Every second Friday of the month, Eric Shifrin brings in a trio to have a little fun with tunes written by some of the master composers of popular music that have become standards played in piano bars, restaurants, clubs and concert halls through the decades throughout the land.

This month, he’ll present tunes by the writers behind “Violets for Your Furs,” “Makin’ Whoopee” and “Autumn in New York” and many more.

BYOB and a twenty for the band!

 

Featuring tunes by Matt Dennis, Vernon Duke and Walter Donaldson this time out, you’re in for a packed show of wonderful music.

Matt Dennis is familiar to you due to Sinatra and Billie Holiday, think Angel Eyes, Everything Happens to Me and Violets for Your Furs.

Walter Donaldson was prolific between the two world wars, composing American Songbook chestnuts, often with lyricist Gus Kahn, like Makin’ Whoopee, My Baby Just Cares for Me, My Blue Heaven and Love Me Or Leave Me. Here’s Eartha Kitt tearing it up in Copenhagen in 1962 with Donaldson’s Little White Lies.

Then there’s the great Vernon Duke. He wrote April in Paris, I Can’t Get Started, Autumn in New York, and this one, pianistically rendered by Hazel Scott, Taking a Chance on Love. Oh, you want the lyric, written by Latouche & Fetter? Here’s Sinatra delivering same… Taking a Chance on Love in a Nelson Riddle arrangement. Magnificent either way!

Eric Shifrin has been using his 2024 residency at Bird & Beckett to turn the spotlight on the writers behind the jazz standards we know and love. Hurry down, ’cause we’re down to the last three installments…

This outing, his In Crowd trio includes bassist Ollie Dudek and drummer Randy Lee Odell. You really can’t go wrong with this one!