Lush Life

Lush Life is a jazz standard, written by composer Billy Strayhorn (1933-1938). He composed both the music and the text. In 1938, he played the song for to big band leader Duke Ellington, who adopted him in his Orchestra.

The song describes the feelings about the nightlife after a stranded affair, with jazz and cocktails and in the company of sad girls who look bad. Strayhorn wrote most of the song when he was 16. It would be his trademark.

The song was first included on 13 november 1948 during a concert of Ellington in the Carnegie Hall, with vocalist Kay Davis and Billy Strayhorn at the piano. Afterwards it took over Strayhorn the number on The Peaceful Side for his solo records (1961) and Lush Life (1964). Ellington is no recording known.

The work was recorded by different musicians on the plate. The most famous versions are by Nat King Cole and John Coltrane. The saxophonist Coltrane took it for the first time in 1958 for the lp with the same title.In 1963 took his Quartet with vocalist Johnny Hartmanon the. This execution was a standard version. Tony Scott was so fascinated by Lush Life that he volspeelde a double-cd with different versions of the work.Other artists who performed included Donna Summer (with Quincy Jones, 1982), Linda Ronstadt (1985) and Queen Latifah (2004).