Jazz has taught me a lot of things. Including the word ‘threnody’ which means ‘lament.’ It’s not a word I’d have come across if I hadn’t wanted to sing this song. #IRememberClifford is an instrumental jazz threnody written by jazz tenor saxophonist #BennyGolson in memory of #CliffordBrown with lyrics by the master #vocalese exponent #JonHendricks. […]
Polka Dots and Moonbeams
#PolkaDotsandMoonbeams was published first in 1940, that’s 80 years ago. And it became a huge hit for #FrankSinatra. The music was written by Jimmy Van Heusen and lyrics by Johnny Burke. It’s also one of the world’s top 100 recorded jazz tunes. So naturally, I wanted to try it. I’ve never sung a song to […]
Totally unique vocal jazz Radha Thomas & Aman Mahajan – Bangalore Blues
By Dick Metcalf, editor, Contemporary Fusion Reviews – September 7, 2020 #Totally #unique #vocal #jazz #Radha #Thomas #Aman #Mahajan Totally unique vocal jazz Radha Thomas & Aman Mahajan – BANGALORE BLUES: There’s one word that comes to mind (immediately) as I listen to Radha’s totally unique vocal jazz – BREATHLESS… her pacing and presence will have you […]
Nuages / The Bluest Kind Of Blue
#Nuages (meaning ‘clouds’ in French) is guitar player #DjangoReinhardt’s most famous composition. It was first recorded in 1940 although he did at least 13 versions after that.There were no lyrics when Django wrote the piece, of course. But the melody is so beautiful and haunting that it didn’t take long before people wrote lyrics to […]
We Three / My Echo, My Shadow and Me
I love this cute little song. #MyEchoMyShadowandMe also called #WeThree. It was published in 1939 by Nelson Cogane, Sammy Mysels and Dick Robertson. The next year it was a hit for #FrankSinatra and continued to be successful for many singers. Here I am with Alexandre Vianna who is from Sao Paolo in Brazil, a place […]
Dog Tails: A True Story About A Few Entitled Street Dogs In Bangalore
Street dogs in Bangalore have had it pretty rough since lockdown, when people who fed them regularly disappeared forever. Add to this the fact that huge numbers of people went back to their ‘oorus’ abandoning dogs at will. You have a situation where packs of dogs are stressed out, getting run over, diseased, starving and […]
What Stress
July 4, 2020, Redoane Ayoub (Red) on Guitar and me singing Most of my songs are non-fiction. This one is called ‘What Stress’ and I wrote it some time ago. Nothing seems to change, I dunno what’s wrong with me I must confess. I’ve performed it many times with different lineups. What makes this bluesy, rock-and-roll […]
The Birds Are Getting Louder
LYRICS The birds outside my window, getting louder by the day A tribe of sparrows quarrels till I shoo, shoo them away Well right behind up close I hear a murder of crows A strange symphonic, cacophonic, avian prose Mosque and temples, churches standing quiet, empty and still For once it seems religion’s lost its […]
The Birds Are Getting Louder
I was trying to write lyrics to a melody that was playing in my head and I couldn’t hear myself think. It was the birds outside. Cackling, cawing, chirping, #tweeting and generally creating what I can only describe as strange, symphonic, cacophonic avian prose. @RamjeeChandran put the chords together since I mostly know only A,D […]
I Hope That Soon I’ll See You Again
I HOPE THAT SOME DAY I’LL SEE YOU AGAIN (Written by Radha Thomas / Aman Mahajan Performed by Radha Thomas and Ramjee Chandran) What do I get from the air that I breathe The atmosphere is churning, all I do is seethe Yes, there is life floating everywhere Nothing that’s kind, certainly nothing that cares […]
Radha Thomas 