April In Paris

"April in Paris" is a song composed by Vernon Duke with lyrics by E. Y. Harburg in 1932 for the Broadway musical, Walk A Little Faster. It has been performed by many artists, including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Bill Evans, Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, Frank Sinatra, Mary Kaye Trio, Billie Holiday, Thelonious Monk, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Dinah Shore, Glenn Miller, Doris Day, Alex Chilton, Tommy Dorsey, Blossom Dearie, Wynton Marsalis and Dawn Upshaw. The original 1933 hit was performed by Freddy Martin, the 1952 remake (inspired by the movie of the same name) was by the Sauter-Finegan Orchestra, whose version made the Cashbox Top 50.

Basie's 1955 recording is the most famous, and that particular performance was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. On this recording, trumpeter Thad Jones played his famous "Pop Goes the Weasel" solo, and Basie directs the band to play the shout chorus "one more time," then "one more once."