Welcome to my music blog - The Soundtrack of My Life!

Many of you have asked me “What’s with all the music, Dr. Weiss?” Well, as I’ve told some of you:

I personally call every surgery patient on the evening of surgery just to make sure they are doing well and have no questions that need answering. Occasionally, I would be at the piano and play a song that we had listened to that day. I gradually realized that I wanted to go through all the music that I had played during my life and at least start making a list of the songs that I had recently played.

Well, there are now about 600 songs on the list and I realized that it in a way it represented the ‘soundtrack of my life’! And that’s how I got the idea to record these songs and share them with my patients, friends and family. After I record them they will reside here, for easy access.

Music is truth. It’s honest. It’s really the first social media, where in a way, people could share their souls directly. And isn’t that what the purpose of social media is and why it’s so popular - trying to share who you really are, as completely and directly as possible?

Finally, it has been (and will continue to be) a genuine pleasure sharing these different songs with you and I really appreciate all of your positive feedback!!

Musical Genres

Corcovado a serene night scene inspired by the bossa nova song Corcovado The image features a quiet, starry night sky over a calm moonlit landscape

Corcovado (Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars)

October 1, 2024

Corcovado (1:43) “Corcovado” (known in English as “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars”) is a bossa nova song and jazz standard written by Antônio Carlos Jobim in 1960. English lyrics were later written by Gene Lees. The Portuguese title refers to the Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro. Considered as one of the great exponents of Brazilian music, Jobim merged Samba with Cool jazz in the 1960s to create Bossa nova, with worldwide success. As a result, he is regarded as one of the fathers of bossa nova. In fact, “The Girl from Ipanema”, composed by Jobim, has become one of the most recorded songs of all time, Enjoy, Dr. Weiss Info from Wikipedia Bösendorfer piano sound: for this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action as a traditional acoustic piano, but there are no strings. Pressing a key activates (in this case) a sound which was sampled from a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. Try listening to it with a good set of headphones!

Andrea Miller photo

Summer’s Almost Gone – (Andrea Miller vocal)

September 21, 2024

Andrea Miller Summer’s Almost Gone Well, today you are in for a very special treat!  First, we have a guest jazz vocalist, my friend Andrea Miller (www.andreamillersings.com). I imagined an arrangement of Jim Morrison’s ‘Summer’s Almost Gone’ with a haunting, lyrical female vocalist and Andrea came up with a version that far exceeded my imagination!  She has such a lovely voice – I hope you like this delicate, beautiful audio recording as much as I do! Enjoy, Dr. Weiss Dedicated to my friend Leonardo

Summer's almost gone sunset

Summertime

September 21, 2024

 Summertime (Summer officially ends Sunday, September 22, 5:44 AM PST) Here is a special Weiss Music Minute (1:07) – Summertime, written by George Gershwin 90 years ago for the opera ‘Porgy & Bess’ – a song that needs no special introduction! Enjoy, Dr. Weiss Dedicated to my friend Leonardo

Tea for Two Bugs and Daffy

Tea For Two

June 10, 2024

Tea For Two! Published 100 years ago today!!  “Tea for Two” is a 1924 song composed by Vincent Youmans (More Than You Know), with lyrics by Irving Caesar (Swanee, Just a Gigolo). It was published exactly 100 years ago today (June 10, 1924!) When I started this music blog, I was trying to show that many complete musical ideas can be expressed in one minute or less. This is a perfect example. It is instantly recognizable and is one of the most recorded songs in popular music. I’ve linked to two versions: Bugs and Daffy doing a soft shoe routine, and an amazing version by Art Tatum – one of the most talented jazz pianists who ever lived! Enjoy, Dr. Weiss Bugs and Daffy version Art Tatum version

Jim Morrison The Doors 1 1

The Crystal Ship

March 2, 2024

Jim Morrison The Crystal Ship (3:53) Yesterday we listened to some classical Chopin waltzes.  Today let’s listen to some classic rock. I sent out this video last year, but I enjoyed playing around with the special effects and watching it so much – here it is again for all you Doors fans! We were BIG Doors fans in my Philadelphia neighborhood when I was in high school! In fact, I went to the Philadelphia Doors concert that was recorded live instead of going to the senior prom! ‘The Crystal Ship’  is a good example of “classic” psychedelic rock, a rock music genre (consisting of a variety of different styles) that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelic culture, the peak years of which were between 1967 and 1969. ’The Crystal Ship’ was released in April 1967 – 57 years ago! The music incorporated new electronic sound effects and recording effects, extended solos, improvisation and the incorporation of jazz. In fact, it’s the first time that I’ve ever started a jazz arpeggio improvisation on the very  highest key of the piano (1:29), actually twice! Psychedelic video effects start a little earlier (0:21). Enjoy, Dr. Weiss Some information from Wikipedia The Crystal Ship dedication: Larry S., with whom […]

Chopin 1

Chopin Waltz in G# Minor Op 64 No 2

March 1, 2024

Frederic Chopin Waltz in G# Minor, OP. 64, No 2 (3:31) On this day, March 1, 1810, Frederic Chopin was born in Poland. He was a Polish-French composer and pianist of the classical Romantic period. He moved to Paris at age 21 where he lived until his death at age 39 in 1849. In my opinion, this is one of his most beautiful waltzes (although that’s a difficult choice!) Enjoy, Dr. Weiss Dedicated to David G. and Charlie B. Some information from Wikipedia Related Posts: Chopin Waltz in Gb Major Op 70 No 1 Chopin Waltz in F Minor Op 70 No 2  (Haunting) Chopin Waltz in Db Major Op 64 No 1 (“MInute Waltz”)

Im In The Mood For Love

I’m In The Mood For Love

February 14, 2024

I’m In The Mood For Love (1:55) Recorded 2/13/24 George Shearing   George Shearing passed away ON THIS DAY, February 14, in 2011. One of the jazz greats, Sir George Shearing was known for his incomparable and complex reharmonizations. Usually, in classical, pop, or jazz, a piano player may use (hopefully sparingly) the damper pedal (the one on the right) to blend adjacent similar chords, usually one or two measures (4-8 beats). However, for this arrangement, I’m changing the pedal literally with each beat!! Listen carefully and you will hear how Shearing makes the song his own. Thanks, George, for showing us a new way of playing and listening. Happy Valentine’s Day! Enjoy, Dr. Weiss

Mozart with play button horizontal 4

Sonata in C Major

January 27, 2024

Mozart: Sonata in C Major (9:30) Three Movements: I Allegro, II Andante, III Rondo Allegretto Recorded 1/25/24   Mozart was born on this day January 27 in 1756. This Sonata was composed 1788 – 236 years ago, three years before his death at age 35. Although the piece is well known today, it was not published in Mozart’s lifetime and first appeared in print in 1805. A typical performance takes about 11 minutes, but I think I play the second and third movements a little faster, so it clocks in at 9:30. Because we all seem to have shorter attention spans, I’ve been trying to keep my recordings to under 3-4 minutes, but this complete sonata is so delicate and beautiful that I was compelled to record all three movements. It’s well worth a relaxing 9-minute 30-second listen. I realized that there were so many notes, that I didn’t need to use the damper pedal at all, and doing so allows us to hear the left-hand harmonic themes more clearly, especially between 3:53 and 4:07. According to Wikipedia, “Despite his short life, Mozart’s rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every Western classical genre of his time. Many […]

Mr Jelly Lord horizontal crop 2

Mr. Jelly Lord – Jelly Roll Morton

January 23, 2024

Mr. Jelly Lord (1:33) Recorded 1/21/24 Jelly Roll Morton, born October 20, 1890 in New Orleans, has been called the first great composer and piano player in jazz. Actually, Morton once confessed that his innovations resulted from his inability to remember and play ragtime pieces properly. He had to “fudge” the notes. His improvisations led him to create loose, swinging rhythms that were more informal than ragtime, and sounded a lot more fun. Morton was jazz’s first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential characteristics when notated. I can personally attest to that. How else would a kid from the Philadelphia suburbs be able to record this song 100 years later? His composition “Jelly Roll Blues”, published in 1915, was one of the first published jazz compositions. He also claimed to have invented jazz. I don’t know about that (Louis Armstrong and others might also take issue with that claim), but he was certainly foundational and very influential in the development of jazz from ragtime. Morton had an eye for the ladies and the charm of a snake oil salesman. To tide himself over, from time to time, he put his talents to use as a […]

Footprints

AI Peace Blog – Footprints In The Sands Of Time, One Spirit

January 1, 2024

Illustration Credits: Rick and Dall-E We are constantly trying to make sense of why we have all the wars and misery around the world, and what we can do about it. I decided to ask chatGPT (while I was in an Uber with a driver who was from Senegal, recently arrived from Africa.) We both agreed on the plan below that chatGPT came up with in seconds. My New Year’s wish is that the countries of the world select leaders who also agree.   Rick: How to get world peace? ChatGPT: “Achieving world peace is a complex issue that humanity has been grappling with for centuries. However, many ideas and steps are generally agreed upon as necessary to get closer to this ambitious goal. Here are some of them: Education: Access to quality education for everyone can contribute significantly to world peace. Education can foster understanding, tolerance, and empathy among different cultures, nations, and ethnic groups. Poverty Reduction: Poverty often leads to conflict and strife. Therefore, global efforts to alleviate poverty can directly contribute to world peace. This includes economic development, fair trade practices, and aid for underdeveloped countries. Conflict Resolution: Encouraging peaceful resolutions to conflicts instead of resorting to violence is crucial. This can be […]