Dinah Washington "After You've Gone"

After a long hard day, no voice is more soothing and sympathetic to listen to than Dinah Washington. Combining her beautiful voice with the song of Bessie Smith is the equivalent of a soul-massage. And if you are lucky enough to have it on Vinyl, you just feel yourself slipping away into the old days of smoky bars and quiet rooms just hoping for a taste of release as the band wails away a mournful tune.

But lets break it down for a second, taking us away from the comfort and solace that this music brings, to see what is going on behind the scenes.

It begins with the piano and snare coming in together, playing a nice, brief intro of 4 bars before Dinah starts doing her thing. After that, we have three verses of Dinah singing, with the snare beat not changing that much, keeping up a constant rhythm, and the piano supporting the changing notes of Dinah. After the third verse, however, there is a break and Dinah sings by herself before we go into the Chorus. The chorus comes a little under halfway through the song, which  seems a little unusual considering that most choruses will come in a lot sooner.

Now when the chorus starts, we are introduced to another instrument. The trumpet begins, creating almost a second melody, answering Dinah's voice. It uses a mute to give us that real whiney sound. Then the music amps up just a little bit, rising slightly in intensity into the fourth verse.

When the fifth verse starts, another instrument is added, which I believe to be the trombone, playing a somber bass note to help the trumpet out. After that, we get a reprise of the Chorus, which will lead us into the end, with Dinah going up in volume and pitch to end on a beautiful high note.

What I love so much about this song is how much it builds, much like emotions will build when you start thinking about someone you used to love. As more and more emotions and memories rush in, the feelings build. The song does a fantastic job of mirroring this with the addition of new instruments, strategically placed at the beginning of new verses, building up to a crescendo at the very end of the peace. And instead of coming back down, like as what happens in some pieces, it leaves you in a state of suspense and want, as so does many personal relationships when they end.

Indeed, a very beautifully arranged piece.