Stardust is a song that has been covered by the greats – Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Ringo Starr, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, John Coltrane, Frank Sinatra and more – since its first recording by Hoagy Carmichael in 1927.
You’d have heard Stardust feature in movies such as Sleepless in Seattle, Goodfellas, The Aviator, and even as recent as 2018’s A Star is Born too.
When our love was new
Stardust
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
And now my consolation is in the stardust of a song.
Among these covers, is Odd-Arne Jacobsen’s version. This Norwegian guitarist has covered Stardust three times during his music career, as featured in the video below.
The first one version was recorded at NRK Tromsø in 1980, the second one in Umeå, Sweden in 1987, and the last one recorded in Jacobsen’s music room in Oslo, Norway in 2009.
But why has Stardust attracted so much attention over the years? For Jacobsen, it’s a melody that has followed him throughout his career, and is a song that will be eternally timeless.
“When I started my career as a guitarist in Tromsø in northern Norway, Stardust was often the opening tune at Grand Restaurant in Tromsø. The melody has traveled with me all the time and it has something timeless about it; a bit of melancholy and reflection on life’s ups and downs,” Jacobsen said.
Though I dream in vain
Stardust
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love’s refrain.
A professional musician since the 1970s, Odd-Arne Jacobsen has seen success in multiple countries. He gained popularity in Russia where he performed as a guest solo artist at the Moscow international Jazz Festival, and in New York where he was the first Norwegian guitarist to hold a solo concert in Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
Touring China and Japan influenced brought inspiration to his signature sound. But Jacobsen is also inspired by 1940s music; an era that saw huge leaps in guitar development such as the release of the Les Paul guitar.
“The forties stand out to me as a decade with clear guides towards today’s pop-rock, jazz and hip-hop,” Jacobsen said.
As a well-established European Jazz musician, he has worked with a lot of music students on very different levels.
Jacobsen’s inspiration and obvious musical talent has turned this nearly 100-year-old tune into a refreshed and personalised song once again. His talent as a guitarist and composer certainly shines through in his performances, with strong jazz vibes as the backbone of every version.
With every cover of Stardust being filtered through so many different artists, I think this song has become one of the most inspirational and versatile musical creations of all time.
Check out Odd-Arne Jacobsen’s covers of Stardust below, and click on the icons to follow his updates on Facebook and Youtube:
Find out more about Odd-Arne here: Wikipedia & Reverbnation
This is a promoted review.
NZ Film Freak 