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Mitzi's First Night Out – Bertha Hope
This beautiful Latin song has a deceptive chord progression—the true key center is only revealed in a few places. Two exclusive solo piano recordings by Glenn Zaleski are available: Bertha Hope’s arrangement, and his own personal interpretation.
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- Recording: Bertha Hope - In Search Of . . .
- Recorded on: October, 1990
- Label: SteepleChase (SCCD 31276)
- Concert Key: C
- Style: Latin (medium)
- Piano - Bertha Hope
- Bass - Walter Booker
- drums - Billy Higgins
A fascinating song—catchy, fun to play and solo on, and open to expressive interpretation throughout. The key center of this song is often hidden: several sections imply D♭ major or C minor before resolving to C major at the last moment. The unusual form is AABCBC, with 8 measures in each section; the two A sections could be interpreted as an intro and interlude, but are really part of the form in both head and solos. After the out head there is a rhythmic coda based on two more A sections.
On this recording, drummer Billy Higgins plays his own personal brand of Latin groove on the A sections, switching to bossa at B. A variety of grooves could be used for this song.
Click on the second album cover for Bertha Hope’s solo piano arrangement recorded by Glenn Zaleski. Also check out Glenn’s own interpretation (third album cover).
On this recording, drummer Billy Higgins plays his own personal brand of Latin groove on the A sections, switching to bossa at B. A variety of grooves could be used for this song.
Click on the second album cover for Bertha Hope’s solo piano arrangement recorded by Glenn Zaleski. Also check out Glenn’s own interpretation (third album cover).
Bertha Hope dedicated this song to her friend Katherine “Mitzi” Keeham. As explained in the liner notes: “Bertha remembers going out with Mitzi following a bout with the flu that kept the jazz lover off the scene. ‘We were at Bradley’s and afterwards I went back home with her where she had a great piano in her living room . . . I know how it feels when you’re sick and it feels like you’re never going to get better, so it was kind of a triumphant night and this song came out of it.’”
Check out other titles from "In Search Of . . .".
Check out other titles from "In Search Of . . .".
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- Recording: Glenn Zaleski - Glenn Zaleski Plays Bertha Hope's Solo Piano Arrangements
- Recorded on: December 1, 2012
- Label: jazzleadsheets.com (JLS 1054)
- Concert Key: C
- Style: Latin (medium)
- Piano - Glenn Zaleski
Bertha Hope’s solo piano arrangement is one chorus long plus an ending based on the coda from the original recording. Click on Piano Corner for more details.
On December 1, 2012, Glenn Zaleski recorded 14 solo piano arrangements of Bertha Hope compositions at Van Gelder Studio; check out other songs from this project. He also recorded his own interpretations of three of these songs; click on the third album cover for more details.
This solo piano arrangement is relatively straightforward, adding voicings to some of the important melody notes and internal movement complementing a few phrases (for example beat 3 of the first measure of B). A left-hand vamp figure runs throughout the A section and coda.
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- Recording: Glenn Zaleski - Glenn Zaleski at Rudy Van Gelder's: Solo Piano
- Recorded on: December 1, 2012
- Label: jazzleadsheets.com (1055)
- Concert Key: C
- Style: Latin (Bossa)
- Piano - Glenn Zaleski
Glenn Zaleski’s own solo piano version of Mitzi’s First Night Out shows an alternate interpretation of the form. Instead of playing the A section melody, he uses the first four measures of A section changes as an improvised vamp intro. B and C thus become a 16-measure form for the head and soloing. At the end he plays over two more A sections as a coda, with a rhythmic texture related to the original coda but a bit more active. This inventive recording really shows how satisfying and open to creative interpretation this song can be.
Glenn Zaleski came to Van Gelder Studio on December 1, 2012, primarily to record Bertha Hope’s solo piano arrangements of her compositions; click on the second album cover here for more details on this project. He chose three of these songs to record his own personal interpretations as well: besides Mitzi’s First Night Out, the others are Between Two Kings and Da La Senidras.
Bertha Hope
born on Nov 8, 1936
A dynamic force in improvised music, pianist Bertha Hope has been making headway in the jazz scene since the early 1960s. Raised in Los Angeles, Bertha attended Manual Arts High School. She began her jazz journey with pianists Elmo Hope and Richie Powell in her youth. Although she studied piano at Los Angeles Community College, she received her B.A. in early childhood education from Antioch College. She married Elmo in 1960; they moved to New York where Bertha worked as a telephone operator by day and performed at night. Read more...