My Man: Piano/Vocal/Chords

This collection gathers 20 universally recognized standards in professional piano/vocal arrangements that respect both the songs and the musicians performing them. The mix spans jazz, theatrical classics, and timeless ballads, giving you genuine flexibility for fundraisers, recitals, community performances, and student showcases without resort to simplified versions or arrangements that feel thin.

Opening this collection feels like stepping into a New York supper club or Paris salon circa 1945. Each song invites conversation between singer and pianist, layered with nostalgia and wit. The arrangements honor the intimacy these standards demand: they swing, they sigh, they seduce, and they celebrate the craft of song that predates recording technology yet outlasted it.

Vocalists preparing recitals, jazz singers building a cabaret or cocktail repertoire, piano teachers seeking engaging duet material for advanced students, and music directors curating concerts that bridge classical training with popular standards. This book serves working musicians and serious amateurs who want professional-grade arrangements without licensing complexity.

• Balance the vocal line with the piano accompaniment by voicing the right-hand chords as support rather than competition; let the lyrics carry the phrase while harmony anchors it.
• Study the original recordings of these standards to understand where the melody breathes and where rubato serves the lyric; sheet music alone won't capture the interpretive tradition these songs carry.
• Mark chord changes clearly and speak through them during rehearsal, especially in bebop-influenced numbers like 'Take Five,' so harmonic movement feels intentional rather than perfunctory.
• Treat the full lyrics seriously as poetry; emotional authenticity in delivery matters far more than technical precision in these conversational, intimate songs.

Program this as a full evening of standards for a gala or benefit concert, or draw individual titles as encores and crowd-pleasers that audiences instantly recognize and treasure. The 80-page span gives you enough depth to sustain a coherent concert identity while allowing you to excerpt selections for smaller events, studio recitals, or collaborative performances that pair singers with accompanists.

• Reading lead sheets with chord symbols and translating them into idiomatic piano voicings
• Balancing vocal projection with piano accompaniment in intimate performance spaces
• Interpreting jazz and swing rhythms within a notated melody
• Understanding harmonic movement in the song forms that define the Great American Songbook
• Communicating lyrics with emotional clarity while maintaining musical line
• Accompanying singers while maintaining rhythmic independence and harmonic coherence