"Our Love Is Here to Stay" from Alexis Cole's 2021 album Sky Blossom: Songs From My Tour of Duty features solos from pianist Alex Flavell and alto saxophonist Nathan King over George Gershwin's timeless standard. Flavell takes one and a half choruses through the 32-bar ABAC form in B-flat at a bright swing tempo of 156 beats per minute, his solo combining harmonic sophistication with rhythmic drive. King follows with just under one chorus on alto saxophone, his sound adding a different color to the performance. Gershwin composed the song in 1937 for the film The Goldwyn Follies, and it was the last song he completed before his untimely death at age 38, lending the optimistic lyric an additional layer of poignancy. The composition has since become one of the most performed standards in the Great American Songbook, its elegant melody and satisfying harmonic progressions making it a perennial favorite for jazz interpretation. Cole's vocal treatment connects the performance to the long tradition of jazz singers who have made Gershwin's music their own, from Ella Fitzgerald's landmark songbook recordings onward. The up-tempo swing arrangement gives the tune an energetic, joyful quality that suits both the lyric's sentiment and the album's spirit of connection through music.
