Blue Moon - Rodgers & Hart / Wolpe [ Sunset Serenades 2023 ]

"Blue Moon"
Composer: Richard Rodgers (1933)
Lyricist: Lorenz Hart (1934)
Arranged by: Dave Wolpe
Performed by the Columbia Big Band
Director: Matt Pisarcik
Columbia Bands, Inc.
Performed: July 19, 2023
Centennial Park Amphitheater, Ellicott City, MD, USA
Concert Playlist: • CBB: July 19, 2023 - S...
Our local Howard County Recreation & Parks department runs an incredible concert series every summer, the Sunset Serenades at Centennial Park Amphitheatre. They bring in local musical acts to perform for our friends, family, and neighbors in one of the beautiful public lakes in our community as the sun goes down behind the trees and the stars come out. This year we dodged the rain that bedevilled our prior appearances with this series and enjoyed a wonderful clear evening at the lakeside.
Even a songwriting team as accomplished as Rodgers & Hart can struggle to push out a tune. The chart we now know as "Blue Moon" went through three cycles of film-production being cut prior to release before finally making it onscreen in "Manhattan Melodrama" - but lyrics following the title "The Bad in Every Man". Lorenz Hart was asked to rewrite the lyrics a fourth time for commercial release, to be more romantic and punchier, which he eventually did despite reluctance, resulting in the tune that charted for at least a half-dozen major artists - including Elvis Presley, The Marcels, Mel Tormé, and Rod Stewart with Eric Clapton.
Ya Gotta Try...Harder - Sammy Nestico (2000)
Torque - Alan Baylock (2015)
Lush Life - Billy Strayhorn (1933) / Arr. Phil Wilson (1994)
Cubauzá - Michael Philip Mossman (1994)
On The Sunny Side Of The Street - Jimmy McHugh (music) & Dorothy Fields (lyrics) (1930) / Arr. Mike Carubia (1995)
Don't Know Why - Jesse Harris (1999) / Arr. Paul Murtha (2003)
Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin’ All The Time) - Harold Arlen (music) & Ted Koehler (lyrics) (1933) / Arr. Jerry Nowak (1989)
Fly Me To The Moon - Bart Howard (1954) / Arr. Sammy Nestico (1991)
Song for Bilbao - Pat Metheny (1983) / Arr. Alan Baylock (2008)
Who's Sorry Now - Ted Snyder (music) (1923) & Bert Kalmar & Harry Ruby (lyrics) (1923) / Arr. Sammy Nestico (1951)
Blackbird - Ray Henderson (music) (1926) & Mort Dixon (lyrics) (1926) / Arr. Tom Kubis (1980)
Venus, the Bringer of Peace - Gustav Holst (1917) / Arr. Jeremy Levy (2019)
Candy - Mack David, Joan Whitney, & Alex Kramer (1944 / 1977) / Arr. Kris Berg (1997)
Blue Moon - Richard Rodgers (music) (1933) & Lorenz Hart (lyrics) (1934) / Arr. Dave Wolpe
Cry Me A River - Arthur Hamilton (1953) / Arr. Jerry Nowak (2002)
Alright, Okay, You Win - Sid Wyche (music) (1955) & Mayme Watts (lyrics) (1955) / Arr. Sammy Nestico (1994)
Against All Odds - Phil Collins (1983) / Arr. David Stout (1999)
Back Beat Boogie - Harry James (1939) / Arr. Jack Matthias (1940)
The Columbia Big Band (CBB) is an ensemble formed in October 2015. Our repertoire covers genres such as traditional Big Band, Bebop, Fusion, Swing and Latin, among others. We are members of the community who enjoy performing for all audiences. Though some members play and teach music professionally, the members are volunteers employed in a wide variety of professions who share a love of music. CBB is one of several bands within the Columbia Bands non-profit organization. The Columbia Big Band hopes to bring the enjoyment of big band music to a wide audience. We look forward to seeing you at our concerts!