In Memoriam: Aki Yashiro "Fly me to the moon - On Aki Yashiro's "Night Album""

The famous singer of the past, Aki Yashiro, passed away at the end of 2023 at the age of 73. It is such a pity, as she was still so young. I am very sorry, as I wanted her to show us the beauty of the withering of music.

In memory of him, I am posting an article I wrote 10 years ago. It is a piece that allows you to enjoy Fly Me to the Moon from various angles through the "Night Album." I have also attached a YouTube link, so I hope you will enjoy it.

Now, let's have a toast.

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(2012-10-17 21:39)

Aki Yashiro's new album Night Album / Songs around Midnight It's a hot topic. The impact is probably due to the fact that the Queen of Enka, who debuted 41 years ago, is doing jazz, and that it will be released in 75 countries around the world. I saw it on Twitter, so I listened to it on iTunes right away, and it was unexpectedly good.¹But it turns out she was originally a jazz singer who wanted to be a club singer after listening to Julie London when she was in the fifth grade of elementary school.

The first song is the title track, "Fly me to the moon." It starts with a mellow double bass.Lullaby of Birdland by July Morikawa & JAZZ It's a similar start to what I like.²But it's quite different from the Julie London version that influenced Yashiro.

Fly Me to the Moon was originally a waltz

Fly me to the moon is a popular song written by Bart Howard in 1954. Its original title was "In Other Words", and the first person to use the title "Fly me to the moon" wasJohnny Matis (1957) Many versions have been recorded so far. It was this song that inspired Yashiro to pursue jazz.Julie London's jazz pizzicato-inspired Earnie Freeman versionOr Frank Sinatra's It Might as Well Be Swing I'm sure you've heard the version from Sinatra (1964) somewhere. This Sinatra version is arranged by Quincy Jones and accompanied by Count Basie, and is a very luxurious version, stylish and extremely cool. The entrance to the interlude is truly electrifying, and I highly recommend it if you haven't heard it yet. Like the Yashiro version, both versions are in 1954/XNUMX time. However, surprisingly, this song was originally written as a waltz. The first recording of this song was by Kaye Ballard in XNUMX.

It's a very sweet song, and in a way it's the polar opposite of the cool versions by Julie London and Frank Sinatra. I think this is a very good song, but it seems that this waltz version is hardly played these days. So where did the conversion to four beats come from?

Quincy Jones

I had such doubts,Youtube と Wikipedia I used it to find out more. According to Wikipedia,Sara Vaughan's 1962 versionIt is said that the time signature has been changed.³The man who arranged this song was Quincy Jones. The Frank Sinatra version was also arranged by him. In that sense, it can be said that the fact that this song has survived is in large part due to his contribution.

As you all know, Quincy Jones is a producer, composer, arranger, and trumpeter born in 1933. Not only was he the first African-American to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, he also produced Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and "We Are the World."

I had always thought of Quincy Jones as a jazz musician, but actually  Nadia Boulanger ⁴と Oliver Messiaen ⁵I was also a student of his who studied composition and theory under him. I was a little surprised. It seems that the foundations are important for originality. Without the foundations, even if you think you've done something original, it will end up being a rehash.

So, let's finally listen to the Frank Sinatra version. "Fly me to the moon" is definitely Sinatra's song.

 bonus

Halie Loren's performance at Cotton Club Tokyo is also cute. It matches her age and lyrics very well.CDs are even coolerBut, the cute performance is also pretty good. I wonder why Japanese people can't make music like this... Both jazz and classical music.

1. Maybe my expectations were low. The problem common to Japanese singers is that the pronunciation of the lyrics is distracting. Also, the Japanese lyrics are... well. The backing and vocals are too separate, so it doesn't have the feel of a live jazz performance, and the arrangement is a little half-baked. For example, the opening of Fly Me to the Moon is great, starting with just a single double bass, but then they add finger snaps and it all sounds cheap...
2. No, I think &JAZZ is much better. It's much more subdued. Well, I went to see their live performance, so maybe I'm biased...
3. If you just want a taste,You can listen to it on amazon.comHowever, in the sense that it departs from the three-beat rhythm,Nancy Wilson (1959) , Nat King Cole (1961)But it's still as sweet as ever. Sarah VaughanCopenhagen Live VersionI also like it.
4. Nadia Boulanger was a French composer and teacher.Aaron Copland, John Eliot Gardiner, Dino Lipatti, Igor Markevitch, Philip Glassand Astor Piazzolla. are all her disciples.
5. Oliver Messiaen was one of the greatest French composers of the 20th century.Turangalila SymphonyPersonally, I like Le Merle Noir (Blackbird)[Performed by Patrick Gallois: with score] I like things like: