What Am I Here for
What Am I Here for is a jazz composition in song form that Duke Ellington wrote and published in 1942; Frankie Laine later contributed lyrics .
The ballad What Am I Here for (mostly played at a medium tempo) was created in the early 1940s in the era of the Blanton-Webster band , at the same time as well-known Ellington numbers such as Jack the Bear, Cotton Tail, Ko-Ko, Conga Brava and Concerto for Cootie ; the composition initially had the interim title Ethiopian Nation .
The early 1942 record with the Ellington Orchestra was released in 1944 on RCA Victor as the B-side of the vocal number I Don't Mind (with Ivie Anderson ); Soloists were Tricky Sam Nanton (trombone), Johnny Hodges (alto saxophone), Rex Stewart (trumpet), Ben Webster (tenor saxophone) and Ellington himself on piano. In 1961 Duke Ellington took up the title as a soloist ( Piano in the Background ). The title has been interpreted several times in the field of jazz; According to Jazzstandards.com, the versions by Ben Webster, Rob McConnell , Jimmy Hamilton , Cat Anderson , Marian McPartland and Joe van Enkhuizen are particularly noteworthy ; Allmusic also lists versions by Paul Gonsalves , Earl Hines , Ralph Burns , Stéphane Grappelli , Oscar Peterson / Milt Jackson ( Ain't But a Few of Us Left , 1981), Hank Jones ( Arigato , 1976), Jimmy Rowles and Count Basie ( April in Paris , 1957). Ellington employee Frankie Laine wrote lyrics in later years; the vocal version was recorded u. a. by Ella Fitzgerald ( Ella at Duke's Place , 1965), Sarah Vaughan ( The Duke Ellington Songbook, Vol. 2 , 1979), Lambert, Hendricks & Ross ( Sing Ellington , 1960), Nnenna Freelon , Lena Horne ( Being Myself , 1998) and Johnny Mathis ( In a Sentimental Mood: Mathis Sings Ellington , 1990).