''How Long Has This Been Going On'' is the twenty-fourth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

, "with

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the on ...

and Friends", released in December 1995 (see

1995 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995. Specific locations *1995 in British music * 1995 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1995 in classical music *1995 in country music * 1995 in heavy metal music * 1 ...

) in the UK. It charted at No. 1 on

Top Jazz Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

Recording history

The album was recorded live (but without an audience) at

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed by musicians Ronnie Sc ...

, London, England, on 3 May 1995, and features a number of jazz standards and a be-bop influenced rendition of Morrison's classic "

Moondance ''Moondance'' is the third studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on 27 January 1970 by Warner Bros. Records. After the commercial failure of his first Warner Bros. album ''Astral Weeks'' (1968), Morris ...

". According to Van Morrison, "the album took four or five hours to record and Ronnie Scott's was chosen for the vibe." Georgie Fame recalled that the album came about after he and Morrison had discussed it for several years when, "I got the band together, and we ran through some ideas one quiet afternoon...that went very well, so Van said, 'Let's do it.'"Heylin, ''Can you Feel the Silence'', p464

Songs

Pee Wee Ellis Alfred James Ellis (April 21, 1941 – September 23, 2021), known as Pee Wee Ellis due to his diminutive stature, was an American saxophonist, composer, and arranger. With a background in jazz, he was a member of James Brown's band in the 19 ...

played saxophone and also served as arranger, along with Fame, Morrison and saxophonist

Leo Green Leo Green (born 30 August 1972) is a British musician and broadcaster. Saxophonist and orchestra leader Green played with Van Morrison's band. Green plays saxophone and sings in his own band. In 2010 guitarist Jeff Beck said, "Leo Green has ...

. There were more cover songs on this album than usual with Morrison's albums.

Annie Ross Annabelle McCauley Allan Short (25 July 193021 July 2020), known professionally as Annie Ross, was a British-American singer and actress, best known as a member of the jazz vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Early life Ross was born in Surr ...

appeared on "Blues Backstage" and also on the song, "Centerpiece". This song is also featured on the 2007 compilation album, ''

The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3 ''The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3'' is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, that was released on 11 June 2007 in the UK with a digital version released in the U.S. on iTunes Store, on 12 June 2007. Manhattan/ E ...

'', along with "Moondance" and "That's Life". "Heathrow Shuffle" is an instrumental composition from the 70's that was brought back on this album. Morrison had performed this song when he played at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

in 1974, and it is included on his 2006 DVD, '' Live at Montreux 1980/1974.''

Reviews

The reviews for the album were mixed with the American critics more favourable. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' said, "Van huffs and puffs where he should whisper," while ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' stated, "It's an old blues trick – laughing in the face of trouble – but Morrison does it with such contagious enthusiasm, it sounds fresh again."

Track listing

#" I Will Be There" (

) – 2:30 #"The New Symphony Sid" (

King Pleasure King Pleasure (born Clarence Beeks; March 24, 1922 – March 21, 1982) was an American jazz vocalist and an early master of vocalese, where a singer sings words to a well-known instrumental solo. Biography Born as Clarence Beeks in Oakdale, Te ...

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most ...

: additional lyrics

) – 3:53 #"Early in the Morning" (Dallas Bartley, Leo Hickman, Louis Jordan) – 2:44 #"

Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me) "Who Can I Turn To?" (alternatively titled "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)") is a song written by English lyricists Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley and first published in 1964. Background The song was introduced in the musical ' ...

" (

Leslie Bricusse Leslie Bricusse OBE (; 29 January 1931 – 19 October 2021) was a British composer, lyricist, and playwright who worked on theatre musicals and wrote theme music for films. He was best known for writing the music and lyrics for the films '' Do ...

Anthony Newley Anthony Newley (24 September 1931 – 14 April 1999) was an English actor, singer, songwriter, and filmmaker. A "latter-day British Al Jolson", he achieved widespread success in song, and on stage and screen. "One of Broadway's greatest leadin ...

) – 4:02 #"Sack O' Woe" ( Cannonball Adderley,

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and re ...

) – 4:06 #"

" (Morrison) – 7:18 #" Centerpiece" (

Harry Edison Harry "Sweets" Edison (October 10, 1915 – July 27, 1999) was an American jazz trumpeter and a member of the Count Basie Orchestra. His most important contribution was as a Hollywood studio musician, whose muted trumpet can be heard backi ...

, Hendricks), including section from "Blues Backstage" ( Frank Foster) – 4:08 #"

How Long Has This Been Going On? "How Long Has This Been Going On?" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, for the musical '' Funny Face'' in 1927. History According to Ira Gershwin in his book ''Lyrics on Several Occasions'', after the premiere of ...

" (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

, Ira Gershwin) – 3:49 #"Your Mind Is on Vacation" (

Mose Allison Mose John Allison Jr. (November 11, 1927 – November 15, 2016) was an American jazz and blues pianist, singer, and songwriter. He became notable for playing a unique mix of blues and modern jazz, both singing and playing piano. After moving to N ...

) – 3:06 #"All Saint's Day" (Morrison) – 2:19 #" Blues in the Night" ( Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer) – 3:22 #"Don't Worry About a Thing" (Allison) – 2:22 #" That's Life" (Dean Kay, Kelly Gordon) – 3:52 #"Heathrow Shuffle" (Morrison) – 3:18 *Tracks 2, 5, 7, 8, 10 & 12 arranged by Georgie Fame. *Tracks 3, 4, 9 & 13 arranged by Pee Wee Ellis. *Tracks 6 & 14 arranged by Van Morrison. *Track 1 arranged by Leo Green. *Track 11 arranged by Georgie Fame and Pee Wee Ellis.

Personnel

– vocals, alto saxophone *

– vocals, Hammond organ *

– vocals *

– alto saxophone * Alan Skidmore – alto saxophone *

–

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a yea ...

– trumpet *Robin Aspland – piano *

Alec Dankworth Alexander William Tamba Dankworth (born 14 May 1960) is an English jazz bassist and composer. Biography Born in London, the son of John Dankworth and Cleo Laine, Alec Dankworth grew up in the villages of Aspley Guise and Wavendon, living at ...

–

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

* Ralph Salmins – drums

Charts

Notes

References

* Heylin, Clinton (2003). ''Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography'', Chicago Review Press * Hinton, Brian (1997). ''Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison'', Sanctuary, {{Authority control Van Morrison albums 1995 albums Mercury Records albums Albums produced by Van Morrison Albums recorded at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club