NRR Project: 'Body and Soul' (1939)

 

NRR Project: ‘Body and Soul’

Composed by Johnny Green, lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton

Performed by Coleman Hawkins and His Orchestra

Recorded Oct. 11, 1939

3:02

 

First of all, I could not do better than the fantastic essay written by Stephen Rush for the National Recording Registry. Here it is, and it explicates the importance of this recording quite wonderfully.

Hawkins (1904-1969), originally from Missouri, gravitated to New York in the early 1920s. He is credited as one of the great jazz soloists, in league with Louis Armstrong and Lester Young. Here he improvises from the chord structure of the piece, largely ignoring the melody – a trend in music that would eventually develop into the bebop approach. By taking apart the song and riffing on its chord changes, he elevated the solo jazz instrument as an interpretive outlet for musicians who wanted to move past the more conservative playing of the 1920s and 1930s.

In other words, the piece is beautiful and deserves thoughtful listening.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Nest time: the Inkspots do ‘If I Didn’t Care’.