More Than You Know: Lead Sheet
Mel Tormé
Item: 00-PSL-000129
$4.99
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Description
This folio contains 26 classics from "The Velvet Fog" plus a bio and many photos from his personal archives. Titles include: Blue Moon * The Carioca * Fascinating Rhythm * A Foggy Day * I Got Rhythm * Isn't It a Pity * More Than You Know * Oh, Lady Be Good * 'Round Midnight * September Song * You Make Me Feel So Young.
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Additional Details
Series:
Legendary Performers Series
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
112
SKU:
00-PSL-000129
More about this title
About the Artist: Mel Tormé
Mel Tormé (1946-1999) was a vocalist, composer, arranger, and pianist whose technical precision and sophisticated interpretations earned him the nickname "The Velvet Fog." He came of age during the golden age of American songwriting, and his recordings became the standard for jazz vocal phrasing and harmonic understanding. His ability to sight-read complex arrangements and contribute original compositions and arrangements to the jazz canon made him a musician's musician.
Beyond his celebrated vocal recordings, Tormé's musicianship extended to bandleading, film scoring, and mentoring. He recorded over a hundred albums and wrote hundreds of compositions, maintaining an active performing and recording career from his teens through his final decades. His work remains a masterclass in jazz interpretation and the art of the standard.
Why we love this
This collection gives pianists and singers direct access to the arrangements that shaped Tormé's legendary interpretations. The lead sheet format invites performers to study the harmonic sophistication and vocal phrasing that made these standards distinctly his own, while providing flexibility to find your own voice within these timeless melodies.
What to expect
These standards carry the elegance and restraint that defined Tormé's artistry. There's an intimacy in the material, a sense of songs sung in close proximity to the listener, with every note intentional and every phrase shaped by decades of musical understanding.
Who it's for
This resource serves jazz pianists working toward more sophisticated harmonic understanding, singers preparing to interpret the jazz standard repertoire, and educators designing jazz history or vocal jazz curricula. It's especially valuable for students who want to understand how one of jazz's greatest interpreters approached these canonical American compositions.
How to get the most out of it
- Study how Tormé phrases across bar lines rather than within them; notice where he sits behind or ahead of the beat to shape the lyric.
- Use the included photos and biographical material to understand the era and context of these compositions, which deepens interpretive choices.
- Approach the chords as suggestions for reharmonization rather than fixed voicings; jazz standards thrive on personal arrangement choices.
How to use it
Program these lead sheets as a unit study in American songbook standards, pairing them with recordings of Tormé's interpretations for comparison and analysis. They work equally well as reference material for jazz ensembles studying vocal approaches to familiar tunes, or as source material for student arrangements in jazz composition courses.
Skills your students will build
- Reading lead sheet notation and chord symbols
- Jazz phrasing and rhythmic independence from the written beat
- Harmonic analysis of American standards
- Vocal jazz interpretation and lyrical phrasing
- Understanding jazz reharmonization techniques