Top Five Instrumentals

Top Five Instrumentals

Before I begin: Would you believe that I had a lot of trouble deciding what counted as an instrumental and what didn’t? For instance, is “Pennsylvania 6-5000” an instrumental? What about all the other songs that have as their only lyric the title, repeated rhythmically once a verse? “Tequila”? What about “One Step Beyond”? What about “Manteca”, if the version I like best has Dizzy shouting “Manteca! Maaanteca! Mantecahhhhh!” like a madman? Or the similar “Salt Peanuts”, which has (in some versions) the added lyric “Salt Peanuts/Salt Peanuts/That’s the name of this song/Salt Pea-nuts”.

Also, what about songs where there is a vocalist, but no words? I’m thinking here primarily of a Loren Sklamberg/Itzhak Perlman recording of “Nign”, a, um, well, nign. Mr. Sklamberg sings ‘di-di-di-de-di’, using his voice as an instrument, but I’m pretty sure that’s not an instrumental. The same with jazz versions, both scat-singing and the sort of wordless singing Kay Davis does in Duke Ellington’s “Creole Love Call” and “Transblucency”. On the other hand, I don’t count the mic occasionally picking up Lionel Hampton’s ‘eeep! eeep!’, which I don’t think of as vocalization as much as a sort of involuntary emission. That bass player who scat-sings along with his bowing is left as an exercise for the reader, as it doesn’t come into anybody’s Top Five.

• Concerto for Cootie: Ellington, Strayhorn, Williams, etc. Possibly my favorite side ever, in any style. Later, the main melody became “Do Nothin’ ’Til You Hear From Me”, a fine song, but without the incredible wa-wa-wa-waaaa bridge.
• Sing, Sing, Sing: Prima, Goodman, Krupa, etc. Until I looked this up for this note, I didn’t realize that the Louis Prima version with words was first. I assumed the instrumental version was first, and Louis the Lip added words later, but no, it’s the other way around. Still, it’s better as an instrumental, particularly (of course) in the Carnegie Hall version. Even though it’s too long.
• Milonga del Angel (from Zero Hour): Piazzola. Honestly, it’s the album as a whole that I’d put in my top 5, but I think that’s not quite allowed. This is amazing stuff.
• Honga: Perlman, London, Sklamberg, etc: This is on the In the Fiddler’s House CD; I suspect that it was more or less at this moment in the documentary that I decided I really really liked klezmer. Mr. Perlman plays a double-time version as an encore to the Fiddler’s House concert, which is great, but a little too show-offy for a Top Five.
• East St. Louis Toodle-Oo: Ellington, Miley, Nanton, etc. I’m told that the Duke pronounced it ‘toad’ll low’. The recording on my Top Five list is the 1927ish side with Bubber Miley, Tricky Sam Nanton and Harry Carney, although I’m not sure that the later recording wouldn’t make a Top Ten.

I don’t know if this is easier or harder for people whose collections have fewer instrumentals, that is, lean more towards rock and modern pop. I also didn’t consider tracks from movie scores, although there aren’t any I can think of that I’d put in a Top Five; the Jaws theme is brilliant, of course, but I wouldn’t want to listen to it very often. Also, I don’t think the thing asks you to consider long-form works in their entirety, which would seem silly to put Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in with three-minute (or twelve-minute) songs. A just-left-off list would include “Milestones”, “A Night in Tunisia”, “Mood Indigo”, “Harlem Air Shaft”, and the Peter Gunn theme. Also, I’ll point out that although I adore “Caravan”, none of the version of it I have really satisfy me. Also also, I’ll point out that Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France (including Stephane Grappeli) don’t appear on the list because there isn’t a particular side that rises to that level, but on career value, they are right up in the Inner Circle.

chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek,
-Vardibidian.