My Dear Departed Past

MY DEAR DEPARTED PAST

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If you attended public school in the United States between 1973 and today odds are you've heard Dave Frishberg's songs ä just see if any of these Schoolhouse Rock classics ring a bell: The Number Cruncher Seven Fifty Once a Week Dollars and Sense Walking on Wall Street Hardware and of course the classic I'm Just a Bill. Of course Frishberg is much more than the writer of beloved civics-minded ditties ä he's also the brilliant lyricist and composer behind well-known songs including Peel Me a Grape I'm Hip My Attorney Bernie Blizzard of Lies and Van Lingle Mungo a top-flight jazz pianist and sardonic wit in tow an exemplar of American ideals. From his boyhood and university days in St. Paul Minnesota to his Air Force service in Salt Lake City and then on to his life as a pianist and songwriter in New York City and Los Angeles ÊMy Dear Departed PastÊ is a pointed poignant sagacious look back on a fascinating career in music at the height of the jazz scene and a storied life flush with wit imagination and good humor.ÞFor Frishberg an internationally-known jazz pianist songwriter and lyricist it all began in his WWII elementary school days. Mentored by his brother Mort seven years his senior Dave discovered the music of Count Basie Benny Goodman Duke Ellington Ella Fitzgerald and Bing Crosby while listening to Mort's 78-rpm records. For good measure Mort also taught Dave how to play boogie-woogie and blues on the piano ä a musical indoctrination that perfectly sharpened the younger Frishberg's musical tastes and laid the foundation for a lifelong love of music and the camaraderie of musicians. In this book populated with colorful characters ä especially the brilliant jazzmen and women he played with in iconic clubs and studios during the scene's heyday ä Dave brings his stories of being on the road and his experiences in the music business vividly to life. While ÊMy Dear Departed PastÊ is a must-read for jazz aficionados it's just as suitable for anybody who ever wondered about the composer behind those classic tunes singing the praises of active citizenship and financial security.ÞThis book includes online access to recordings of 20 Frishberg classics.