Let's Face The Music And Dance: E-Z Play Today

Urbane and buoyant. The melody glides with theatrical elegance while the underlying changes suggest movement and momentum. There's a confidence built into every phrase, a sense that the performer knows exactly where the music is going.

Piano students ready to move beyond simplified lead sheets into the jazz standard repertoire. This works equally well for intermediate players building jazz fluency or for students preparing audition material with legitimate vintage appeal.

• Shape the melody with subtle dynamic swells rather than rigid accents; let the lyrical content guide your breath and touch.
• Commit fully to the swing eighth-note feel from the opening measure. A tentative approach undermines the tune's inherent confidence.
• Layer in comping underneath the melody line once you're comfortable. This transforms a lead sheet into a fuller, more sophisticated arrangement.
• Listen to established recordings (Astaire, Bennett, or Sinatra) to internalize the idiomatic phrasing and rhythmic inflection this song demands.

Include this in a jazz history unit or Broadway retrospective to anchor conversations about standards from the American songbook. It also serves as excellent audition material or a polished encore piece that audiences genuinely recognize and love.

• Swing eighth-note interpretation and feel
• Jazz melodic phrasing and vocal inflection on piano
• Reading and interpreting lead sheet symbols
• Basic jazz comping and harmonic accompaniment
• Style-appropriate rubato and tempo flexibility