jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...
written by jazz pianist
Steve Kuhn
Steve Kuhn (born March 24, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator.
Biography
Kuhn was born in New York City, New York, to Carl and Stella Kuhn (née Kaufman), and was raised in Newton, Massachusetts. Hi ...
. An example of modal jazz, it was first recorded and released by Monica Zetterlund in October 1972. The song was also featured in
Steve Kuhn Live in New York
''Steve Kuhn Live in New York'' is a live album by American jazz pianist and composer Steve Kuhn recorded in 1972 and originally released on the Cobblestone label but rereleased as ''Raindrops'' on the Muse label.Sheila Jordan in a book entitled ''Jazzwomen: Conversations with Twenty-One Musicians'', Jordan noted: "Some people used to think he songwas about a child who dies at an early age. Actually, it was originally named after a piano player who was advertised in the back of a Down Beat magazine. Steve saw the name and liked it. He never knew the guy, but he was intrigued with his name.”
Composition
The piece is a waltz with three distinct tonal centers. The piece begins with 16 bars in the key of E minor, and it modulates to D minor for the second 16 bars. Following this, there is an 8-bar bridge in Abmaj7#11. The song ends with 16 bars in the key of C minor.