Between The Devil and the Deep Blue sea-Swinging Arlen Number: Harold Arlen and his lyricist partners wrote many songs that dealt with mature and sometimes sobering subject matters. " Last Night When e Were Young" is an excellent example as are " Ill Wind" and " Stormy Weather." At the same time, Arlen and Ted Koehler wrote a number of delightful rhythm numbers for the Cotton Club resident bands of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. In 1931, the Cotton Club presented a new show ," Rhyth-mania" with Arlen and Koehler introducing " Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea." It swings right from the first notes and drives relentlessly from beginning to end. The bridge or release introduces a quite different musical approach before a return to the original theme.
The vocal version features Ella Fitzgerald backed by the orchestra arranged by Billy May, a veteran big band arranger .May also did albums with Frank Sinatra featuring imaginative and up beat numbers. Ella swings effortlessly with her usual natural articulation and phrasing with every word clearly stated.
The instrumental version features Duke Ellington in a brief 2 minute explosion of unrelenting rhythm that would have probably backed the barely clad dancers in the Cotton Club's famous chorus line. This is jazz free of inhibition and echoes Arlens' own early experiences as a teen age pianist, singer and arranger with hot jazz bands in Buffalo before he left for New York.
Fitzgerald Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNJ-teaAIHA
Ellington Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKb5k3g71YU
Note: More Cotton Club numbers will be next
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