The Mooche: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Added song sample and citations
BOT--Reverting link addition(s) by 2003:E3:4F22:2900:226:8FF:FEEE:ADE9 to revision 1009112585 (www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDVZdZMCc0w [\byoutube\.com])
 
(8 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{distinguish|The Mooch}}
{{distinguish|The Mooch}}
{{short description|1928 song by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills}}
{{Infobox song
{{Infobox song
| name = The Mooche
| name = The Mooche
Line 13: Line 14:
| length = 3:20
| length = 3:20
| writer =
| writer =
| composer = Duke Ellington and Irving Mills
| composer = [[Duke Ellington]] and [[Irving Mills]]
| lyricist =
| lyricist =
}}
}}
Line 24: Line 25:
| format = [[Ogg]]
| format = [[Ogg]]
}}
}}
'''"The Mooche"''' is an American [[jazz]] song, composed in 1928 by [[Duke Ellington]] and [[Irving Mills]],<ref name="Berger 2007"/> with [[scat singing]] by vocalist Gertrude "Baby" Cox.<ref name="Lawrence 2001"/> The song is considered to be one of Ellington's "greatest pieces" and "he performed it frequently and recorded it many times over 45 years."<ref name="Berger 2007"/>
'''"The Mooche"''' is an American [[jazz]] song, composed in 1928 by [[Duke Ellington]] and [[Irving Mills]],<ref name="Berger 2007"/> with [[scat singing]] by vocalist Gertrude "Baby" Cox.<ref name="Lawrence 2001"/> The song is considered to be one of Ellington's signature pieces and "he performed it frequently and recorded it many times over 45 years."<ref name="Berger 2007"/>


Among the musicians who recorded the original version of the song was [[James "Bubber" Miley]] whom Ellington described "the epitome of soul and a master of the plunger mute. In time, Miley's alcohol abuse and unreliability would lead to his departure from the Ellington band, and he was dead from tuberculosis before his thirtieth birthday. But no one, apart from Duke himself, did more than Miley to shape the early Ellington sound."<ref name="Gioia 2007"/>
Among the jazz musicians who recorded the original version of the song was [[James "Bubber" Miley]] whom Ellington described as "the epitome of soul and a master of the [[plunger mute]]."<ref name="Gioia 2007"/> However, Miley's [[alcoholism]] and his consequent unreliability would lead to his parting with Ellington's band.<ref name="Gioia 2007"/> Four years later, on May 20, 1932, Miley expired from [[tuberculosis]]. He was 29 years old. Despite his early death, "no one, apart from Duke himself, did more than Miley to shape the early Ellington sound."<ref name="Gioia 2007"/>


Ellington composed the song "for a high reed trio, playing one of the most eerie and haunting themes he had created up to that time. The theme, a sixteen-bar blues with interpolations by Miley, is followed by an eight-bar orchestral ''[[tutti]]'', and then segues to a low register solo by [[Barney Bigard|[Barney] Bigard]]. A [[Lonnie Johnson (musician)|[Lonnie] Johnson]] solo is followed by a Miley-inspired scat vocal by Baby Cox."<ref name="Lawrence 2001"/>
Ellington composed the song "for a high reed trio, playing one of the most eerie and haunting themes he had created up to that time. The theme, a [[sixteen-bar blues]] with interpolations by Miley, is followed by an eight-bar orchestral ''[[tutti]]'', and then segues to a low register solo by [[Barney Bigard|[Barney] Bigard]]. A [[Lonnie Johnson (musician)|[Lonnie] Johnson]] solo is followed by a Miley-inspired scat vocal by Baby Cox."<ref name="Lawrence 2001"/>


The song is in the so-called "jungle style" and includes the [[clarinet]] and [[Mute (music)|muted]] [[trumpet]] typical of Ellington's work.<ref name="Stanley 2005"/> The song is played in [[C minor]].
The song is in the so-called "jungle style" and includes the [[clarinet]] and [[Mute (music)|muted]] [[trumpet]] typical of Ellington's work.<ref name="Stanley 2005"/> The song is played in [[C minor]].
Line 35: Line 36:


== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist
{{Reflist
| refs =
| refs =


<ref name="Berger 2007">{{cite article
<ref name="Berger 2007">{{cite news
| last = Berger
| last = Berger
| first = David
| first = David
Line 48: Line 49:
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


<ref name="Ellington 1933">{{cite article
<ref name="Ellington 1933">{{cite news
| last = Ellington
| last = Ellington
| first = Duke
| first = Duke
Line 55: Line 56:
| work = Rhythm
| work = Rhythm
| date = August 1933
| date = August 1933
| pages = 22-3
| pages = 22–3
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


Line 78: Line 79:
| location = New York
| location = New York
| year = 2001
| year = 2001
| url = https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=v6-SAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA136&lpg=PA136
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=v6-SAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA136
| isbn = 0-415-93012-X
| isbn = 0-415-93012-X
| page = 136
| page = 136
Line 87: Line 88:
| first = Stanley
| first = Stanley
| author-link = Stanley Crouch
| author-link = Stanley Crouch
| title = The Late Show: Why Duke Ellington’s late work deserves our attention.
| title = The Late Show: Why Duke Ellington's late work deserves our attention.
| date = January 12, 2005
| date = January 12, 2005
| url = http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2005/01/the_late_show.html
| url = http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2005/01/the_late_show.html
Line 101: Line 102:
| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
| publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
| year = 1993
| year = 1993
| url = https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=j7HLNsjGRKcC
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=j7HLNsjGRKcC
| page = 88
| page = 88
| isbn = 0-19-505410-5
| isbn = 0-19-505410-5
Line 111: Line 112:
* {{YouTube|hP6pnM04PCo|A version of the song as performed by Duke Ellington & His Orchestra}}
* {{YouTube|hP6pnM04PCo|A version of the song as performed by Duke Ellington & His Orchestra}}
{{Duke Ellington}}
{{Duke Ellington}}
{{Authority control}}
⚫
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mooche}}


⚫
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mooche}}
[[Category:1928 songs]]
[[Category:1928 songs]]
[[Category:Jazz songs]]
[[Category:Jazz songs]]
Line 118: Line 120:
[[Category:Songs with lyrics by Irving Mills]]
[[Category:Songs with lyrics by Irving Mills]]
[[Category:Jazz compositions in C minor]]
[[Category:Jazz compositions in C minor]]



{{1920s-jazz-composition-stub}}
{{1920s-jazz-composition-stub}}

Latest revision as of 11:59, 9 June 2021

Not to be confused with The Mooch.
"The Mooche"
Song
LanguageEnglish
A-side"Hot and Bothered"
PublishedOctober 1, 1928
StudioOKeh Recording Studio
GenreJazz
Length3:20
Composer(s)Duke Ellington and Irving Mills
"The Mooche" (1928)
Sample of "The Mooche" with scat vocals by Gertrude "Baby" Cox.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"The Mooche" is an American jazz song, composed in 1928 by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills,[1] with scat singing by vocalist Gertrude "Baby" Cox.[2] The song is considered to be one of Ellington's signature pieces and "he performed it frequently and recorded it many times over 45 years."[1]

Among the jazz musicians who recorded the original version of the song was James "Bubber" Miley whom Ellington described as "the epitome of soul and a master of the plunger mute."[3] However, Miley's alcoholism and his consequent unreliability would lead to his parting with Ellington's band.[3] Four years later, on May 20, 1932, Miley expired from tuberculosis. He was 29 years old. Despite his early death, "no one, apart from Duke himself, did more than Miley to shape the early Ellington sound."[3]

Ellington composed the song "for a high reed trio, playing one of the most eerie and haunting themes he had created up to that time. The theme, a sixteen-bar blues with interpolations by Miley, is followed by an eight-bar orchestral tutti, and then segues to a low register solo by [Barney] Bigard. A [Lonnie] Johnson solo is followed by a Miley-inspired scat vocal by Baby Cox."[2]

The song is in the so-called "jungle style" and includes the clarinet and muted trumpet typical of Ellington's work.[4] The song is played in C minor.

The title, sometimes spelled "mooch," refers to "someone who constantly borrows but does not pay back."[1] In 1933, Ellington explained that the title referred to "a certain lazy gait peculiar to some of the folk of Harlem."[5][6]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Berger, David (2007). "The Mooche by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills" (PDF). Jazz at Lincoln Center Library. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Lawrence, A. H. (2001). Duke Ellington and His World. New York: Routledge. p. 136. ISBN 0-415-93012-X.
  3. ^ a b c Gioia, Ted (2007). "Duke Ellington (Featuring Bubber Miley): The Mooche". Archived from the original on May 29, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  4. ^ Crouch, Stanley (January 12, 2005). "The Late Show: Why Duke Ellington's late work deserves our attention". Slate. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  5. ^ Ellington, Duke (August 1933). "My Hunt for Song Titles". Rhythm. pp. 22–3.
  6. ^ Tucker, Mark (1993). The Duke Ellington Reader. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 88. ISBN 0-19-505410-5.

External links[edit]


Stub icon

This article about a jazz standard or composition written in the 1920s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Mooche&oldid=1027688965"