Crazy She Calls Me - Bob Russell

#med (Music.Every.Day)
Day 241 of my daily video posting project. I have been working on this project since November 2023--posting a video of piano music every single day!
Today's video is the song "Crazy She Calls Me". Lyrics by Carl Sigman and Music by Bob Russell. This quiet ballad is from "Jazz Ballads from the Jazz Piano Solos series (Volume 10).
Some of these tunes I don't recognize right away. I always try to read through it without listening to someone else's version first. After the initial read through, I might do a little bit of research just for guides on tempo or swinging the eighths. That way, I can be sure that my interpretation is my own idea and not me mimicking someone else.
I also find it interesting to listen to the lyrics after I've played it through. Sometimes that might change how I emphasize a melody note, but usually I'm on the right track. When I write arrangements, I like to change things around for variety, but usually I will play through at least the first time the way the composer meant it to be. (This is not an arrangement by me, by the way!).
I think jazz music works well that way too. The "Unforgettable" series I did before often has straight repeats written in--the perfect opportunity to do a little embellishment or alternate arrangement. For this book series, the solos are often written out, so I've been playing them more or less the way they are written. The only thing I have to guess at often is the tempo--this book doesn't have metronome markings, only word descriptions (in this case, "moderate ballad" is my only clue)!
The only thing I find tricky in this one is how to time sixteenth notes when you are playing swing eighths (towards the end of the piece). I did a bit of research, but the only thing I could come up with was that your right hand pretty much sticks to straight sixteenth notes, and your left hand "swung eighths" plays more like a dotted eighth / sixteenth rhythm. I think that sounds a little better than suddenly switching to straight eighths at the end of the piece...
Tune in tomorrow for more of my #music.every.day experiment!