Morning (Clare Fischer composition)

"Morning" is a Latin Jazz standard written by American pianist/composer/arranger Clare Fischer,^[2] first heard on his 1965 LP, Manteca!, Fischer's first recording conceived entirely in the Afro-Cuban idiom, which, along with the Brazilian music he had explored at length over the previous three years,^[3] would provide fertile ground for Fischer's musical explorations over the next half-century.

Form

"Morning" was Fischer's first - and, to this day, his most famous - contribution to the then recently evolved cha-cha-chá genre.^[4] Its structure is the standard A-A-B-A, 32 measures in length. In practice, however, the song's debut recording does take one significant detour, paying unashamed homage to one of its composer's primary musical influences in the process, when, halfway through trombonist Gil Falco's solo, instead of proceeding to the bridge, "Morning" morphs into a 16-bar development of the principal 2-measure motif of "Spring Rounds," the fourth section from Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring.^[5]

Lyrics

It remains unclear exactly when Fischer's lyrics to "Morning" were written, but they were not unveiled until the debut of 2+2, the vocal group with which Fischer supplemented his fledgling Latin jazz combo, Salsa Picante, in 1980. Long before that, however, he had been upstaged, at least throughout the Spanish-speaking world, by José José's eponymous 1969 debut LP, which featured a "Morning" cover employing José's own lyrics. Head start aside, the magnitude of José's stardom all but guaranteed that any Spanish-language version supplied by the composer was doomed to obscurity, a situation still lamented by Fischer almost thirty years later.^[6] Fischer's own lyrics, however, have - at least in their original language - gained some traction since their 1981 debut in Clare Fischer & Salsa Picante Present 2+2, with subsequent recordings by Lisa Rich,^[7] Meredith D'Ambrosio,^[8] Jeanie Bryson,^[9] Dianne Reeves,^[10] Alex & Nilusha,^[11] and, most recently, on Roseanna Vitro's album Clarity, Music of Clare Fischer.^[12] Moreover, near the end of Fischer's life, two versions of the song, one featuring the approved Spanish-language version of his lyric, the other, the Portuguese, were recorded by the Clare Fischer Voices, under the direction of the composer's son, Brent Fischer, on ...And Sometimes Instruments.^[13]

Original version

Music and Lyric by Clare Fischer

What of a morning
That brings a day so gently,
And bathes the leaves
Of memories
That fell so long ago.

I still recall you
In all these early hours,
Though I were there
Once more to share
A love lost long ago.

Crassness of youth
Concluding only half of the truth,
Exuding only one small percent
Of what I surely felt for you.

And then one morning
That brought a day so gently
We set apart
Things of the heart
And lost love long ago.

Approved Spanish-language version

Music by Clare Fischer.
Lyric by Barbara Ransom.

Una mañana
Que llega suavemente
Las hojas caen
Recuerdos traen
De todo nuestro ayer.

Te imagino
En horas tempraneras
Quiero poder
A ti volver
En todo nuestro ayer.

Mi juventud
Carente de
Valor y virtud
No expresa una
Similitud
De lo que yo sentí por ti.

Una mañana
Que vino suavemente
Y nos robó
Besos que yo
Nunca recobraré.

Approved Portuguese language version

Music by Clare Fischer
Lyric by Daniel Cytrynowicz

O^amanhecer – que desce suavemente
Banhando^as folhas
Com mil memórias
De todo^o que passou.

De ti recordo a cada^amanhecer
Me faz sentir
E repartir
Um^amor que ja passou.

Jovem pensar, tão longe da
Verdade sem par,
Não passa de^uma
Gota no mar
De todo^o que^eu senti por ti.

Uma manhã – que veio suavemente
Pra nos roubar,
Nos separar
De todo nosso^amor.

Selected recordings

• Clare Fischer - Manteca!, 1965
• Sergio Mendes - The Great Arrival, 1966, orchestra arranged & conducted by Fischer.
• Cal Tjader - Soul Burst, 1966, featuring Chick Corea, with arrangements by Oliver Nelson.
• José José - José José, 1969, as "Una Mañana", performed in Spanish with entirely new lyrics.
• Cal Tjader - Here, recorded June 1977, released 1979, live performance at the Great American Music Hall, with Fischer on piano.
• Clare Fischer - Salsa Picante, recorded 1978, released 1980.
• Poncho Sanchez - Poncho, 1979, liner notes by Fischer, also piano, arranger & conductor.
• Donald Byrd - And 125th Street, N.Y.C., 1979, entire track features Fischer's electric piano solo.
• The Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble - '"Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1980, with Tito Puente, Carlos "Patato" Valdes, Alfredo de la Fe, and Jorge Dalto.
• Clare Fischer - Clare Fischer & Salsa Picante Present 2+2, recorded in September 1980, released in 1981, debuting both 2+2 (the vocal portion of Fischer's Latin jazz group) and his lyrics for "Morning".
• Lisa Rich - Listen Here, 1983, features vocalist Rich, backed by trio.
• Mary Fettig - In Good Company, 1985, on alto saxophone, with Marian McPartland, Ray Brown, Jeff Hamilton, and Peter Sprague.
• Tito Puente and his Latin Ensemble - Sensación, 1986
• Meredith D'Ambrosio - South to a Warmer Place, 1989, singing Fischer's lyrics.
• Kellye Gray - Standards in Gray, 1990
• Jeanie Bryson - Live at Warsaw Jazz Jamboree, October 24-27th, 1991 (Videocassette), singing Fischer's lyrics.
• Michael Carvin - Revelation, 1991
• Lori Andrews - Bossame Mucho, 1994, featuring Andrews on harp.
• Poncho Sanchez - Soul Sauce: Memories of Cal Tjader, 1995, with Fischer, celeste, orchestral arrangements, conductor.
• Manfredo Fest - Começar de Novo: To Begin Again, 1995, featuring Hendrik Meurkens and Portinho.
• Café Tacvba - Una Tributo, 1998, as "Una Mañana", using the José José lyrics.
• Clare Fischer - The Latin Side, 1998, Metropole Orchestra, arranged by Fischer.
• Poncho Sanchez - Afro-Cuban Fantasy, 1998, featuring vocalist Dianne Reeves, singing Fischer's lyrics.
• Blue Wisp Big Band - 20th Anniversary, 2000
• Richard Powell - MultiMIDIa, 2001
• Bert van den Brink - Bert van den Brink Invites Clare Fischer, 2001, Van den Brink & Fischer, pianos.
• Ken Schaphorst & the NEC Jazz Orchestra - NEC's annual festival, night 4. Jazz Legacy, recorded live, Jordan Hall, on March 11, 2004, unreleased.
• Café Tacuba - Unplugged, 2005, as "Una Mañana", again using the José José lyrics.
• Sara Lazarus - Give Me the Simple Life, 2005, featuring Alain Jean-Marie on piano
• Peruchín Jr. - Sobre blancas y negras, as "Una Mañana", featuring Pedro Jústiz "Peruchín Jr." on piano.
• Chamin Correa - En Concierto, 2006, as "Una Mañana", featuring guitarist Correa.
• Sugo music's Latin Rhythms Series - Salsa: Music of Dance, 2008, featuring Ramon Flores on trumpet.
• Bill Dobbins - Eastman Jazz Ensemble, recorded live, Kilbourn Hall, on February 13, 2008, unreleased.
• Bill Dobbins - Eastman Studio Orchestra, recorded live, March 7, 2008, Eastman Theatre, unreleased.
• Adela Dalto - A Brazilian Affair, 2009, using the José José lyrics.
• Gabriel Espinosa - Latin American Ensemble, recorded live, December 5, 2009, Bucksbaum Center for the Arts, Grinnell College, as "Una Mañana."
• Maria Catharina - Obsesion, 2010, as "Una Mañana," using the José José lyrics in a jazz context.
• The Clare Fischer Voices - ...And Sometimes Instruments, 2012, including two versions, "Una Mañana" and "Manhã", introducing officially approved adaptations of Fischer's original lyric, in Spanish and Portuguese, respectively.
• Alex & Nilusha - Moments In Time, 2012, with Fischer's lyrics, featuring Dave Valentin on flute.
• Roseanna Vitro - Clarity: Music of Clare Fischer, 2014, singing Fischer's lyrics.

References