Sinatra recorded "Summer Wind" on May 16, 1966 for the Strangers in the Night album, the last record he would record with
arranger Nelson Riddle. It's a standout song from the album which has cringable moments (such as the title track and "Downtown" -
neither of which Riddle arranged).
The song progresses through 3 verses in 64 total bars: the first verse in the key of Db, then Eb, then F. The Sinatra recording
was at a very slow tempo (averaging 78 bpm). The version here is at 100 bpm.
For guitar players, the song is interesting for the intro riff (the increasingly pushy breeze) and the harmonically loaded chords Riddle used in the
horn sections. The notes in the chords are typically 3 half tones apart and Riddle ascends through 5-6 notes in groups of 3. The best example
is in bar 36, Guitars #2+3, in the section "Verse 1->2 turnaround".
Arranged here using alternate tunings, they create a rich sound unlike chords typically heard on a guitar - and
largely impossible to re-create with a standard tuning.
In the version here, I used an Electro-Harmonix Freeze pedal
to get a long sustain on the strings and viola/cello chords which sit behind most of the score with chords held for 1-2 bars at a time.
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Download the full mp3 on iTunes or
Amazon. (I’d be happy to post it for free, but I
have to cover the royalties.)
Guitar, bass guitar, tabs/arrangement: Tim
Vocals: Michael Greenberg
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