Jazz – MuseScore

Over the Rainbow: The Story Behind the Song MGM Almost Cut

Justin Beckner — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 14:45:49 +0000

Harold Arlen wrote the melody during a car ride down Sunset Boulevard, then spent months convincing Yip Harburg it wasn't too grand for a farm girl to sing.

‘Empire State Of Mind’ by Alicia Keys: The Chord That Makes It New York’s Anthem

Anna Stoll — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 15:57:13 +0000

On June 18, 2026, Alicia Keys performed at the Knicks' championship parade, the city's first NBA title in 53 years. The song she chose has replaced Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" as the go-to anthem of the city, and the music theory behind it helps explain why.

Mancini Wrote ‘The Pink Panther Theme’ Around a Specific Saxophonist Before the Part Was Finished

Justin Beckner — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 14:57:48 +0000

Mancini scored the 1963 Blake Edwards film with David Niven's suave jewel thief in mind, not the cartoon cat that came later. The opening ostinato mimics a tiptoe, the chromaticism behaves like a man climbing in through a window, and the saxophone part was written around Plas Johnson's tendency to drag a phrase a hair behind the beat.

Sonny Rollins’ ‘Tenor Madness’: Remembering a Jazz Giant Through His Only Session With Coltrane

Kevin Johnson — Thu, 28 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Sonny Rollins, the legendary "saxophone colossus" who died on May 25th at age 95, left behind a body of work that jazz will never exhaust. In "Tenor Madness," his only recorded meeting with Coltrane, he builds an entire blues story from a single half-step.

Olivia Dean’s ‘So Easy (To Fall In Love)’: One Chord, One Phrasing Trick

Justin Beckner — Tue, 19 May 2026 15:00:00 +0000

Critics called it her bossa nova turn, but beneath the brightness, one chord keeps tugging the song toward F minor. Things get even trickier with the way Dean lands her syllables, which is something most singers can't replicate.

Al Jarreau’s Performance of ‘Take Five’: International Jazz Day

Kevin Johnson — Thu, 30 Apr 2026 12:28:34 +0000

April 30 marks International Jazz Day, and few performances capture what the occasion is about better than this one. Five jazz legends brought the biggest-selling jazz single ever recorded to life with the kind of spontaneous joy the song was made for.

‘All the Things You Are’: Jerome Kern’s Jazz Standard Explained

Kevin Johnson — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:07:10 +0000

These chord changes Jerome Kern wrote for a 1939 Broadway flop were so sophisticated that jazz musicians ended up studying them for decades. Eventually, the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker made it their own.

Amazing Digital Circus: The Harmonic Trick That Makes Caine’s ‘The One Who’s Running The Show’ So Unsettling

Kevin Johnson — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:18:12 +0000

Composed by Gooseworx with orchestrator Josh Plotner and lyricist Dave Capdevielle, the song takes some harmonic cues from Tin Pan Alley standards. The arrangement uses seventh chords and chromatic passes to create that lush, almost "schmoozy" vaudeville sound.

Laufey’s “Lover Girl”: Bossa Nova Craft Earns ASCAP Honor

Kevin Johnson — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:18:13 +0000

Laufey's "Lover Girl" wraps bossa nova rhythm and a 3-against-4 clave tension inside a lush string arrangement, and it just earned her the ASCAP Creative Voice Award to go with her two Grammys.

Paul Anka BMI Icon Award: How Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ Started as a French Song

Kevin Johnson — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:04:23 +0000

Only a handful of artists have managed to stay relevant between the 1950s and the modern 2020s TikTok trends. Paul Anka proves that a great melody will never expire.