Songs and vocal charts for singers, accompanists and ensembles.
This is an interesting vocal piece written as a jazz waltz. I recorded this on my “Songbook” live CD featuring vocalist Miles Griffith. The lyrics were written by myself and my good friend Tania Lomnitz.
Highway Blues is a medium swing bluesy tune with lyrics by Kathleen Sannwald. The A section of this piece is a 12/8 feel while the bridge is a straight ahead swing feel. This composition is not difficult and a good fit for intermediate players. I recorded this piece with vocalist Miles Griffith on our “Only Love” CD, as well as with vocalist Wendy Jones on her “Perfect Dream” CD.
This is a very bluesy piece which is really fun to play. It can swing like crazy! I particularly like to play the A section in 12/8 and swing the bridge. Chords are very traditional. Nothing too advanced. Good for intermediate players.
This is a pretty ballad. Chord changes are very traditional II V I progressions. Can also be played as a medium swing tune. Good for advanced beginners.
This piece is my anthem about the danger of too much electronic media. The piece is pretty straightforward. The only difficulty is the alternating 3/4 and 4/4 meters.
This composition is almost atonal in nature. The piano part is written out but there are chord changes that can be improvised over as well. The melody is extremely atonal and difficult to sing.
I wrote the words and music at the same time. This composition was composed in the late 1990’s and is written for piano and voice. A very romantic piece of music. Almost classical in nature!
This piece was composed during the pandemic. The chords are mostly dominant chords and the feel is old time bluesy – 12/8. I wrote the music first and then added the lyrics later on. Really fun to play and not difficult.
This is one of my very first compositions written in the 1970’s. The A section is a latin feel and the bridge swings. Not too difficult to perform for any intermediate player.
This was an assignment by Jimmy Heath when I was studying for my Master’s Degree at Queens College. He asked us to write music for a text. I picked this short Langston Hughes poem and am very happy with the result. The harmonies move through various ii-v-I cycles. A good piece from intermediate to advanced.
The music was composed in the early 2000’s. The lyrics came much later. This is a haunting “art song” with a very long form and unusual harmonies. The improvisation happens at the vamp towards the very end of the piece. This is one of my favorite compositions and has been recorded both instrumentally and vocally.
I don’t usually write lyrics but I did compose the lyrics to this tune. The feel is a medium latin groove. The chord changes move slowly enough for most intermediate students and above. This can be transposed to any vocal key necessary. There are several released recordings of this tune.