Misery and The Blues ("Blues in the Morning") Donald Fagen Arr. (Charlie LaVere c.1961) By MONITH

"Mis'ry & The Blues" was penned by Charlie LaVere in the late 50s and famously recorded by "the father of jazz trombone" Jack Teagarden in 1961. Otherwise it’s a largely forgotten gem.
This production pays homage to the generation of my grandparents, whose musical contribution was complex, lush and learned; before jazz and pop got ‘simplified’ very shortly thereafter, for better or worse, with only a few steely exceptions peppering the subsequent eras.
I was introduced to this song when I saw the "Donald Fagen Band" play it at North Fork Theatre in Westbury, NY in 2006. There is no official recorded version of that arrangement other than some bootlegs. But I decided to use it as a starting point, rearrange it again, add some new themes, and DIG IN a little harder: kicking these gorgeous 1950s chord progressions in the pants with a 26” Ludwig marching bass drum, 16" hi-hats, and deeply-tuned snare! BOOM!
Also (sort of by accident) I honor Mr. Teagarden with a fretless bass break that mimics his sad trombone. And let’s front those vibes (here: Deagan "Vibraharp" 512 c.1964), and honor Mr. Fagen with a phased Wurlitzer 200A electric piano (c.1974).
A huge thanks to my friend John Packes a/k/a Pieth for graciously throwing down a smokin' guitar solo. I needed a real player on this... He plays his late, great brother Tony's hollow-body through his grandfather's 1962 Ampeg Gemini I amp.
As for the video, the goal was "noir" against a comic-book-like blue & orange color pattern, again harking back to the era, with some interesting props that a keen eye might spot.
My daughter Annabelle assisted with the design of the initial intro film. Engineered & mixed by me. Thanks to Kenny Siegel and Dino Covelli for inspiring me to be a multi instrumentalist, and to my wife and kids for their patience in the seemingly endless edit work ("how does this look?") and hearing bits of this song over and over again.
-Greg Saracino a/k/a Monith, © 2022