Blue Skies / In Walked Bud (Irving Berlin / Thelonious Monk)

One of the pleasant surprises from my recent cataract surgery is a new brightness and vividness in color perception, so I thought it’d be appropriate to take advantage of this and feature the 1926 Irving Berlin standard “Blue Skies.” This was an extremely popular song that’s been covered over the years by the likes of Al Jolson, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, even Moon Mullican’s Western Swing version and a #1 Country hit by Willie Nelson. This version takes it a step further with a segue into Thelonious Monk’s “In Walked Bud,” an homage to his dear friend and fellow keyboard innovator Bud Powell based partly on the chord changes of “Blue Skies.” Monk’s tune is probably best known by the name “Suddenly” which features the vocalese lyrics written by Jon Hendricks. Dig it.