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Somewhere Over the Rainbow 1/5/2020 #NhsStaysafe#

And here are two old quick and dirty recorded versions by me from March 2018:

1. - 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' (Florida no USA 10* - Rico Royal 2) - solo sax:

2. - 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' (Florida no USA 10* - Rico Royal 2) - funky:

The solo sax version was inspired by the great Paul Gonsalves (see my previous post),.

The funky version was played in a style and with a backing track I don't like that much, but in the end I wasn't fully unhappy with that version. :)
 
This was like finding buried treasure for me. Not just the Linos Saxophon Quartett I had not heard of before, but also the "elegant" arrangement of "Over the Rainbow" by their bari sax player Sebastian Pottmeier.* I know this is a bit different from the other versions in this thread, but I wanted to share how beautiful this tune can sound when played by saxophones in a more classical setting. If you listen all the way through, it gets a bit "playful" near the end in the development section, but it returns back to the serenity it had in the beginning.

* Thanks Rhys for the correction.

 
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This was like finding buried treasure for me. Not just the Linos Saxophon Quartett I had not heard of before, but also the "elegant" arrangement of "Over the Rainbow" by their bari sax player Simon Pottmeier. I know this is a bit different from the other versions in this thread, but I wanted to share how beautiful this tune can sound when played by saxophones in a more classical setting. If you listen all the way through, it gets a bit "playful" near the end in the development section, but it returns back to the serenity it had in the beginning.


Yes, that's really good, both as an arrangement, the performance and the recording.

I was interested in trying to get the quartet arrangement and discovered the arranger's (fancy) website Sebastian Pottmeier - Saxophonist . His name is Sebastian rather than Simon, and he seems to have been involved in some interesting projects as well as the Linos Quartet.

Rhys
 
This was my first exposure to Joey Alexander. His harmonic mastery and depth of feeling are made so apparent in his version of this song, that I have come to believe that reincarnation is possible. Incidentally, he does a killer tonic substitution in the third A section (of AABA), second time through. I'd love to know if it's his or came from somewhere else? Listen at 03:22

Instead of Eb Cm Gm, Joey says (simplified symbols) Am7b5 D7b9 Gm. I found that haunting and clever.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1liUart72g
 
Here are some saxophone versions. I'm not usually a fan of Kenny G, but the man can play!
(I don't know why his face appears to be covered in chocolate!)

And here's Ben Webster. (Note the lighted cigarette on the piano.)

And my favourite of these - Art Pepper
 
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It appears very few people actually play the full version of "Over the Rainbow"...there is a 20 bar verse which precedes the section that starts "Somewhere over the rainbow..." full version can be found in Sher's The New Real Book Volume 3...

Greg S.
 
Here is another setting of this song I enjoy listening to---a big band vocal arrangement by Dave Wolpe. This is the United States Marine Jazz Ensemble. An even better recording of this arrangement IMO can be found at Dave Wolpe -- Big Band Vocal Charts. Just click the song title.

 
I want to do a recording on each of SATB this month if I can. This version uses a backing track from a series I found on iTunes (I'm sure it's available elsewhere) called "Real Book Jazz Sax and Guitar Easy lessons". It's a strange concept as there is a demo track but despite lots and lots of searching I haven't been able to find a book or any written material that lets you see what the sax player does in their performance. And the demo track is called "Over the Rainbow" but the matching backing track (just rhythm guitar) is called "Over the Clouds" - I wonder why.

This demo track had a nice tenor sax solo so I transcribed that and then moved it onto baritone sax where the range works fine.

Over the Rainbow Rhys bari + Guitar V1.mp3 - Box

Rhys
 
There's a version from the Clarinet Society for saxophone quintet (SAATB). I couldn't resist.
My first attempt was slower than their recommendation, 'cos its a ballad. But it was too slow, and it ended up as a glutinous mess. So I went back to the recommended speed.

This was the first outing for my new Bauhaus Walstein curvy soprano.

 
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There's a version from the Clarinet Society for saxophone quintet (SAATB). I couldn't resist.
My first attempt was slower than their recommendation, 'cos its a ballad. It was too slow, and it ended up as a glutinous mess. So I went back to the recommended speed.

This was the first outing for my new Bauhaus Walstein curvy soprano.


Very impressive and I know how much work that is.

Curvy is sounding good.

Rhys
 
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