ellington Orchestra and lets the lyrics and Mary McHugh’s interpretation of the melody take center stage. Fifteen years later, Ellington recorded a trio version of the tune (Piano Reflections), offering yet another glimpse of his conception of “Prelude to a Kiss.”

Noah Baerman - Jazz Pianist and Educator

Written in an A1-A2-B-A2 form, the melody in the first and third measures of each A section sidles down the scale five halftones in a chromatic decline while the fifth measure starts out with a note repeated four times. The overall effect is a general flattening of the melody, drawing the ear to Ellington’s rich supporting harmonies.

The chromatic nature of “Prelude to a Kiss” produces a plaintive sound, a sad serenade that Gordon and Mills reflect in their lyrics. It’s the bridge, however, that brings true emotional release, almost to the point of seeming celebratory. Its corresponding lyrics express Ellington’s dramatic change in mood, relating the transformation of a pitiful love song into a Schubert symphony. -JW

Musical analysis of “Prelude to a Kiss”
Original Key	C major, modulating to E major during the “B”section
Form	A1 – A2 – B – A2
Tonality	Primarily major
Movement	The “A” section consists of downward chromatic passages, flattening out into repeated notes before leaping up a ninth and down a sixth. It then ascends stepwise again. Section “B” dances across the range of the tune before flattening out into repeated notes; it eventually climbs chromatically, returning to the final “A.”
Comments     (assumed background)
Like the Basie/Hefti classic “Li’l Darlin’,” this starts on the secondary dominant V7/V with a II7 – V7 – I sequence. The I, which contains a seventh at this point, is itself a secondary dominant of IV to which the progression continues. This same “circle of fifths” sequence is repeated a minor third lower, ending on a ii7 – V7 – I to which the composers add embellishing chords to delay the final resolution to I. At the end of the second “A,” the tonic is followed by a VII7 chord which easily modulates into the new key. In section “B,” a I – vi – ii7 – V7 progression is used along with its functional variant, iii – biii˚7 – ii7 – bII7. The modulation back to section “A” is a masterpiece of subtlety: it begins with what appears to be a I – IV cadence on paper (E – A in the original), except that the IV contains the minor seventh and a flatted ninth, clearly sounding as if it were going “somewhere else.” (The A7(b9) here is really a V7 of D, with the flatted ninth adding a strong hint of vii˚7 of D). The resolution turns out to be a Dm11 (the melody note is the 11th in this case). The harmonic progression rises two half-steps to Em11, then back down to Eb7, and eventually to the initial D13 in the first measure of “A,” while the melody continues upward, landing on the B natural that is the first melody note as well as the13th of the D chord.
K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com

Texas tenor saxophonist John Hardee, a late, swing-era, rising star, unfortunately came along as jazz was moving into bebop. His style had a nice, Don Byas-type approach but was just too similar to other players, and he left New York, returning to Dallas. His 1948 recording of “Prelude...” shows that he had fine ability with a ballad, and the record also spotlights bop pianist Al Haig.

Composer Duke Ellington, in an unusual album as a featured solo player, recorded an excellent trio version of his tune in 1953.

In a 1954 session with strings, “used to be Duke Ellington tenor player” Ben Webster pays homage to his former section mate, alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, for whom the tune was a feature with Ellington.

Chris Tyle - Jazz Musician and Historian

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John Hardee 1946-1948 Classics 1136 Duke Ellington Piano Reflections Blue Note Records 92863 Ben Webster Jazz ‘Round Midnight: Ben Webster Polygram Records 17775

“Prelude to a Kiss” was included in these films:

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• Fabulous Baker Boys (1989, The Duke Ellington Orchestra)
• Glengarry Glen Ross (1992, Bill Holman Big Band)
• Prelude to a Kiss (1992, Deborah Harry)
• White Man’s Burden (1995, The Michael Lang Trio)

And on stage:

• Sophisticated Ladies (1981, Phyllis Hyman) Broadway musical
• Play On! (1997, Carl Anderson) Broadway musical

And on television:

• Play On! (2000, Raun Ruffin) PBS Great Performances

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