{"id":1290,"date":"2014-05-14T01:03:11","date_gmt":"2014-05-14T05:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/?p=1290"},"modified":"2014-05-14T01:03:11","modified_gmt":"2014-05-14T05:03:11","slug":"mth-v-stars-fell-on-alabama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michaelteager.com\/blog\/2014\/05\/14\/mth-v-stars-fell-on-alabama\/","title":{"rendered":"MTH-V: “Stars Fell On Alabama”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Somewhat piggybacking on my last post, sometimes you just can’t predict how you’ll get from point A to point B, or what styles and\/or artists will leave a mark. An example of this is 1934’s “Stars Fell On Alabama,”<\/a> one of my favorite standards.<\/p>\n

Aside from it being a preferred tune to play at jazz gigs (including one just this past weekend), I enjoy renditions by Cannonball Adderley<\/a>, Stan Getz<\/a>, Keith Jarrett<\/a>, oldies by Louis Armstrong, and more. But, to be honest, the first time I remember hearing and committing the song to memory was as a little boy listening to my mom’s Jimmy Buffett CDs<\/a>. Yes, Mr. Parrothead<\/a> himself recorded a semi-popular version of the iconic standard with Toots Thielemans<\/a>. Imagine my surprise when, years later, I heard a version by Louis Armstrong performed decades <\/em>earlier. I immediately thought of Buffett’s version that I carried from childhood and my mind was mildly blown. The Great American Songbook had burrowed deep into my brain as a child and I didn’t even know it. Buffett’s version is no longer my preferred interpretation, but I must say that I still have a soft spot for it.<\/p>\n

So I thought it’d be both interesting and entertaining to post two starkly different versions of the tune. Nothing like a learning experience for both jazzers and parrotheads alike…<\/p>\n

This first version is by Louis Armstrong<\/a> & His All Stars featuring Jack Teagarden<\/a> on trombone and vocals. It’s a live performance from Boston in 1947:
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