Pan Alley

Harry, a fitting title. Although stylistically it’s considered a bit of a transitional album, Harry established or reaffirmed most of the fan-endearing attributes that would characterize the best of Nilsson’s future work. There’s gorgeous song craft, expressive covers, orchestration, soundtrack residue, off-beat humor and tin pan hokum. There’s even a preview of his next album as Harry covers Randy Newman’s “Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear.” Nilsson’s never-ending Beatles fixation produced “Mournin’ Glory Story,” a grim outcome/sequel to Paul McCartney’s “She’s Leaving Home,” and he even took a stab at Monkee money with “The Puppy Song,” a track originally written for Mary Hopkin, at McCartney’s behest.

"On Broadway" records that spotlight jazz standards, includes innovative but respectful readings of tin pan alley nuggets by Gershwin, Kern, Porter, Rogers, Harburg and others.
The quartet of tenorman Joe Lovano, guitarist Bill Frisell, bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Paul Motian digs into nine show tunes from the 1930s and 40s, reinventing them in colorful fashion. "On Broadway" is a showcase of some of the smartest, most rewarding jazz improvisation of the last couple decades.

From Tin Pan Alley to grand opera, player-pianos to phonograph records, David Suisman’s Selling Sounds explores the rise of music as big business and the creation of a radically new musical culture. Around the turn of the twentieth century, music entrepreneurs laid the foundation for today’s vast industry, with new products, technologies, and commercial strategies to incorporate music into the daily rhythm of modern life.