Ella Fitzgerald - Mood Indigo (Verve Records 1957)

From Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book, “Mood Indigo“ (1930) & (1955) is a jazz composition and song, with music by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard with lyrics by Irving Mills. The tune was composed for a radio broadcast in October 1930 and was originally titled “Dreamy Blues.“ It was “the first tune I ever wrote specially for microphone transmission,“ Ellington recalled. “The next day wads of mail came in raving about the new tune, so Irving Mills put a lyric to it.“ Renamed “Mood Indigo,“ it became a jazz standard. While Irving Mills—Jack Mills’s brother and publishing partner—took credit for the lyrics, in a 1987 interview, lyricist Mitchell Parish claimed that he had written the lyrics. What makes the original recording(s) so interesting is the fact that Ellington has taken the traditional front-line of trumpet, trombone and clarinet, and turned them “upside down.“ At the time of these first three recordings in 1930, the usual voicing of the horns would be clarinet at the top (highest pitch), trumpet in the middle, and the trombone at the bottom (lowest pitch). In “Mood Indigo,“ Ellington voices the trombone right at the top of the instrument’s register, and the clarinet at the very lowest. This was unheard of at the time, and also created (in the studio) a so-called “mike-tone“—an effect generated by the overtones of the clarinet and trombone (which was tightly muted as well). The “mike-tone“ gives the audio-illusion of the presence of a fourth “voice,“ or instrument. “Mood Indigo“ is performed both as an instrumental and as a vocal. Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the “First Lady of Song“, “Queen of Jazz“, and “Lady Ella“. She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, intonation, and a “horn-like“ improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing. After a tumultuous adolescence, Fitzgerald found stability in musical success with the Chick Webb Orchestra, performing across the country but most often associated with the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. Her rendition of the nursery rhyme “A-Tisket, A-Tasket“ helped boost both her and Webb to national fame. After taking over the band when Webb died, Fitzgerald left it behind in 1942 to start her solo career. Her manager was Moe Gale, co-founder of the Savoy, until she turned the rest of her career over to Norman Granz, who founded Verve Records to produce new records by Fitzgerald. With Verve she recorded some of her more widely noted works, particularly her interpretations of the Great American Songbook. While Fitzgerald appeared in movies and as a guest on popular television shows in the second half of the twentieth century, her musical collaborations with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and The Ink Spots were some of her most notable acts outside of her solo career. These partnerships produced some of her best-known songs such as “Dream a Little Dream of Me“, “Cheek to Cheek“, “Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall“, and “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)“. In 1993, after a career of nearly 60 years, she gave her last public performance. Three years later, she died at the age of 79 after years of declining health. Her accolades included fourteen Grammy Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Ella’s accompanied by Ben Webster (ts), Oscar Peterson (p), Herb Ellis (g), Ray Brown (b), Alvin Stoller (d). Recorded October 17, 1957, Los Angeles. (Verve Records) You ain’t been blue; no, no, no. You ain’t been blue, Till you’ve had that mood indigo. That feelin’ goes stealin’ down to my shoes While I sit and sigh, “Go ’long blues“. Always get that mood indigo, Since my baby said goodbye. In the evenin’ when lights are low, I’m so lonesome I could cry. ’Cause there’s nobody who cares about me, I’m just a soul who’s bluer than blue can be. When I get that mood indigo, I could lay me down and die. You ain’t been blue; no, no, no, no-oh, no. You ain’t been blue, Till you’ve had that mood indigo. That feelin’ goes stealin’ down to my shoes While I sit and sigh, “Go ’long blues“.