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On Green Dolphin Street (song)

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"On Green Dolphin Street"
Song by Jimmy Dorsey
Published1947
GenrePop, jazz
ComposerBronisław Kaper
LyricistNed Washington

"On Green Dolphin Street" is a 1947 jazz standard composed by Bronisław Kaper with lyrics by Ned Washington. The song was written for the film Green Dolphin Street, starring Lana Turner and Van Heflin, which was based on a 1944 novel of the same name by Elizabeth Goudge.[1]

Jazz critic Ted Gioia noted that the song appeals to jazz musicians "because of its engaging chord changes, which alternate between eight bars of floating pedal point and eight bars of rapid harmonic movement."[2]

The song was revived in 1956 by jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal on his album Count 'Em 88. As Gioia notes, Jamal's "repertoire choices were often mimicked" at this time by Miles Davis, and "Jamal's performance, with its artful use of space and dynamics, anticipates Davis's later rendition, especially with its shifting rhythmic textures." Davis's sextet version from 1958, with John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, and Bill Evans, solidified the song's position as a jazz classic.[3] It has gone on to become one of the most widely covered of all jazz standards, with more than 700 versions to date.[4][5]

Gioia wrote: "Vocalists occasionally tackle this song, but the lyrics suffer from shallowness. If you fell in love, would you sing about your beloved or just her address?" Among vocal versions, he prefers the one by Mark Murphy from 1961.[6]

Renditions

[edit]
Date Main recording artist Vocalist Album title, notes Ref.
1947Jimmy Dorsey OrchestraBill LawrenceSoundtrack for Green Dolphin Street. The commercial recording charted briefly at No. 25 in January 1948.[7]
1955Urbie GreeninstrumentalUrbie (East Coast Jazz/6)
1956Ahmad Jamal TrioinstrumentalCount 'Em 88[8]
1957Barney Kessel and the Poll WinnersinstrumentalThe Poll Winners[9]
1958Miles Davis SextetinstrumentalJazz Track (with soundtrack Ascenseur pour l'échafaud), reissued as Basic Miles (1973) and 1958 Miles in Japan (1974), (also '58 Miles Featuring Stella by Starlight)[8]
1959Jack Sheldon All-Star Big BandinstrumentalJack's Groove
1959Bill EvansinstrumentalOn Green Dolphin Street[8]
1959Wynton KellyinstrumentalKelly Blue[8]
1960Eric Dolphy QuintetinstrumentalOutward Bound[8]
1960Duke PearsoninstrumentalTender Feelin's[8]
1960Dakota StatonDakota StatonDakota (1960)
1961Mark MurphyMark MurphyRah[8]
1961Dinah WashingtonDinah WashingtonThe Complete Dinah Washington on Mercury, Vol. 7 (1961)[10]
1961Nancy WilsonNancy WilsonThe Swingin's Mutual!
1961 Grant Green instrumental Gooden's Corner
1962 Oscar Peterson and Milt Jackson instrumental Very Tall
1962Mel TorméMel TorméComin' Home Baby![11]
1962Dodo MarmarosainstrumentalDodo's Back![12]
1962Sarah VaughanSarah VaughanIncluded in her album You're Mine You (1962)
1963Albert AylerinstrumentalMy Name Is Albert Ayler
1963Vince Guaraldi QuintetinstrumentalIn Person[13]
1964Tony BennettTony BennettWhen Lights Are Low
1964Erroll GarnerinstrumentalNightconcert (2018) - Recording from the Concertgebouw on November 7, 1964[14]
1965Sonny RollinsinstrumentalSonny Rollins on Impulse![8]
1965Bunky GreeninstrumentalTestifyin' Time[15]
1973Jimmy McGriff QuintetinstrumentalConcert: Friday the 13th - Cook County Jail
1974Eddie "Lockjaw" DavisinstrumentalLeapin' on Lenox[8]
1974Vince Guaraldi TrioinstrumentalLive on the Air
1977Return to ForeverinstrumentalLive
1977Sadao WatanabeinstrumentalLive in Nemuro 1977
1978Herbie HancockinstrumentalThe Piano
1982Tony Rice UnitinstrumentalBackwaters[16]
1986Joe Pass and Ella FitzgeraldElla FitzgeraldEasy Living[17]
1987Stan Getz and Kenny BarroninstrumentalSerenity[18]
1991Chick Corea Akoustic BandinstrumentalAlive
2013Beegie AdairinstrumentalAs Time Goes By[19]
2021Alan Stassforth and Michael LindnerinstrumentalThe Pandemic Sessions[20]

[21]

2022Seth MacFarlaneSeth MacFarlaneBlue Skies
[edit]

"On Green Dolphin Street" is referenced in the sixth part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Stone Ocean in the name of Green Dolphin Street Prison, the primary setting of the story.

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "On Green Dolphin Street (1947)". JazzStandards.com, Accessed June 11, 2025.
  2. ↑ Gioia, Ted. The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire, Oxford University Press, 2012, p. 314.
  3. ↑ Gioia, p. 314.
  4. ↑ "On Green Dolphin Street". SecondHandSongs.com, Accessed June 11, 2025.
  5. ↑ "JazzStandards.com / Songs and Instrumentals (1-100)". JazzStandards.com, Accessed June 11, 2025.
  6. ↑ Gioia, p. 314.
  7. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 133. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 314. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
  9. ↑ "The Poll Winners". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  10. ↑ "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  11. ↑ "www.allmusic.com". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Dodo Marmarosa – Dodo's Back!". AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  13. ↑ Ginell, Richard S. "In Person". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  14. ↑ "errollgarner.com". errollgarner.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Testifyin' Time - Bunky Green". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  16. ↑ "Backwaters Review by Jim Newsom\website=allmusic.com". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  17. ↑ "Easy Living". allmusic.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  18. ↑ "Serenity / Stan Getz". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
  19. ↑ "As Time Goes By". beegieadair.com. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
  20. ↑ Alley One Music
  21. ↑ "The Pandemic Sessions". bandcamp.com. Retrieved 1 February 2025.
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