April in Paris (song)

"April in Paris" refrain, mm.8-11.

"April in Paris"
Song

"April in Paris" is a song composed by Vernon Duke with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg in 1932 for the Broadway musical Walk a Little Faster. The original 1933 hit was performed by Freddy Martin, and the 1952 remake (inspired by the movie of the same name) was by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, whose version made the Cashbox Top 50.

Composer Alec Wilder writes, "There are no two ways about it: this is a perfect theater song. If that sounds too reverent, then I'll reduce the praise to 'perfectly wonderful,' or else say that if it's not perfect, show me why it isn't."

It has been performed by many artists, including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Bill Evans, Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Frank Sinatra, Mary Kaye Trio, Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Benny Goodman, Dinah Shore, Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Blossom Dearie, Doris Day, Alex Chilton, Wynton Marsalis, Andy Williams, Amanda Thorpe and Dawn Upshaw. Basie's 1955 recording is the most famous, and that particular performance was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. On this recording, trumpeter Thad Jones played his famous "Pop Goes the Weasel" solo, trombonist Benny Powell performed his much noted bridge,and Basie directs the band to play the shout chorus "one more time" and then "one more once."

• Shirley Bassey recorded the song for her 1959 album "The Fabulous Shirley Bassey".
• Sammy Davis, Jr. recorded the song for his album "When the Feeling Hits You!" (1965)

The song is also featured in the film Blazing Saddles from 1974, being played by Count Basie in a cameo appearance. Basie's recording is also featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, on the fictional jazz radio station JNR 108.5.

See also

• List of 1930s jazz standards

Literature

• Ted Gioia The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire Oxford University Press; Oxford 2012; ISBN 978-0199937394

External links

• "April in Paris" at JazzStandards.com