Home » Jazz Articles » The Beatles
Jazz Articles about The Beatles
John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs
by Doug Collette
John & Paul: A Love Story In Songs Ian Leslie 448 Pages ISBN: # 9781250869548 Celadon Books 2025 Considering the reams of research and writing devoted to the Beatles since their monumental success in the early '60s, it seems almost implausible any writer could find a fresh perspective on the British group and their work. But Ian Leslie has done just that with John & Paul: A Love Story In Songs.
Continue ReadingInterpreting the Lennon / McCartney Songbook, part 4: Abbey Road & Let It Be
by Larry Slater
In this final installment of interpretations of the John Lennon and Paul McCartney songbook, we turn to music from the last few Beatles albums... The White Album, Abbey Road and Let it Be. By the end of the '60s, the Lennon/McCartney partnership had fractured beyond repair; McCartney's superior musical skills were respected but resented by the rest of the band, who complained about his micromanagement. Lennon was addicted to heroin and he later admitted, “I was stoned all ...
Continue ReadingInterpreting the Lennon/McCartney Songbook, Part 3: Sgt. Pepper
by Larry Slater
It's really no surprise that the tunes from The Beatles still attract jazz musicians, much as the music of Gershwin, Kern or Cole Porter does. Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club was a defining musical moment of the 1960s. Released in 1967, the album is one of a kind and included songs that have appealed to jazz artists: “She's Leaving Home," “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds," “With A Little Help From My Friends" and “A Day In The Life." Featured ...
Continue ReadingInterpreting the Lennon/ McCartney Songbook: Part 2, Rubber Soul and Revolver
by Larry Slater
The songwriting team of John Lennon and Paul McCartney became increasingly sophisticated by the mid 1960s. McCartney was the more knowledgeable musically, as he played piano and understood harmony (though he never did learn to read music). Much of John Lennon's writing had a harder edge, and he had a way with lyrics. The albums Rubber Soul and Revolver included some timeless songs that have inspired jazz musicians to interpret them as vehicles for improvisation. “Yesterday," “Here, There and Everywhere," ...
Continue ReadingInterpreting The Lennon/Mccartney Songbook: Part 1, Early Songs
by Larry Slater
Since its earliest days, Jazz musicians have used popular songs as springboards for creative interpretation, reimagining these tunes through the art of improvisation.. The great American songbooks of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin, have long been a staple of the jazz repertoire. Do John Lennon and Paul McCartney belong in this exalted company? I think they do, and there has been a renewed interest among jazz musicians, with recent Beatles cover albums by Americans and Europeans alike.
Continue ReadingWhat Is Your Favorite Jazz Interpretation Of The Beatles?
by Ian Patterson
When The Beatles landed at John F. Kennedy Airport on February 7, 1964, they were greeted by around three thousand fans. Two days later, when The Fab Four performed on The Ed Sullivan Show, the television audience topped 70 million. Popular music was never the same again. It was not long before jazz musicians followed the lead of countless pop acts in covering The Beatles' songs. The list is an incredibly long one and, some sixty years later, ...
Continue ReadingLiving The Beatles Legend: The Untold Story Of Mal Evans
by Doug Collette
Living The Beatles Legend: The Untold Story of Mal Evans Kenneth Womack 592 Pages ISBN: #978-0063248526 Dey Street Books2023 Kenneth Womack covers a tremendous amount of ground in writing The Untold Story of Mal Evans. Granted, Living The Beatles Legend runs nearly six-hundred pages including scrupulous footnotes as well as a lengthy index plus all the appropriate references. But in doing so, this professor of English and popular music maintains a charming approach ...
Continue Reading
