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Burt Bacharach

Burt Bacharach is one of the most accomplished popular composers of the 20th Century. In the ’60s and ’70s, he was a dominant figure in pop music, responsible for a remarkable 52 Top 40 songs. In terms of musical sophistication, Bacharach’s songs differed from much of the music of the era. Bacharach compositions typically boasted memorable melodies, unconventional and shifting time signatures, and atypical chord changes. Combining elements of jazz, pop, Brazilian music and rock, Bacharach created a unique new sound that was as contemporary as it was popular. Lyricist Hal David, Bacharach’s primary collaborator, supplied Bacharach’s music with tart lyrics worthy of the best Tin Pan Alley composers. David’s unsentimental, bittersweet lyrics were often in striking contrast to Bacharach’s soaring melodies. While in the late 1970s Bacharach’s name became synonymous with elevator music (due in great part to its sheer familiarity), a closer listening suggests that his meticulously crafted, technically sophisticated compositions are anything but easy listening.

Burt Freeman Bacharach was born in Kansas City, Mo., on May 12, 1928. The son of nationally syndicated columnist Bert Bacharach, Burt moved with his family in 1932 to Kew Gardens in Queens, New York. At his mother’s insistance, he studied cello, drums and then piano beginning at the age of 12. Burt hated taking piano lessons. His dream was to play professional football, but his size—or lack thereof—kept him out of that field.

As a teenager, Bacharach fell in love with jazz and sometimes used a fake ID to sneak into 52nd Street nightclubs to see bebop legends like Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker. Bebop’s unconventional harmonies and melodies became a major influence on the young composer.

When he was 15, Bacharach started a 10-piece band with high school classmates. With Burt on piano, the group gained exposure playing parties and dances. After graduating from Forest Hills High School, Bacharach enrolled in the music studies program at McGill University in Montreal. It was there that Burt says he wrote his first song, “The Night Plane to Heaven.”

Bacharach went on to study theory and composition at the Mannes School of Music in New York City; at the Berkshire Music Center; and at the New School for Social Research, where he studied under composers Bohuslav Martinu, Henry Cowell and Darius Milhaud (whose influence on Bacharach’s style is apparent). He was also awarded a scholarship to the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, Calif.

From 1950-52 Bacharach served in the Army, playing piano at the officer’s club on Governor Island and in concerts at Fort Dix. His perfomances then consisted primarily of improvisations and pop medleys of the day, although he was billed as a concert pianist.

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Radio & Podcasts

Bacharach to the Future - Part 2

Read "Bacharach to the Future - Part 2" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


As a young adult, Burt Bacharach used fake IDs to get into 52nd Street jazz clubs to have his mind blown by heroes of the bebop revolution like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Those early impressions could not but leave a mark in his sophisticated pop songs, seeds that would later make those very same songs blossom in the hands of jazz players, going full circle. As a composer and songwriter he had a remarkable gift for combining simplicity and ...

5
Radio & Podcasts

Bacharach to the Future - Part 1

Read "Bacharach to the Future - Part 1" reviewed by Ludovico Granvassu


A celebration of the genius of Burt Bacharach, Mondo-Jazz style, focusing on off-the-beaten path takes on his idiosyncratic repertoire, since Bacharach's music is accessible yet complex and sophisticated to intrigue even the most forward looking musicians.Romantic songs, political songs, themes for soundtracks, but all--without fail--earworms that stay with you well beyond the last note.Happy listening!Playlist Ben Allison “Mondo Jazz Theme (feat. Ted Nash & Pyeng Threadgill)" 0:00 Django Bates “A House Is Not a ...

1,114
Interview

Burt Bacharach: At This Time

Read "Burt Bacharach: At This Time" reviewed by Chris M. Slawecki


This article was first published on All About Jazz on October 31, 2005. What the world needs now, it seems, is Burt Bacharach, as one of the greatest songwriters in pop history reemerges with At This Time, released internationally by Sony BMG on October 24 and on November 1 in the US by Columbia Records. At This Time features Andrew Hale of Sade serving as A&R project director, with contributions from trumpeter Chris Botti and singer-songwriters Elvis Costello ...

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Video / DVD

Burt Bacharach: Parting Post

Burt Bacharach: Parting Post

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

My final post on Burt Bacharach will look at one of the lowest points in his life that resulted in a song, a theme for ABC's Movie of the Week and a tragic end. We tend to think of Burt as a guy who had it all—he was a brilliant composer, a stunning arranger and a solid pianist; he was athletic, ruggedly handsome and a soft-spoken, charming man who was as comfortable in his living room as he was on ...

Music Industry

Burt Bacharach: Jazz Covers

Burt Bacharach: Jazz Covers

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Songs by the late Burt Bacharach worked neatly as instrumental covers, especially when jazz artists were compelled by labels to record with-it albums of contemporary hits in the 1960s and '70s. Like Henry Mancini's music, Burt's melodies were clean and catchy and weren't tied directly to specific artists, which is what made many rock-artist hits difficult to cover convincingly. Here are 12 of my favorite jazz covers of Burt's compositions: Here's Wes Montgomery playing Wives and Lovers... Here's Stan Getz ...

Obituary

Burt Bacharach (1928-2023)

Burt Bacharach (1928-2023)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

At 10:15 on Thursday morning, I received an email from the Wall Street Journal's Arts in Review editor letting me know that Burt Bacharach had died. He also asked how quickly I could turn around an appreciation essay. I had interviewed Burt at length twice for the WSJ—once in 2011 for a feature and again in 2021 for my “Anatomy of a Song" column on Walk on By. I asked when he needed it. He said between noon and 1p.m. ...

1

Festival

First Tucson Jazz Festival features Bacharach, Reeves, Cobb, Childs, DeFrancesco, more

First Tucson Jazz Festival features Bacharach, Reeves, Cobb, Childs, DeFrancesco, more

Source: All About Jazz

By Patricia Myers The HSL Tucson Jazz Festival, a 13-day event from January 16-28 will feature both national and Arizona musicians, headlined by 86-year-old composer Burt Bacharach, 85-year old drummer and NEA Jazz Master Jimmy Cobb, and four 2015 Grammy-nominated musicians. Organist Joey DeFrancesco received a Best Jazz Instrumental nomination for Enjoy The View with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, saxophonist David Sanborn and drummer Billy Hart. DeFrancesco opens the festival Jan. 16 performing with the Tucson Jazz Institute Ellington ...

21

Interview

Burt Bacharach: Top of the Pops

Burt Bacharach: Top of the Pops

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

When I visited with Burt Bacharach at his home back in October for my Wall Street Journal interview, we spoke about the Gershwin Prize he was due to receive in May. Burt seemed a bit stunned by the enormity of the award and generous in praise of the others who had won previously. On May 8, the esteemed composer and singer was presented with the award at the White House. He also was entertained by artists singing and playing his ...

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Interview

Interview: Burt Bacharach (Part 5)

Interview: Burt Bacharach (Part 5)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

What's it like to write a song with Burt Bacharach? Well, I can tell you from firsthand knowledge that it's amazing, because we did just that during my visit to Burt's home in September. Just before I left for Los Angeles for the Wall Street Journal, I asked myself what thrill I could experience with Burt that readers would dig. When I had interviewed Jerry Lee Lewis, I had him to show me how he runs the keys with his ...

57

Interview

Interview: Burt Bacharach (Part 4)

Interview: Burt Bacharach (Part 4)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

The story goes something like this: Driving home from ice hockey practice, Mike Myers flipped on the radio and heard The Look of Love by Dusty Springfield. When it was finished, the comedian said to himself, “Where have all the swingers gone?" He also must have realized that the movie it was for,Casino Royale, was a jape of the James Bond series. Then and there he conceived the Austin Powers character. Enamored by the song's composer, Myers cast Burt Bacharach ...

69

Interview

Interview: Burt Bacharach (Part 3)

Interview: Burt Bacharach (Part 3)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

As long-time readers of this blog know, one of my favorite songs is Alfie. I love the rising and falling melody, the challenging lyrics and the song's big build. I've posted on the song in the past here and here. I'm sort of torn between Cilla Black's version and the one Dionne Warwick recorded. Black's has that nervous breakdown thing going, that edge, while Dionne's is as smooth as suede. So at Burt's home, when I mentioned how much I loved ...

42

Interview

Interview: Burt Bacharach (Part 2)

Interview: Burt Bacharach (Part 2)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Pulling into Burt Bacharach's driveway a few weeks ago in Los Angeles, I looked in the open garage. There, parked neatly, was a relatively new white Jaguar XJ12—exactly the kind of car I had imaged Burt would drive: Sporty, comfortable, powerful and, once upon a time, English-made. Entering his ranch-style home, I waited in his music room for a few minutes before he arrived. Naturally, his walls were covered with photos of celebrities and musicians. There was even one of Burt ...

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Interview

Interview: Burt Bacharach (Part 1)

Interview: Burt Bacharach (Part 1)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

What lingers most after you have spent quality time with songwriter Burt Bacharach is the sound of his voice. In my Wall Street Journal profile last week, I describe it as shearling-soft. Burt's voice still has traces of Queens, N.Y., but it's plenty soothing and assuring. And the way he releases words in a sentence is a bit how kids let out string when flying kites. He seems to like to hear the rhythm of words and how they sound ...

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Paul Slavens
composer / conductor
Al Lloyd & His Orchestra
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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Blue Umbrella

Big Yellow Dog Music
2020

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Anyone Who Had A...

A&M Records
2013

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Live At The Sydney...

Verve Music Group
2008

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Colour Collection

A&M Records
2007

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Burt Bacharach &...

A&M Records
2006

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