Stompin' at the Savoy
"Stompin' at the Savoy" is a 1933 jazz standard composed by Edgar Sampson. It is named after the famed Harlem nightspot the Savoy Ballroom in New York City.[1]
History and composition
Although the song is often credited to Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, Edgar Sampson, and Andy Razaf, it was written and arranged by Sampson, Rex Stewart's alto saxophonist. Sampson wrote the song when he was with Stewart's orchestra at the Empire Ballroom in 1933. It was used as the band's theme song until the band broke up, after which Sampson joined Chick Webb's band, taking the song with him.[2] Webb’s recording rose to number ten on the charts in 1934. Two years later, the piece charted with versions by Ozzie Nelson and Benny Goodman.
Both Webb and Benny Goodman recorded it as an instrumental, Goodman's being the bigger hit.[1] Lyrics were added by lyricist Andy Razaf.[3] Goodman's 1936 version is written in 32-bar song form with four 8-bar phrases arranged AABA. The A sections use a Db6, Ab9, Db6, Ddim, Ebm7, Ab7, Db, Db chord sequence. The B section phrases use a Gb9/G9, Gb9, B13/F#m6, B13, E9/F9, E9, A13, Ab13 chord sequence. The tempo is medium fast.
Since becoming a jazz standard, the song has been recorded hundreds of times.
Various versions
- Chick Webb, 1934[3]
- Benny Goodman, 1936[3]
- Judy Garland, 1936
- Charlie Christian, 1941 [4]
- Django Reinhardt, 1944
- Art Tatum, 1941
- Glenn Miller and the AAFB, V-Disc, 1944
- Esquire All Stars, 1944[3]
- Art Tatum, The Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces Volume 5, 1953[3]
- Clifford Brown and Max Roach, Brown and Roach Incorporated, 1954[3]
- Anita O'Day, Pick Yourself Up with Anita O'Day, 1956
- Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, 1956
- Art Pepper, Modern Art, 1956[3]
- Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, Ella and Louis Again, 1957[3]
- Jim Hall, 1957 [5]
- Ahmad Jamal and Cal Tjader, 1958) [6]
- Henri Salvador, Salvador plays the blues, 1959
- Ella Fitzgerald live, on her Ella at the Opera House album, 1960
- Sarah Vaughan, 1964 [1]
- Harry Connick, Jr., When Harry Met Sally..., 1989
- The Boston Pops Orchestra under John Williams, 1991
- Karrin Allyson, Azure-Té, 1995
- Eddie Daniels, Swing Low Sweet Clarinet, 1999[3]
- Nikki Yanofsky with Herbie Hancock and will.i.am, 2007
- Tony Glausi, My Favorite Tunes, 2020[7]
See also
Notes
- Wilson, Jeremy. "Stompin' at the Savoy". JazzStandards.com. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- McGee, Earl, "Neither Benny Nor Chuck Wrote Savoy?", DownBeat 4: 4, p. 21 (April 1937).
- Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 405–407. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
- Harrison et al, p. 1.
- Harrison et al, p. 160.
- Harrison et al, p. 282.
- "Stompin at the Savoy - Tony Glausi, Lucas Pino, Julius Rodriguez, Dan Chmielinski, Bryan Carter". YouTube. 22 March 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 22 August 2020.
References
- Harrison, Max; Fox, Charles; Thacker, Eric; Nicholson, Stuart (2000). The Essential Jazz Records: Modernism to Postmodernism. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-7201-1822-3.