The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers
Jazz standard by Steve Kuhn
The Saga of Harrison Crabfeathers is a jazz standard written by jazz pianist Steve Kuhn.[1] An example of modal jazz, it was first recorded and released by Monica Zetterlund in October 1972. The song was also featured in Steve Kuhn Live in New York.[2]
Background
In an interview with Sheila Jordan in a book entitled Jazzwomen: Conversations with Twenty-One Musicians, Jordan noted: "Some people used to think [the song] was about a child who dies at an early age. Actually, it was originally named after a piano player who was advertised in the back of a Down Beat magazine. Steve saw the name and liked it. He never knew the guy, but he was intrigued with his name.”[3]
Composition
The piece is a waltz with three distinct tonal centers. The piece begins with 16 bars in the key of E minor, and it modulates to D minor for the second 16 bars. Following this, there is an 8-bar bridge in Abmaj7#11. The song ends with 16 bars in the key of C minor.
Notable recordings
- Monica Zetterlund (1972)
- Sheila Jordan and Arild Andersen (1977)
- Viktoria Tolstoy (2001)
- David Andersen Trio (2002)
- Brian Bromberg (2002)
