A curator's collection: Cleo Laine indulges in Mozart's Turkish Delight

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Cleo Laine indulges in Mozart's Turkish Delight

Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth indulge in Mozart's Turkish Delight

Rondo Alla Turka - 1978

"Many years ago, centuries ago, long before the Beatles ever had a single fan,

There was once a guy called Mozart and he was a keyboard man."

Wrote a lot of songs, wrote a lot of tunes, he became a legendary figure overnight.

He wrote symphonies, concertos--his quartets were out of sight!

But though almost every single song charted high and charted very long,

There was one more thing to be achieved--one more accolade to be received.

So, he tried again. With his music pen Searching for a tune to put him in the hall of fame

And he worked by day and night until at last that moment came.

He had found just the ditty for a Cleo Laine recital

Yes, it seemed just the right one--not too slow and not too bright!

Mozart found something special for us two to swing along to

And we won't rest a moment 'til we get the darn thing right!

At the end of the song, Cleo sings

"And they called the number "Turkish Delight!" - John Dankworth

Cleo Laine (b. 1927 - ) is a British singer and actress. Born of a black Jamaican father and white English mother, in the 1950's, she became the first woman of color to rise to prominence in the British musical theater.Her scatting ability rivals that of contemporaries, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Like the latter, she has a multi-octave vocal range that moves effortlessly from a dark, lush contralto to high pitched trills that reveal younger thrushes such as Mariah Carey, to be indiscriminate and artless poseurs.

She has performed with everyone from Frank Sinatra and James Galway to Ray Charles and The Muppets. But her principal musical collaborator was her husband of more than 50 years, saxophonist and band leader, John Dankworth. Together they recorded everything from light classical works, Shakespearean adaptations to "High Heel Sneakers". For their respective contributions to music and art, she was appointed Dame Cleo Laine, the equivalent of a knighthood for women, and John was knighted. At 85, her reputation as one of the very greatest singers is secure. She has outlasted her contemporaries and is still touring with her voice remarkably intact.

The first performance above is an adaptation of the final movement of Mozart's piano sonata No. 11. written 200 years earlier (talk about oldies but goodies). The union of saxophone and voice is simply wonderous. Below, for comparison purposes is the sonata performed on piano. Beneath that are videos that trace Cleo in performance through the years.

Mozart - Rondo alla Turka - 1778