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Irving Berlin’s daughter dies

RIP

norman lebrecht

August 08, 2022

America’s totemic songwriter lived to the vast age of 101.

His daughter, Mary Ellen Barrett, has just died at 95.

One of her three sisters, Linda, lives on at 90.

Obit in the NY Times.

Comments

MR says:

August 8, 2022 at 11:24 am

The first seven notes of British composer Ray Noble’s Cherokee, the song inspiring the most celebrated jazz solo recording of all time by Charlie Parker, are identical to the first seven notes of The Song Is Ended by Irving Berlin, if with different rhythmic values. Berlin’s gem was written in 1927, and the Noble classic in 1938. Charlie Parker famously recorded a live and very playful version of White Christmas by Berlin.
http://azuremilesrecords.com/asongbornforme.html

David K. Nelson says:

August 8, 2022 at 4:50 pm

Jascha Heifetz also recorded a version of White Christmas with the Camarata Orchestra, during the time when he shifted his allegiance to (American) Decca. At least one person recreated and published the Heifetz fiddle arrangement based on repeated listenings to the 78 rpm recording, because Heifetz himself never published it.

Reply
- MR says:
  
  August 9, 2022 at 9:50 am
  
  Good to know, looking forward to listening to this. Heifetz is my favorite Western violinist, while L. Shankar is my favorite Indian violinist, though he plays the double violin, allowing a pitch range extending all the way down to double bass. Musicologist Leonard Altman was fond of relating how he once played ping pong with Heifetz. I had thought I was a good ping pong player until while a student at Tanglewood, I played a visiting artist from China, and could not even get the ball over the net once, every one of my hits literally going sideways at about ninety degrees due to the tremendous spin he put on the ball.
  http://azuremilesrecords.com/leonardaltmanmusictree.html
  
  Reply