Gary Versace
Organ Solo on
Stardust

About

Gary Versace takes the lead solo role with one chorus of organ on Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust," a luminous ballad treatment on Jonathan Kreisberg Trio's album New For Now. At a gentle 59 BPM over the 32-bar AA' form in C, his playing reveals lyrical sensitivity and harmonic sophistication, the organ's sustained tones lending an almost orchestral quality to one of the most beloved melodies in American popular music. As the first of two soloists, Versace's chorus establishes the performance's intimate mood, his voicings and single-note lines finding new details in harmonies that have been explored by generations of jazz musicians. The slow tempo allows him to linger over the melody's beautiful contours.

Gary Versace was 35 to 36 years old at the time.