Orange Blossoms is everything a contrafact composition should be: the changes to
Body and Soul are familiar, sure, but the unusual new melody winds and twists through the chords in such a way that on first listen, it's nearly impossible to discern the source material. The beautiful new ballad is a winner in its own right, as well: it is sensitive, moody, and nostalgic. Brian Lynch was the first to record it as an instrumental, in 2009; including it on his "
Unsung Heroes" project was certainly an apt choice, as Idrees Sulieman is a masterful composer with far too little exposure.
Judy Niemack created a lyric version (
With You) and that recording and vocal lead sheet is available on jazzleadsheets.com along with a no-vocal track (in A-flat).
Don Sickler: "Ballad tempos are very personal. Brian heard at
ca. 60. Judy sang it at
ca. 50. Depending on my mood, I've played it even slower."
Don recalls, "I've been very lucky to meet and get to know many of the composers we publish. The incredible musician and composer Idrees Sulieman came into my life in the 1980s. As a trumpet player, he became legendary for his sound. Even before I heard his ‘live’ sound, I'd always heard that Idrees was definitely one of the 'big sound' cats that had to be heard in person to believe. His name was always mentioned to me alongside other 'big sound' giants like Freddie Webster, Clifford Brown and Fats Navarro, great talents I unfortunately was never able to hear ‘live.’ When Idrees played his horn at my studio, it sounded like the bell of his horn was at least four feet wide! The legend was true.
"As we bring more of Idrees's wonderful compositions to jazzleadsheets, I'll be telling you more about him. For now, just soak up this beautiful ballad of his. I wish I had a recording of Idrees playing it!"
Brian Lynch recorded this song as part of his "Unsung Heroes" project. This project selected less-familiar works from under-recognized trumpet masters like Idrees, Louis Smith, Joe Gordon and Tommy Turrentine. Brian also wrote his own tributes to these masters for this project. To learn more about this critically acclaimed series, check out
Brian talking about it himself.
See all available titles from
Volume 1 and
Volume 2
Exclusive audio tracks: Brian's complete track
clip from the "Unsung Heroes Project" is available, as are separate
Minus You tracks:
--
cllpmel minus trumpet
--
cllppn minus piano
--
cllpba minus bass
--
cllpdr minus drums
Rhythm section players should get the C lead sheet; melody players, get the appropriate one and play along with it!
