"If You Could See Me Now" is a 1946 jazz standard, composed by

Tadd Dameron Tadley Ewing Peake Dameron (February 21, 1917 – March 8, 1965) was an American jazz composer, arranger, and pianist. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Dameron was the most influential arranger of the bebop era, but also wrote charts for swi ...

. He wrote it especially for vocalist

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "Jazz royalty, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, and was nominated for a total of nine ...

, a frequent collaborator. Lyrics were written by Carl Sigman and it became one of her signature songs, inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

in 1998. Dameron himself included a version, sung by Barbara Winfield, on his 1962 album '' The Magic Touch''.

Notable recordings

*Sarah Vaughan's 1946 original recording was released through

Musicraft Records Musicraft Records was a record company and label established in 1937 in New York City. Catalogue Musicraft's catalog encompassed many different musical styles, including classical music, folk, jazz, Latin, popular vocal, and calypso. Artists wh ...

. It also appeared on her 1981 album '' Send in the Clowns'' with the

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

. *

Randy Weston Randolph Edward "Randy" Weston (April 6, 1926 – September 1, 2018) was an American jazz pianist and composer whose creativity was inspired by his ancestral African connection. Weston's piano style owed much to Duke Ellington and Thelonious M ...

recorded the composition in 1956/57 for his album '' Trio and Solo'' *

Gil Evans Ian Ernest Gilmore Evans (né Green; May 13, 1912 – March 20, 1988) was a Canadian–American jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader. He is widely recognized as one of the greatest orchestrators in jazz, playing an important role ...

recorded a version for his 1957 album '' Gil Evans & Ten'' * Chet Baker recorded it for his 1959 album '' Chet''. *

Yusef Lateef Yusef Abdul Lateef (born William Emanuel Huddleston; October 9, 1920 – December 23, 2013) was an American jazz multi-instrumentalist, composer, and prominent figure among the Ahmadiyya Community in America. Although Lateef's main instruments ...

recorded it on his 1959 album '' Cry! - Tender'' *

Bobby Timmons Robert Henry Timmons (December 19, 1935 – March 1, 1974) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He was a sideman in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers for two periods (July 1958 to September 1959; February 1960 to June 1961), between which he wa ...

from his album '' Easy Does It'' (1961) *

Milt Jackson Milton Jackson (January 1, 1923 – October 9, 1999), nicknamed "Bags", was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms. He is especially remembered for his cool swinging solo ...

recorded it on his 1962 ''

Big Bags ''Big Bags'' is an album by vibraphonist Milt Jackson featuring big band performances arranged by Tadd Dameron and Ernie Wilkins recorded in 1962 and released on the Riverside label.

'' album *

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

recorded his version of the song for his 1962 album ''

Moon Beams ''Moon Beams'' is a 1962 album by jazz musician Bill Evans, and the first trio album recorded by Evans after the death of bassist Scott LaFaro. Music and releases With Chuck Israels on bass taking the place of LaFaro, Evans recorded several song ...

'' and also on his ''

Trio '65 ''Trio '65'' is a studio album by American jazz pianist Bill Evans and his Trio, released in 1965. Reception Writing for AllMusic, music critic Scott Yanow wrote of the album: "Although all eight of the selections heard on this Verve release hav ...

'' album *

Sheila Jordan Sheila Jordan (born Sheila Jeanette Dawson; November 18, 1928) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. She has recorded as a session musician with an array of critically acclaimed artists in addition to recording her own albums. Jordan pionee ...

recorded it on her 1963 debut album ''

Portrait of Sheila ''Portrait of Sheila'' is the 1963 debut album of American jazz singer Sheila Jordan, released by Blue Note Records. In the 1963 ''DownBeat'' magazine Critics Poll, she was ranked first in the vocal category for "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition ...

'' *

Junior Cook Herman "Junior" Cook (July 22, 1934 – February 3, 1992) was an American hard bop tenor saxophone player. Biography Cook was born in Pensacola, Florida. After playing with Dizzy Gillespie in 1958, Cook was a member of the Horace Silver Quin ...

recorded it on the 1963 Roy Brooks album ''Beat'' *

Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...

recorded a quintet version that appeared on his ''

Soul Burnin' ''Soul Burnin'' is an album by jazz pianist Red Garland, recorded in 1960 and 1961, but not released on Prestige Records until 1964.Wynton Kelly Wynton Charles Kelly (December 2, 1931 – April 12, 1971) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He is known for his lively, blues-based playing and as one of the finest accompanists in jazz. He began playing professionally at the age of ...

recorded a trio version that appeared on his 1965 album

Undiluted ''Undiluted'' is an album by jazz pianist Wynton Kelly that was recorded in 1965 and released by Verve label with Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb.

Wes Montgomery John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery (March 6, 1923 – June 15, 1968) was an American jazz guitarist. Montgomery was known for an unusual technique of plucking the strings with the side of his thumb and his extensive use of octaves, which gave him a dist ...

on the live album ''

Smokin' at the Half Note ''Smokin' at the Half Note'' is an album by Wes Montgomery and the Wynton Kelly Trio that was released in 1965. It was recorded live in June 1965 at the Half Note Club in New York City and September 22, 1965 at Van Gelder Studios in Englewood Cl ...

'' (1965) *

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

recorded it on his 1970 album ''

The Jumpin' Blues ''The Jumpin' Blues'' is an album by saxophonist Dexter Gordon which was recorded in 1970 and released on the Prestige label.

'' *

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five.Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler ( ...

recorded a version on his 1974 album '' If You Could See Me Now'' *

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Life and career Harris was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December ...

recorded it on his 1975 '' Barry Harris Plays Tadd Dameron'' album *

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto is a Japanese jazz pianist and composer. Life and career Yamamoto was largely self-taught as a pianist, although he did have piano lessons as a child. He attended Nihon University. As a student there, he played professionally, first as an accom ...

on ''Life'' (1976) *

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

– The Oscar Peterson Four with Joe Pass recorded it in 1983 on the album '' If You Could See Me Now'' *

Etta Jones Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Gene A ...

recorded the song for her 1978 album '' If You Could See Me Now'' * John Abercrombie and

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in th ...

included the song in their 1984 album '' Solar''. *

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1976 to 1981. ...

covered the song in 1985 during a televised concert in Belgium. *

Jacky Terrasson Jacky Terrasson (born November 27, 1965) is a French jazz pianist and composer. Background Terrasson's mother is African-American from Georgia, and his father is French. From his parents he heard classical music as a child. He began piano lesson ...

and

Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...

included the song in their 1991 ''

Moon and Sand ''Moon and Sand'' is an album recorded by Kenny Burrell at Coast Records in December 1979. The album was initially released on the Concord Jazz label. The record is considered unusual in Burrell's catalog for the amount of acoustic guitar playi ...

'' album. *

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...

recorded a notable version in 1995 with Canadian trombonist and bandleader

Rob McConnell Robert Murray Gordon "Rob" McConnell, (14 February 1935 – 1 May 2010) was a Canadian jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger.Jeff Sultanof. Experiencing Big Band Jazz: A Listener's Companion'. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers; 8 November 2 ...

. *

Buddy DeFranco Boniface Ferdinand Leonard "Buddy" DeFranco (February 17, 1923 – December 24, 2014) was an Italian-American jazz clarinetist. In addition to his work as a bandleader, DeFranco led the Glenn Miller Orchestra for almost a decade in the 1960s and ...

from his 1992 album ''Chip off the Old Bop'' and 1997

Dave McKenna Dave McKenna (May 30, 1930 – October 18, 2008) was an American jazz pianist known primarily as a solo pianist and for his " three-handed" swing style. He was a significant figure in the evolution of jazz piano. Career He was born in Woonsock ...

album ''You Must Believe in Swing'' *

Joe Lovano Joseph Salvatore Lovano (born December 29, 1952)"Joe Lovano." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 13. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 1994. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, May 5, 2017. is an American jazz saxophonist, alto clarin ...

included it in his 2000 album '' 52nd Street Themes''. *

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias
BrowseBiography.com, 20 November 2011; retrieved 10 September 2014. is a Brazilian jazz pianist, sin ...

included the song in her 2010 album '' Eliane Elias Plays Live''.

References

1940s jazz standards 1946 songs 1946 debut singles Songs written by Carl Sigman Songs with music by Tadd Dameron {{1940s-song-stub