Stay With Me (Epiphany day 11)

Several years ago, I did a CD of original music, pretty much smooth jazz in style, with a romance theme. It was called "Passion," and it followed the path of a relationship as it deepens and matures.

You can find out more about it at http://www.barrybrake.com/passion.html - and you can order it at http://www.barrybrake.com/order.html .

Someone said the other day, "You don't really like that one, do you?" Well, smooth jazz isn't exactly my favorite style of music to begin with, but it was right for this project, and I did enjoy exploring the genre and putting my own spin onto it.

This tune is what jazzers call a contrafact: you take the changes of a familiar jazz tune and write a different melody to it. Obviously a melody can be harmonized in many different ways, and conversely a set of changes can have several different heads. ("Head" meaning main melody.) Charlie Parker's "Donna Lee," for instance, is based on the changes to "Indiana;" "The Flintstones" theme is based on Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm." You can play the accompaniment to one song and sing the other.

So, "Stay With Me" is based on the satisfying changes to "Beautiful Love," which I treated a few days ago, on day 8. I'm pleased by the way this turned out. So much smooth jazz is just an unintelligent groove with a solo laid over it. For this, I tried to give the different parts (all of which I played myself) the responsiveness that a good ensemble would have.

I also like that this is a happy song in a minor key, something you don't see too often.


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To find out more about "Epiphany: 50 Days, 50 Songs," visit my website at http://www.barrybrake.com
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Category:

Music

Tags:

• barry
• brake
• composer
• piano
• jazz
• CD
• passion
• original
• instrumental
• keyboard
• music
• epiphany
• 50
• songs

[will2asher]

Dude, the world totally needs more happy songs in minor key.

(not sarcastic)