"All That Jazz" is a song from the 1975 musical Chicago. It has music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, and is the opening song of the musical. The title of the 1979 film, starring Roy Scheider as a character strongly resembling choreographer/stage and film director Bob Fosse, is derived from the song.[1][2][3][4]
Composition
editOpus, Book 3 by Rob Blythe notes the song uses the 7th chord to create a unique musical effect.[5]
Analysis
editPopular Culture: Introductory Perspectives postulated that the song encapsulated the "importance of jazz in the constitution of pop culture".[6] Describes it as a "cynical comment on the willingness of humans...to act solely, simply, and remorselessly in their own interest", and deeming this unlawful conduct as part of "all that jazz" one needs to get by.[7] BlueCoupe said in the song, "the ghost of Bob Fosse hangs about".[8]
Versions
editIn Chicago
edit- Chita Rivera performs it on the original cast album of Chicago (1975).
- Bebe Neuwirth performs it on the Broadway revival cast album of Chicago (1996)
- The version performed by Catherine Zeta-Jones and cast in the film version of Chicago (2002) was listed as #98 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs list.
Other uses
edit- Liza Minnelli recorded a single version (1975). She has also performed it in concert.
- The JabbaWockeeZ danced to this song on America's Best Dance Crew in 2008.
- Niki Evans sang the song on the fourth edition of The X Factor.
- The Bellagio Fountains attraction at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas has this song on their playlist.
- Shirley Bassey, in her 1998 concert Viva Diva! for the BBC.
- In 2010, on Over the Rainbow, Andrew Lloyd Webber's show to search for a West End Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz, four girls in a group in the Top 20 had to sing "All That Jazz" to convince Andrew and the judges that they were potential Dorothys. Three of them made it through - Stephanie Davis (who ended up in seventh place), Jessica Robinson (who ended up in fifth place), and Sophie Evans, who made the final and came runner-up. Ruthie Henshall, who had played both Velma and Roxie in the West End's Chicago, coached the girls.
- The song was covered by Kate Hudson and Lea Michele on the Glee Season 4 Episode 9 "Swan Song" where they competed to see who is better.
- Camila Mendes, Madelaine Petsch, and Vanessa Morgan covered this song in the Riverdale Season 4 episode "Fast Times at Riverdale High".
- In the American Dad! episode "Hamerican Dad", a variation of the song titled "All That Ham" (which is largely the same outside of the title lyric) was performed by the character of Roger in one of his numerous disguises.
References
edit- ^ "Review: "CHICAGO" at the WAC Has All That Jazz - The Arkan". uatrav.com. 13 March 2014. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ "Bursting with Song--Review of Chicago". rationalmagic.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ "Review | Chicago and All That Jazz". bluecoupe.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-06. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ Nyback, Dennis. "Review: Chicago The Musical". portlandstagereviews.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-06. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
- ^ Blythe, Rob (December 2006). Opus. Heinemann. ISBN 9780435812508.
- ^ Danesi, Marcel (2008). Popular Culture. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780742555471. Archived from the original on 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2020-10-27.
- ^ Cahir, Linda Costanzo (21 March 2006). Literature into Film. McFarland. ISBN 9780786425976. Archived from the original on 4 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Review - Chicago and All That Jazz". bluecoupe.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2014-03-26.
