A 2017 live performance of Frank Loesser's I've Never Been in Love Before by the SIJ Trio at Mezzrow in New York City. The trio of Julieta Eugenio on tenor saxophone, Sarah Slonim on piano, and Inbar Paz on bass performs this Guys and Dolls standard at 169 BPM in B-flat with a swing feel. Both Eugenio and Slonim take half-chorus solos over the 32-bar AABA form. The song, written for the 1950 Broadway musical, became a jazz standard through recordings by numerous artists including Chet Baker and Keith Jarrett. Its elegant chord changes and singable melody provide an inviting framework for improvisation. The concise solo lengths give the performance a focused, song-oriented quality rather than an extended blowing session character. The intimate Mezzrow setting in Greenwich Village provides an ideal acoustic environment for the trio's conversational interplay, where the balance between instruments is naturally achieved without amplification in the small room.
