Approaching Standards
Monday August 1st, 2011 with Bill Krause
Sinatra Sings and Jazzmen Swing (Part 1)

Today we’re going to celebrate Frank Sinatra and his influence on succeeding generations of jazz artists. He was the favorite singer of Lester Young, who simply adored Sinatra’s tone and phrasing. It was said that the day Lester died, in a run down hotel not far from Birdland, a Sinatra recording played nearby. And Miles Davis often said that he wanted to sound just like Sinatra. He credited Sinatra with teaching him how to phrase his music. And it’s more than a coincidence that John Coltrane also recorded a number of songs frequently associated with the Chairman of the Board. So today we’re going to explore the Sinatra edition of the great American songbook, and each selection will be followed by an instrumental jazz interpretation of the same song.