Lonely Town

Question 1

Structure

Answer 1

Verse Refrain, refrain follows AAB structure, verse contains only piano and voice (Marty Paich on piano first time)

Question 2

Tempo

Answer 2

Very slow, contrasts the other energetic style Mel normally does, lots of room for colour and warm tone of Mel

Question 3

Melody

Answer 3

Torme sticks with Bernstein’s melody for pitch but plays around with the rhythm (free, typical of crooner style to show off velvet fog voice)

Question 4

Harmony

Answer 4

Colourful harmony, Torme’s version goes F to Ebm, fluid tonality with new tonal centre every few bars (perfect pitch helps with this), lots of inversions, saxs cloud the harmony, all kind of chord and tritone movements in bass

Question 5

Texture/instrumentation

Answer 5

Ballad so focus on Mel’s voice, saxs carry harmonic work, piano adds jazzy decoration, drums quiet (brushes), bass keeps pace steady, little brass but some muted TPT interjections

Question 6

Verse

Answer 6

Free time led by Torme, Paich assists in harmony on piano with dissonant interjections

Question 7

Refrain

Answer 7

Bass falls chromatically under Torme’s vocal line

Question 8

Refrain A

Answer 8

Four falling notes from muted TPT, saxophones move to countermelodies with rare French horn

Question 9

B

Answer 9

B section more intense, ‘love’ highest note, brass join as well to hear the desperation the music winds down

Question 10

Coda

Answer 10

Goes to just piano and bass, last track of album so feels like a late-night jam session- nod to small band modal jazz popular in the 50s-60s