Dream a Little Dream (of me)
What are you listening to as you read this? Music? Screaming? The silence of an empty apartment? My friend Katya wrote to me asking if I could find a jazz cover of Dream a Little Dream (of me) for her. I was only familiar with Mama Cass' version from The Mamas & the Papas; though I had this dim memory I had heard other versions … by someone, somewhere. Strange, even while NPR named it as one of the hundred most important American musical compositions of the 20th century, it was not a torch song covered by the "greats" (Holiday, Fitzgerald, Simone, etc.). I finally found two recordings, from the Nat King Cole Trio and a Tony Bennet/ k.d. lang's cover, which I have playing right now.
While I slogged about in the dusty drawers of CDs that rarely see the light of day1 I decided to put a play list of music I am listening to this rainy/slushy/sleety afternoon. It being an alto saxophone kind of day, it looks a little like this:
Nat King Cole, Dream a Little Dream (of me)
Earle Hagen, the theme from I Spy
Freddie Redd, Now
Spike Jones, Harlem Nocturne
Charles Mingus, Better Get Hit in Yo' Soul
Freddie Redd, Cute Doot
Diana Kraul, Look of Love
Tony Bennet & k.d. lang, Dream a Little Dream (of me)
Billie Holiday + Lester Young, Fine and Mellow
- At least at the public library I go to in Lansing, since I cannot afford to drop $15 a CD everytime I want new music. The Hip hop, rap and rock selections are looted and ransacked, but no one seems to listen to (or even touch) jazz or classical. This is a good thing, I think. I was able to check out the entire Ken Burns Jazz Collection at one go. O happy days! [back]
January 31st, 2006 at 6:37 am
Spike Jones’ Harlem Nocturne nestling up to Mingus’ Better Git It kinda makes sense. And I like the idea of Dream a Little Dream coming back twice like that - such different versions. I’d better put you in charge of my iPod..!
January 31st, 2006 at 10:18 am
Thank you so much! I sort of associate this list of musicians, or at least this list of music, as road music, what we need to be listening to while driving around some nameless gray and sleeting city (NYC in February? Chicago in October? Los Angeles during the next typhoon?) going from used bookstore to used bookstore … one of my weaknesses.
But I am terrible with directions, so if I get to play DJ with the iPod, hopefully you can read the map and see where we are going.