News & Views Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Why didn’t she just scat? Wednesday, August 01, 2012

So a little jazz combo with a female vocalist were performing at a big city nightclub one night, when a wealthy patron strolled up with a fifty dollar tip and a request for “When Sunny Gets Blue.”  For that kind of money from that kind of customer, the band leader was willing to do anything, so he said, “Sure, we’ll be happy to do that one for you!”

As the generous tipper walked back to his table, the singer confessed to the band leader that she wasn’t sure she knew all the lyrics.  He told her, “Don’t worry, we’ve all done this tune for years – one of us can feed you the next line if you draw a blank.”

They kicked off the tune, and the singer crooned, “When Sunny Gets Blue…” and her brain froze – she couldn’t think of the next line.  All the horn players had their instruments in their mouth so she looked at the bass player beseechingly to give her a cue.

He looked back at her with a quizzical expression and said, “B flat minor seven!”

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