| "In Your Own Sweet Way" | |
|---|---|
 Cover of 2007 CD with alternative take | |
| Instrumental byDave Brubeck | |
| from the albumBrubeck Plays Brubeck | |
| Written | c. 1952 |
| Published | 1955 |
| Released | July 16, 1956 (1956-07-16) |
| Recorded | April 18–19, 1956 |
| Length | 5:01 |
| Composer(s) | Dave Brubeck |
| Producer(s) | George Avakian |
| Official audio | |
| "In Your Own Sweet Way" onYouTube | |
"In Your Own Sweet Way" is a 1955jazz standard, and one of the most famous compositions byDave Brubeck. It was written around 1952,[1] but its copyright notice was dated 1955.[2] Brubeck's wife Iola, for whom the song was written,[3] later wrote a lyric for the song, which led to singers such asCarmen McRae recording it.[4] "In Your Own Sweet Way" was first released on Brubeck's 1956 studio albumBrubeck Plays Brubeck; an earlier live recording is known.
"In Your Own Sweet Way" is written in the key ofB flat major, and is ajazz ballad inthirty-two-bar form with an eight-barinterlude typically played between each chorus. The author of the 1996 biographyIt's About Time: The Dave Brubeck Story, Fred Hall, said that this jazz standard, like other standards, such as "Take Five", has been performed by "various Brubeck combinations" and many other artists.[5]All Music Guide to Jazz notes the "contrasting lines" of the piece,[6]
In the liner notes toTime Signatures Brubeck wrote, "For the first few years the quartet played almost all standards, until one dayPaul Desmond said to me, 'We've got to hire somebody to write some material for us.' I said, 'Paul, are you kidding? I'll write two tunes in half an hour!' I wrote 'In Your Own Sweet Way' and 'The Waltz' that night. From then on we started doing my material a lot more."[7]
Although at least one earlier concert recording is known,[8] the song's first release, with three improvised choruses, was on Brubeck's 1956 solo albumBrubeck Plays Brubeck.[2] The firstquartet version appeared on the 1956 albumDave Brubeck and Jay & Kai at Newport, issued on theColumbia label. An orchestral arrangement of the piece by Howard Brubeck appeared on the quartet's live 1963 albumBrandenburg Gate: Revisited.[9]
Many jazz artists have covered "In Your Own Sweet Way".Miles Davis recorded it twice with his quintet in 1956—once in March withSonny Rollins as the quintet's saxophonist (onCollectors' Items) and in May withJohn Coltrane in the band (onWorkin' with the Miles Davis Quintet). According to jazz historianTed Gioia, "Davis probably deserves as much credit as Brubeck for establishing 'In Your Own Sweet Way' as a jazz standard", partly because Davis closed "the A theme with an E natural, instead of the F that Brubeck intended. The prevalence of this Davis 'flat five'—which imparts a wry off-centeredness to the proceedings—in later performances is one measure of the trumpeter's influence in the dissemination of this song."[10]
In 1960, jazz guitaristWes Montgomery covered the standard on his fourth albumThe Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery.[11] Composer and arrangerClare Fischer recorded a solo piano version in 1963, which was featured on his albumEasy Livin' three years later.[12] TheKeith Jarrett Trio played it live on several occasions collected onKeith Jarrett at the Blue Note and the Tokyo 1993 gig found on theLive in Japan 93/96 DVD. Jazz fusion guitaristJohn Etheridge recorded a well-received version for his 1994 albumAsh.[13]Art Farmer andLee Konitz covered it in 1994 with the Joe Carter Quartet and Trio,[14] as did pianistRobert Glasper in 2006.Jacky Terrasson andStéphane Belmondo included the song in their 2016 albumMother.[15]
The song title gave its name to the 2010 documentary film about Brubeck, produced byClint Eastwood,Dave Brubeck: In His Own Sweet Way.[16] In 2013, keyboardistBob James was inspired by "In Your Own Sweet Way" to compose his song "You Better Not Go to College" in homage to Brubeck.[17]
A vocal version byNorma Winstone with lyrics written byMargaret Busby was released in 2019 by Enodoc Records on the CDIn Concert, a remastered recording of an August 1988 performance by Winstone and pianistJohn Taylor at London'sGuildhall School of Music and Drama.[18]
