PLAYLIST FOR “THE (LOST) ART OF WRITING LETTERS” (5.14.16)

Remember when 140 characters meant a Tolstoy novel, not our major means of communicating with each other? Remember when Snail Mail referred to the gender of a specie, not to the U.S. Postal Service? Remember when a sound bite was an accident with the neighbor’s dog, not a statement by a politician? (Although you’d probably be wise to get a rabies shot after both of those events.) We seem to have lost a number of things these days – skills such as logic, empathy, listening. This week I thought I’d tackle the lost art of letter writing with a couple dozen wonderful songs and singers on the topic. 

• TAKE A LETTER, MISS JONES  /  Mel Torme  /  “Live At Marty’s”
• LOVE LETTERS  /  Natalie Cole  /  “Stardust”
• I’M GONNA SIT RIGHT DOWN AND WRITE MYSELF A LETTER  /  Frank Sinatra  /  “Sinatra/Basie: The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings”
• SEALED WITH A KISS  /  Anne Farnsworth  /  “Sealed With A Kiss”
• MR. SANDMAN  /  Anita O’Day & Cal Tjader  /  “Time For Two”
• POSTCARD LOVERS  /  Stacey Kent  /  “Dreamer In Concert”
• P.S. I LOVE YOU  /  Jimmy Scott  /  “Over The Rainbow”
• FAMOUS BLUE RAINCOAT  /  Leonard Cohen  /  “The Essential Leonard Cohen”
• DEAR BIX  / Renee Yoxon & Chad Linsley  /  “Impossible: Live At Musideum”
• TONY BENNETT  /  Kevin Mahogany  /  “Old, New, Borrowed, And The Blues”
• TOO MARVELOUS FOR WORDS  /  Helen Merrill  /  “Casa Forte”
• YOU’RE THE TOP  /  (Mystery Vocalist)  /  Cary Grant & Ginny Sims  /  “Music of Cole Porter”   
• MONA LISA  /  Keith Jarrett  /  “Tokyo 96”
• SMITTEN WITH YOU  /  Lorraine Feather  /  “Attachments”
• HONEY PIE  /  Tuck & Patty  /  “Love Warriors”
• HEY JOHN  /  Blossom Dearie  /  “Blossom Dearie Sings”
• HEY YOU WITH THE CRAZY EYES  /  Loston Harris  /  “Swingfully Yours”
• BABY, WON’T YOU PLEASE COME HOME  /  Champian Fulton  /  “After Dark”
• MEET ME AT NO SPECIAL PLACE  /  Maud Hixson  /  “Love’s Refrain”
• LONELY TIME  /  Maynard Ferguson  /  “Message From Birdland”
• YOU’RE DRIVING ME CRAZY  /  Curtis Stigers  /  “Secret Heart”
• DEARLY BELOVED  /  Nancy Wilson  /  “Hollywood My Way”
• THE WAY YOU LOOK TONIGHT  /  Tony Bennett  /  “Rarities, Outtakes, & Other Delights, Vol. 2””
• HURRY IT’S LOVELY UP HERE  /  Mark Jennett  /  “Everybody Says Don’t”
• DON’T SMOKE IN BED  /  Nina Simone  /  “Little Girl Blue”
• PARIS MISMATCH  /  (Theme Music)  /  Cody Owen Stine  

Podcasts On PRX here:

Tags: Anita O'Day, Anne Farnsworth, Blossom Dearie, Cal Tjader, Cary Grant, Chad Linsley, Champian Fulton, Cody Owen Stine, Count Basie, Curtis Stigers, Frank Sinatra, Ginny Sims, Helen Merrill, jazz, jazz radio, jazz singers, jazz vocalists, jazz vocals, Jimmy Scott, Keith Jarrett, Kevin Mahogany, Leonard Cohen, live radio, Lorraine Feather, Loston Harris, Mark Jennett, Maud Hixson, Maynard Ferguson, Mel Torme, Nancy Wilson, Natalie Cole, Nina Simone, playlists, PRX, radio, Renee Yoxon, Stacey Kent, Tony Bennett, Tuck & Patti, wmnr, wmnr fine arts