If I Should Lose You

The Cafe Songbook
Record/Video Cabinet:
Selected Recordings of

"If I Should Lose You"

1935
Richard Himber and His Ritz-Carlton
Orchestra
album: The Great Songwriters: Ralph Rainger

To listen to this track, see video,
center column at left

Notes: This 2011 album is a compilation of Ralph Rainger songs by various artists. The vocalist on the track for "If I Should Lose You" is Stuart Allen.
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1949
Charlie Parker
album: Charlie Parker with Strings
(Deluxe Edition)

same track as on album referenced above

Amazon

iTunes

Notes: Charlie Parker first signed an exclusive contract to produce his recordings with a young Norman Granz in 1948. Parker and Granz first collaborated on a Jazz at the Philharomonic live concert and a couple of combo dates before Granz helped Parker realize "a long-held dream: Charlie Parker with Strings. Here was his opportunity to play standards (his earlier recording companies were loath to record standards because of royalties) and to work in a group vastly different than anything he had performed with in the past. The critics all screamed that it was commercialism, and to an extent it was. But Parker’s recordings with strings were also an artistic success to a certain degree. Nearly a CDs worth of alternate takes from these sessions have just been released along with the well-known master takes in a new double CD set from Verve, Charlie Parker with Strings: Deluxe Edition. . . . On these sides, Parker is filling the role [with his alto sax] of a singer, especially on “Summertime” where the arrangement is a near-copy of the original setting used in the opera Porgy and Bess. But when Parker just blows on the chords, as on “If I Should Lose You” and 'I Didn’t Know What Time It Was,' the jazz content soars and Parker lifts the whole bandstand with it.” (Read the full article at JazzHistoryOnline.com.)

The CD Universe Product Description for the album explains that it is "an expanded version of the early-'50s album that broadened Charlie Parker's audience by focusing on the beautiful lyricism of his playing. These recordings feature Parker's alto saxophone over a gorgeous bed of strings, but perhaps an even more significant departure is the fact that he simplified his phrasing. His wondrously uncurling ribbons of notes are supplanted by the confident ease with which he embraces each of these melodies, dancing through and around them and never losing their essential character. On an album of back-to-back standouts, "April in Paris" is a towering beauty. Comprised primarily of what were--or have since become--standards, this is as fine a place as any to see exactly why Parker is perhaps the preeminent improviser in the history of jazz." (Read the full description at CDUniverse.com.)
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1953
Chris Connor and Stan Kenton
album: Portrait of Chris

same track as on album referenced above

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Notes: Coonor recorded "If I Should Lose You" with Kenton in 1953 (as Capitol 11353) but it went unreleased until it appeared on the album Portrait of Chris in 1960 (released 1961). Connor auditioned and began touring and recording for Kenton in February 1953. On February 11, 1953, Connor recorded her first sides with him. Her first song, "And The Bull Walked Around, Ole", peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard music charts. Other songs recorded with the band were "Baia", "Jeepers Creepers", "If I Should Lose You", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen" and the song that would forever be associated with the vocalist, "All About Ronnie.". (from Wikipedia)
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1956
Chet Baker
album: The Route

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Notes: "This 1989 CD issue compiles all known sides cut during a July 26, 1956, session led by Chet Baker (trumpet) and Art Pepper (alto sax). Keen-eyed enthusiasts will note that this particular date occurred during a remarkable week -- July 23 through July 31 -- of sessions held at the behest of Pacific Jazz label owner and session producer Dick Bock at the Forum Theater in Los Angeles. The recordings made during this week not only inform The Route, but three other long-players as well: Lets Get Lost (The Best of Chet Baker Sings), Chet Baker and Crew, and Chet Baker Quintet at the Forum Theatre. Likewise, these were the first sides cut by Baker since returning from his triumphant and extended stay in Europe. compiles all 11 tracks by the sextet featuring Richie Kamuca (tenor sax), Pete Jolly (piano), Leroy Vinnegar (bass), and Stan Levey (drums) in support of Baker and Pepper. Bock had no immediate plans to use these recordings for any one album; that is to say he incorporated the tracks throughout various compilations released on Pacific Jazz. . . . The Route is recommended for completists as well as curious consumers wishing to expand their knowledge of the light and airy rhythms that typify the cool West Coast jazz scene of the mid-'50s. ~ Lindsay Planer for CDUniverse.com.
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1957
Peggy Lee
album: The Man I Love

same track as on album referenced above

Amazon

iTunes

Notes: "The powers that be at Capitol-EMI haven't been as thorough with their Peggy Lee reissues as they have been with, say, June Christy (a much less commercially successful artist), not to mention Frank Sinatra or Nat "King" Cole. Luckily, in 2009, the DRG label saw fit to put out domestic U.S. reissues of the previously unavailable THE MAN I LOVE and JUMP FOR JOY, from 1957 and 1958 respectively, complete with two bonus tracks each and informative liner notes by JAZZ SINGING author Will Friedwald.

"THE MAN I LOVE represented the singer's triumphant return to Capitol Records after a hiatus of five years and is considered by some to be her single greatest album. Frank Sinatra himself was instrumental in bringing Lee back home, and his involvement with this important session extended to actually conducting the Nelson Riddle arrangments in addition to being producer. And what arrangments they are! It's no secret that Riddle, who worked extensively with Sinatra and Nat "King" Cole, among others, was the finest popular arranger of his or any other generation. The musical settings on THE MAN I LOVE all aim for something grand, and in some cases, like Rodgers & Hammerstein's "Something Wonderful" or Harold Arlen's "Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe," they are highly dramatic. Of course, this being Peggy Lee, who was a singer of great artistry, none of these performances are overwrought or bathetic. It is uncanny how she inhabits tunes like "Please Be Kind" or "Then I'll Be Tired Of You," much like the great actress she was, revealing one face and then another in 12 self-portraits. Singer, arranger, and conductor outdo themselves on Jerome Kern's "The Folks Who Live On The Hill," which closes the album in one sweeping Aaron Copland-like moment." from CDUniverse.com Product Description.
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1959
Shirley Horn
album: Ashes and Embers

same track as on album referenced above

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iTunes

Notes: "Digitally remastered two-fer containing Shirley Horn's complete original debut LP Embers and Ashes. Also, we have added another complete small group album by the singer, Where Are You Going, recorded a decade later, as well as a final bonus, a single rendering of Gershwin's 'A Foggy Day' on which she is backed by violinist Stuff Smith. Includes 12-page booklet. American Jazz Classics."

1961
The Montgomery Brothers
(Wes Montgomery, Buddy Montgomery, Monk Montgomery)
album: Groove Yard

same track as on album referenced above

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iTunes

Notes: "This record makes you wonder why there weren't more great hard-bop albums made by guitarist-led quartets -- or, for that matter, why Wes didn't record more with his brothers. The guitarist is joined by brothers Buddy on piano and Monk on string bass, with Bobby Thomas on drums. There are two originals by Buddy and one by Wes ('Doujie') as well as tunes by Milt Jackson, Harold Land and others. These are tunes the brothers were playing as part of a regular gig they had in New York City at the time of the recording in 1961. . . ."

"Personnel: Wes Montgomery (guitar); Buddy Montgomery (piano); Bobby Thomas, Bobby Thomas, Jr. (drums).
Recording information: New York, NY (01/03/1961); Plaza Sound Studios, New York, NY (01/03/1961)." (Read the full commentary at CD Universe.)
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1965
Nina Simone
album: Wild Is the Wind

same track as on album referenced above as well as several others

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Notes: Simone's original recording of "If I Should Lose You" first appeared on the album Wild is the Wind. The album was released in 1966 but the track was recorded May 20, 1965 in New York. The singer accompanies herself on piano. other album personnel includes Horace Ott, Bobby Hamilton drums; Rudy Stevenson guitar and flute; Lisle Atkinson upright bass.
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1980
Carmen McRae and George Shearing
album: Two for the Road

same track as on album referenced above

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iTunes

Notes: "There are far too few recordings of top-notch jazz singers backed solely by equally talented pianists, so this onetime meeting of George Shearing and Carmen McRae proves to be magical. Shearing recorded solo piano sessions a number of times during his long career, though he rarely played unaccompanied for a vocalist, with the exception of his meetings with Mel Tormé. McRae also had a prolific career and is still in great voice interpreting this standard-heavy collection" (Ken Dryden at CDUniverse).
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1984
Frank Sinatra
album: L.A. Is My Lady

same track as on album referenced above

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Notes: Oddly enough, as Will Friedwald points out, Sinatra's L.A. album, which was designed to do for Los Angeles what "New York, New York" had done for the Big Apple, was, ironically, recorded in New York while Sinatra recorded "New York, New York" in L.A. In any case, Quincey Jones, the producer for L.A. Is My Lady "assembled an aggregate of the hottest New York players" to do the job, most of whom were from the Basie, Hampton, Herman, and Goodman bands as well as Randy and Michael Brecker and George Benson. He also enlisted a cast of great arrangers for the individual tracks including Phil Ramone, Sam Nestico, and Lionel Hampton himself. Nestico took on "If I should Lose You," and as Friedwald observes put the spotlight on Sinatra by having him open the song with the orchestra on a rest. This same dramatic formula was used for the opening of each subsequent A section.
Friedwald also notes that "If I Should Lose You" had to wait quite a while for such an auspicious vocal rendition having been introduced by "mega-stiffs Gladys Swarthout and John Boles . . . in the the 1935 horse operetta Rose of the Rancho. . . ." The song finally came into its own only when nearly fifteen years later Charlie Parker recorded it in 1949 bringing it to the attention of jazz artists down through the subsequent decades (Will Friedwald, Sinatra! The Song Is You A Singer's Art, New York: Scribners, 1995. pp. 494-495), Da Capo Press paperback edition, 1997).
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1996
Mark Murphy
album: Shadows

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Notes: "To say Mark Murphy is a jazz singer is an understatement. He's beyond that title. He's a poet, an actor and above all a soulful human being filled with tremendous musical talent. I have known Mark for over 50 years and have developed a very special friendship with him. I like to call him my Spiritual Brother.


I heard him sing for the first time in a little club I worked at in Greenwich Village called the Page 3. He came in to say hello to the owners who adored him. They asked him to do a tune and
this very tall handsome young man took the tiny stage and turned it into a huge concert hall. I'll never forget it. He sang "Willow Weep for Me". I was blown away by his voice and deep feeling. I've loved him and his music ever since.


"The music you are about to hear is a tour de force of Mark and his musical depth. Not only does he sing some very beautiful standard compositions, he adds some inspiring words and music written by both himself, Karlheinz Charlie Miklin, an incredible horn player and the late, great Fritz Pauer.
The original compositions are very deep and will take you toanother level. At least that's where they took me. I felt myself being transported into another dimension with a feeling of not wanting to return. Karlheinz Miklin, saxes, Fritz Pauer, piano, Ewald Oberleitner, bass and Dusan Novakov, drums were the creators for this incredible journey. They become so strongly connected that at times it's like one sound coming from all four of them. I am willing to bet they had an out of body experience when they recorded this wonderful music. Hey, don't take my word for it, buy it and try it. I hope you get the same feeling that I experienced. Long Live Mark Murphy and his music". - Sheila Jordan (from the album liner notes)
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2000
Dena DeRose
album: I Can See Clearly Now

same track as on album referenced above

iTunes

Amazon

Notes: ". . . . For this, her third release for Sharp Nine Records, the vocalist continues to dazzle with her sensuous voice and confident style. Once again, she assembles a strong team to accompany her, including drummer Matt Wilson, vibist Joe Locke, and Jim Rotundi (on a couple of tracks). When DeRose is at her best (as she is on several tracks), she is as good a singer as there is. Her "Day in Day Out," taken up-tempo, hearkens to the great vocalists of years past. DeRose gets inside the lyrics, and with a slight vibrato to end her phrases and a luxurious tone, she can be absolutely commanding. Perhaps because she was first a jazz pianist and only became a vocalist afterwards, her phrasing as a singer is immaculate. Her strong piano soloing is a pleasure, too. There are a couple of numbers not quite up to snuff, but overall, DeRose is a singer who packs a bang, and this CD is further evidence of her development." -- Steven Loewy for CDUniverse.com.

Album Personnel: Dena DeRose (vocals, piano); Joe Frahm (soprano & tenor saxophones); Jim Rotondi (trumpet); Joe Locke (vibraphone); Dwayne Burno (acoustic & electric basses); Mark Taylor, Matt Wilson (drums).

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2002
Bill Charlap and Warren Vaché
album: 2Gether

same track as on album referenced above

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iTunes

Notes: "The liner notes say that this is one of the most beautiful records of 2001 and beyond, and I can't disagree. Duets might just be the most challenging musical form to pull-off well; these guys sound like they were made to play them together. Besides the 9 duet pieces, Warren Vache (trumpet) and Bill Charlap (piano) each do one solo. These songs are mostly old standards, but the creativity of these fine musicians brings new life. Beautifully played and recorded (in Germany)". --Amazon reviewer David Conklin
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2002, 2004
Sheila Jordan
album: Little Song

View 2004 live performance
on Cafe Songbook Main Stage
(above)

Amazon

Notes: 2002 studio performance: "Although she shows her age in spots, Sheila Jordan in 2002 was still a very creative jazz singer. She has always made the most of her voice, taking chances while remaining a little tied to the bebop tradition. She reunites with her old friend pianist Steve Kuhn, welcomes trumpeter Tom Harrell to four of the 13 selections, and explores such songs as a wistful "Autumn in New York," "On a Slow Boat to China," a witty version of "Hello Young Lovers," "If I Should Love You," and some lesser-known material. Her scatting remains quite inventive and sometimes her wordless vocals sound like an American Indian folk song. Although not quite as essential as her work of a decade earlier, this is a worthwhile effort full of subtle surprises and Sheila Jordan's charm." ~ Scott Yanow at CDUniverse.com. 
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2004
Scott Hamilton and Harry Allen
album: Heavy Juice

same track as on album referenced above

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Notes: As talented tenors in the Ben Webster mold, both Scott Hamilton and Harry Allen can easily obtain exciting results fronting their own quartets. Putting exciting musicians together, however, is a guaranteed method of keeping the creative juices flowing and kicking the excitement lever up another notch. Hamilton and Allen do just that on Heavy Juice, an album overflowing with the kind of sax work that would make Zoot Sims and Stan Getz proud. . . ." Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. for CDUniverse.com.

Personnel: Scott Hamilton (tenor saxophone); Scott Hamilton; Dennis Irwin (double bass); Harry Allen (tenor saxophone); John Bunch (piano); Chuck Riggs (drums).
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2003-04
Mark Moultrup Group
album: Touch 'n Go

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Notes: Mark Moultrup, piano/vocals, arranger, producer; Bob Harsen, drums; Nick Calandro, bass; and others.
"With each new recording Mark Moultrup extends his musical boundaries. On this venture, the intrepid pianist/vocalist has included more vocals than on his last recording. And this stretch of his vocal cords is especially rewarding on the relaxed and understated "East Of The Sun." For the most part, the vocals are rendered in a mature, knowledgeable style made evident by his creative improvisational phrasings. There is no mistaking Mark's selection of tunes. He is his own best producer, and to hear his unique rendition of Benny Golson's "Along Came Betty," and the use of his lower register on Ogden Nash's "Speak Low" lyric embellished with a dollop of bass clarinet, is music to the ears. On sections of "If I Should Lose You" and "Happy Face" the trio is augmented, but not with horns up front. During these moments his voice is another frontline instrument, and is particularly engaging when he scats along with the ever-efficient arpeggios of his right hand. . . ." --Herb Boyd at CDUniverse.com.
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2010
Chick Corea and Stefano Bollani
album: Orvieto

Amazon

Notes: "Chick Corea and Stefano Bollani's Orvieto (named after the Italian city in which it was recorded) finds the two pianists, an American who is pushing 70 and an Italian in his late 30s, paired at a duo acoustic piano concert from December 2010. The set consists of tunes alternated from each of the player's repertoires, but only the selections were agreed upon in advance; otherwise, the two are winging it. Naturally, Corea takes the lead on his numbers and Bollani on his, making it easy to tell the difference between them, even if their playing styles were not sufficiently distinct. The opening with the mutually composed-on-the-spot "Orvieto Improvisation No.1" suggests a more esoteric effort than the concert as a whole turns out to be, as Corea and Bollani feel each other out with dissonant chords in a modern classical manner, before the piece develops rhythmically and comes together. The track gives way to Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Retrato em Branco e Preto," Bollani's first showcase (fans will recall that he recorded an entire album of Jobim music, Falando de Amor), which demonstrates the Italian's sometimes florid, always emotional, and highly melodic playing style. Here and elsewhere, Bollani demonstrates a pretty, lyrical, and showy approach, including cascading runs, as Corea supports him with rhythmic chording. The older player demonstrates his technical ability starting with a take on the standard "If I Should Lose You," taking fast, bright, single-note runs. And so it goes, as Bollani actually proves the more traditional of the two, Corea recalling his bop roots, particularly when the duo's second improvisation gives way to Miles Davis' "Nardis," a tune associated with Bill Evans (a player to whom Corea has devoted an entire album). Although Corea is often figuratively as well as literally on Bollani's home turf, providing support on Bollani originals and another Jobim selection, the show closes with a strong reading of Corea's "Armando's Rhumba" before the enthusiastic crowd brings the pianists back to make up a "Blues in F." And thus the veteran of Hispanic heritage and the younger Italian mix their Southern European flavors on one of the building blocks of American jazz, making for a heady musical concoction that confirms the talents of both." ~ William Ruhlmann at CDUiverse.com.
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