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October 4, 2009 from WDUQ - Does music you hear in the morning set the tone for your day? Would you rather have music create a mood for you, or just match the mood you're already in? Does an instrumental number move you, or would you rather have a tune suitable for singing along?
Below are five songs to get you into a morning groove. A few are happy, while a couple reflect on lost love. Tell us about your favorite morning songs in the comments section below.
Listen to the first few seconds of this song, and see if you can place it. Got it yet? Pianist Taylor Eigsti turns the theme song from HBO's The Sopranos into a rousing instrumental jazz number, complete with a few horns and a funky attitude. This ought to help get you moving in the morning.
This song starts off softly, as Ray Charles' calm voice sings of a bright golden haze in a meadow -- a peaceful morning setting if ever there was one. He builds into a joyful, soulful tribute to the day's beginning. You'll feel everything is going your way, too, even if you're stuck in freeway gridlock.
Sara Lazarus sings of the gentle arrival of morning, and the memories of lost love that come with it. The song isn't quite sad, though. It's more of a jaunty lament with a slightly Latin undercurrent. If you're feeling gloomy over a breakup, this song might just change your tune.
If you've woken up with a relationship hangover, and you really don't want to listen to anything happy, this song is made for you. Charlie Shavers' bright trumpet introduction adds a few notes of happiness before Billie Holiday sings of a conversation with heartache. She tells it to go away, then resigns herself to the fact that she might as well get used to it hanging around. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Trumpeter Tom Harrell summons the dawn with a beautiful, bright call to morning. A harp, violin, viola and cello join in with the more traditional acoustic quartet of trumpet, guitar, bass and drums to give this tune a fullness and energy befitting the potential a new day brings. "Morning Prayer" ought to help keep you in good spirits, even as morning makes way for the afternoon.
WDUQ, Pittsburgh, broadcasts a range of jazz, from classic artists of the 1940s through today's up-and coming musicians.
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