Lonely Town

• Torme's vocal style:

  • Closes vowels early- 0:33 'alone'
  • Holds consonants- 'lonely town'
  • Sparing use of vibrato- 1:20
  • Tenor range in this piece
  • Warm timbre- velvet fog
  • No belting like other pieces
  • Smooth legato- 'when you pass through'
  • Pauses and shifts in emphasis for expression- 'you wander up and down'
  • Crooner
  • Slight slides/glissandos- 'when you're alone'
• Sinatra's vocal style:

  • Crooner
  • Controlled/sparing use of vibrato- the word 'town'
  • Natural phrasing- 'a town's a lonely town'
  • Excellent breath control- 'when you pass through
  • Anticipations for expression- 'you wander up and down' delay on 'down'
  • No belting
  • Smooth legato
  • Warm timbre
• Torme's arrangement:

  • Introduction with just piano accompaniment
  • Big band arrangement
  • Imitative relationship between piano and vocals- intro
  • Andante
  • Small sax solo- instrumental break
  • Muted trumpet riff at very end
  • Frequent chromaticism in melody, idiomatic of jazz
  • Walking bass line throughout
  • Marty paich on piano
  • Free tempo in introduction particularly
• Sinatra's arrangement:

  • Introduction with a horn solo
  • Orchestral arrangement
  • Call and response between strings and vocals- 'If you're alone'
  • Andante
  • Frequent orchestral motifs after a vocal line- woodwinds after 'up and down'
  • Piece ends with an orchestral section
  • Chromaticism in accompaniment- woodwinds after 'up and down'
  • Pizz double bass acts as a sort of 'walking bass line' throughout
  • Orchestral arrangement by Gordon Jenkins
  • Strict tempo