Sting & Gil Evans Orchestra-Strange Fruit

[xena1154]

First it is music; art; for me you can interprete it in many ways; these days I think oh maybe the next strange fruit is radioactive! I can imagine many ways to enjoy this song! It is hard for me to understand some of the postet sentences!

I love and respect Gil Evans and I enjoy the music; it is beautiful, also touching my heard in many ways.

xena1154

[xena1154]

Dear doctone; thank`s for sharing, I love it so much! PS: English is not my mother topongue so it is not so easy to find the word`s to say thank you! I love Gil`s music, also Winton and Brandford and for me only singing little wing I like it from sting! Inspite having respekt to hendrix, rally I want to play like him! I hope you understand me xena1154

[GOTHDRAGON1980]

I feel the true message of this song is it shows u what anger,fear,and hatred lead too.And after all these years of the song being out very few have learned from the story it tells,i pray that our children hear and learn from this song.

[lumendraht]

super nice! da war er echt auf nem stimmlichen hoch der gute. thanx for the hint!

[dklauraaa]

we had a theme about Martin Luther King and the seperation of blacks and whites in the middle of the 20'th century in english (i'm danish), so we heard this song.. it's like awesome

[Bryteraven]

mmm, his Soul Cages was more sombre..

[Heliope1]

Best version of the song even recorded. No doubt about that. Love Sting !

[allTRIPLE1]

The saxaphone and music is too upbeat. It makes me want to dance. The music is not capturing the sorrow and pain of the song. No offense to Sting and orchestra.

[angelicfairy1115]

what is this?

Only a a musician like Billie Holiday can fully deliver this song... she used her music to describe BLACK lynching

(since they were never published in the media)

[giacco1]

No comment, no words for this video! It's incredible!!!!! Where you found it?! :D Sono di Perugia e vedere questo video è un forte brivido, peccato che non c'èro, questo è da premio di Youtube!!! THANK YOU! :D lol

[megapaura]

Christ Hunter play the alto Sax solo.

[blarmey]

What a set of pipes that man had!

[sepod]

Sting does have the proper voice to sing a REALLY HEARTFELT song like Strange Fruit, but how can anyone compete with Billie?

[larkydozer]

Nobody competes because music is not sport.

[sassytess]

I agree with you totally....I have listened to both, Billy Holliday and Nian Simone, and I must say, it is something about Sting's voice that arouse my spirit when he sings strange fruit.

[larkydozer]

There's a recording of Sting doing this song with himself in the studio. Overdubbed multi vocals, upright bass, marimba.

It was on the radio on a Christmas special way back in the mid eighties. If anyone could locate the recording I'd love to hear it again.

[caryviz]

larkydozer...i heard the same recording some 23 yrs ago....

[larkydozer]

Yeah, I heard it on the radio and taped it at the time. That cassette tape is long since gone.

I'd love to find a recording of it somewhere.

[altjunge]

the cd is called " rock for amnesty ", back in 1986. danke

[22462980]

this is amazing

[inpacerequiescat]

he's so not feeling it

[giopagoda]

totally agree with you...I like Gil`s arrangement though

[StingNyC]

the last "strange fruit" sounded like a "roooooooxaaannne" to me

[Mathildo]

i know this song from billy holiday and nina simone...

but this version is the best i've ever heard...

is there a dvd or something out...

i need to have it!

[4ntigone]

i've looked for it so much time.. I think it's not. i hope someone knows anything..

[englishman10000]

This and other tracks are on a CD 'Sting and Gil Evans / last session'.

I love the history of this song, written by Abel Meeropol who was a Jewish teacher in NY and, after his own two children died, adopted the two Rosenberg children after their parents were executed.

[castlegirl01]

why does the video not match the sound?

[VEEFIVE]

What a beatifull sound and singing...thanks sting U R a living Legend

[rdangelo]

The band is really out of tune.

[andyjazz334578]

Its not the band that's out of tune!

[insigniaman]

Can a white (yellow, brown, etc) person listen to this song and admire its beauty while feeling disgust, anger, sadness, sorrow, for the reason why it was written? It just seems ridiculous to me that people would say only blacks can sing (understand, feel) this song. Human suffering is human suffering. Blood is blood.

Not a perfect renditions by Sting, but loved the performance.

[muzikmafia27]

loved this comment

[artpazz]

listen guys the greatest ambassador in this world is jazz music i cried after the riots in pittsburgh pa icould no longer go to the hill district and listen to jazz at the clubs thank GOD things have changed

[NYCBG]

Why would it be a problem for Sting (and his "all-white band) to sing about lynching? It's a classic song, first sung by Billie Holiday. That would be reason enough for Sting to try and have a go at it!

[frevorasgado]

out of synch (words precede images)

[zagor7668]

No, I think he is used to large number of people attending his concerts.

[zagor7668]

I was there! Unforgettable concert!

[doctone]

Wow!really?

It's great.

and thank you so much for leaving a precious comment.

[zagor7668]

It was one of the most popular concert in Umbria Jazz history: more than 30,000 people attended it in the main football team stadium (in Perugia)

[doctone]

I see.

So it seemed that Sting was nervous little bit in this concert?

[guitarslim56]

@doctone No.

[fedeplac]

@zagor7668 Me too!!!

[zagor7668]

I think this is a tribute to the famous song. Gil Evans (I don't know about Sting) by the way was not racist: his wife (Anita, playing the percussions during this concert with their son Miles at the trumpet) is black. Gil Evans was also one of the few white jazz musician highly respected by Miles Davis (so I read)

[Allansean05]

Am I am the only one that feels that it is wierd that a mostly white group would sing this song. It seems to be extremely racist. Correct me if I am wrong.

[doctone]

Hi,Allansean05.

Thank you so much for leaving a precious comment.

but I have belief that he is not man whom you say.

I guess Sting has respected the music of black people,though.

So actually they choose the musuc of Black people for this GIG ,and played them.

I believe that Sting is not RACIST.

[Allansean05]

I understand but it just looks so wierd for them to sing about lynching. It seems to take a totally different meaning from when billy holiday sings it. She is in pain of the thought, and angry. And who knows what sting is trully thinking. But it is a great arrangment I admit.

[Guaguanco11]

I'm sorry but your comment shows a lot of immaturity. Racism is something that has no color boundries and something that people of all colors can be united in opposing. Btw Strange fruit was written by a white jewish guy who lived in new york.

[truthspeaker2000]

" I understand but it just looks so wierd for them to sing about lynching. It seems to take a totally different meaning from when billy holiday sings it."

How could it be other than that ?

Billy suffered under this fate personally, living under the downpression of early 20´th century US-Apartheid system, and Sting is performing a (great) tribute to her and this song. I´m sure Billy would have appreciated

and understood it in this way.

[yungmodelcover]

@doctone no im black and dnt even know them RACIST

[PtolemyJones]

@doctone  We are all racist, it's hard wired into our brains. It is the degree to which we understand ourselves, and overcome it that marks us as worthy in this regard.

Re: the person you were commenting to, it isn't racist to bring ANYONE'S tragedy to lights. It isn't a 'black' tragedy, though they are the physical victims, it is a crime against humanity as whole that this behavior happened, and it behooves us all to have our eyes opened. If Sting opened one pair of eyes, it is a good thing...

[UptownRed]

@Allansean05 I don't see how that could be seen as racist at all. If anything, it is a tribute. They honor this song and all it represents by being moved enough by it to want to connect with it and experience making the music for audience who knows, loves, and wants to hear the song.

As a singer myself, I struggled early on with feeling ok about singing 'Ol Man River. I soon learned that people LOVE TO HEAR IT. I love to sing it. Everybody wins.

Anyway, just another guy's take on the song

[OGabhann]

@Allansean05 You are wrong, very wrong. Did you realize the song was written by a Jewish man? Was he a racist for writing the poem and setting it to music? Of course not; it was his intention to bring awareness through his art, just as these fine musicians are continuing to bring that same awareness to a new generation. Furthermore, the people who did the lynchings described in the song did not carry out that act simply because they were white, it was because they were ignorant.