Instrumentally, how could I ever forget Bill Evans playing the song, in the key of C major, on his " FURTHER CONVERSATIONS WITH MYSELF" album from 1967. How rich and warm those sharp keys sound. Where vocals are concerned, of course, I love the Frank Sinatra version, performed in B major, but I have always been most partial to the Tony Bennett version from " THE MOVIE SONG ALBUM," which he sings in D major. I think that the biggest consideration for me had to be, what key would feel and lay the best on the guitar? There are really four interpretations of "Emily" that resonate deeply with me, and each one for a different set of reasons. We would be playing in that world over what Marc, Bobby, and Rubén were doing. So, I wanted Mark Walker to be on that side of the rhythm with me. As my own preparations on the guitar began to develop, I realized that I was playing over the 6/8, but with a slightly swingy 4/4 Jazz feeling. Rhythmically speaking, Marc(timbal), Bobby Allende(conga), and Rubén Rodríguez(Baby Bass) would all operate from within variations on the Afro-Cuban 6/8, but I was going to be asking drummer Mark Walker to approach the piece on brushes with a different twist to it. Lucky for me, Marc gave me the "go ahead" sign, and it then seemed as though I just had to finalize certain aspects of the arrangement. This seemed like a great idea to me, but the question became, could we play it in 6/8, with all the traditional Latin percussion sounds, and still retain the elegance and beauty of the Jazz ballad format? Using the modern technologies of Pro Tools, I assembled a demo, and I was very pleased with the feeling that I had created, but I had to submit what I had done to Marc Quiñones, my trusted rhythmic captain, to make certain that he would have no problems with my trying to do something like this. Somewhere along the way, my thoughts drifted towards my memories of, and great affection for Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer's strikingly beautiful ballad in 3/4, " Emily," that comes from the 1964 film, " THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY" and starred Julie Andrews and James Garner. As I was preparing to record " BACKLOG," and searching for the material that I wanted to interpret, once again, the question arose as to what could I now do to offer something new and different to the wondrous mysteries of the Afro-Cuban 6/8. On " PARTING SHOT"(2011), "María Mulambo"(Khan-Badrena) filled that role, and Wayne Shorter's "Infant Eyes" from " SUBTEXT" served the same purpose. Evans also performed it live with saxophonist Stan Getz it appeared on the album But Beautiful.Since I recorded Thelonious Monk's "I Mean You" on " BORROWED TIME" in 2007, and for each of the albums that followed, I have tried to always include a unique take on the Afro-Cuban 6/8 feeling, which is integral to almost any Latin Jazz recording. “Emily” became particularly associated with Bill Evans, who recorded it for the first time for his 1967 album Further Conversations with Myself. Tony Bennett – The Movie Song Album (1966) Paul Desmond recorded the piece on his album Summertime. Jack Jones for his album Dear Heart and Other Great Songs of Love (1965). His second recording was released on The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings.Īndy Williams released a version in 1964 as the B-side to his hit “Dear Heart” and it was also included in his album Andy Williams’ Dear Heart (1965). (The song wasn’t sung in the movie, which is the reason that it couldn’t be nominated for an Academy Award.) It has since been recorded by numerous artists, notably Bill Evans, Tony Bennett, and Barbra Streisand.įrank Sinatra recorded it twice, for his 1964 album Softly, as I Leave You and again in the 1970s for an unreleased album. It was the title song to the 1964 film The Americanization of Emily. “Emily” is a popular song composed by Johnny Mandel, with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.
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