Hi everybody!

Welcome to the first episode of Pardo's Turn, my new web series where I do a bit of
song analysis from a music director's perspective, and perhaps shed a little light on what makes some
of the gems our musical theater canon so great.

I am so excited to announce that the incredible Chuck Cooper, last seen at the Manhattan Theater Club
in Prince of Broadway, and perhaps best known for his Tony Award-Winning performance in The Life,
has agreed to help kick off the series with an exploration of Ol' Man River, Joe's powerhouse number
from the 1927 landmark musical, Show Boat, written by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein.

[V/O – show pictures of Paul Robeson, stills from various productions, historical photos, etc.]
Made famous by the great Paul Robeson, who played Joe in the London cast and in the 1936 film
adaptation, Ol' Man River juxtaposes the struggles of Black America with the mighty Mississippi. It
paints a musical picture that is both tragic and hopeful; sad and uplifting, like a river – winding, but
persistent.

[Dan, at home with his keyboard]

The main chorus of the song uses a vocabulary of notes known as the pentatonic scale – a five-note
scale, perhaps most easily demonstrated with the black keys on a piano (quick demonstration). The
pentatonic scale is often used to illustrate far-east Asian cultures, like “My Lord and Master” from The
King and I [snippet], but historically, the flowing, open quality of the pentatonic has also been used to
represent water, like in Debussy's evocative prelude, “The Sunken Cathedral.” So its use here is quite
fitting.

In the verse, the two halves of each line, known as the antecedent and consequent phrases, rise and fall
so naturally, that they could practically tell the story with no words at all. [snippet] But as powerful as
the melody is, it's brilliantly harmonized, as well. The opening stanza, which personifies the
Mississippi River, sounds like a spiritual, with simple diatonic chords, rooted in the American south. As
Leonard Cohen might have put it, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift. In the second verse,
the same melody is harmonized with juicier, secondary dominant chords, typical of 18th and
19th century European influence. The lyrics? “Let me go 'way from the Mississippi, let me go 'way
from the white man boss.” The text marries this musical language perfectly.
In the chorus – especially the final chorus – the notes keep retracing their steps, slowly working their
way higher and higher up the pentatonic scale, like water working its way into riverbank, slowly
carving the course of the river towards the freedom of the open sea. How cool is that?

[In studio, with Chuck]

Here with me now is the fabulous Chuck Cooper, who actually chose Ol' Man River to sing today. And
while I'm dying to hear his masterful rendition, I have to first ask: Chuck, what made you choose this
classic, above all others, to sing with me? (Chuck talks)

I notice that some of the lyrics you're using aren't Hammerstein's, but rather, ones substituted by Paul
Robeson. Was this a conscious decision; do you always choose to sing his words? (Chuck talks)

[Chuck and Dan perform Ol' Man River]

Thank you so much, Chuck! This has just been terrific. Are you working on anything now that you'd
like to plug? Or any other shout outs on behalf of your talented family? 

Great. I'd like to give a quick shout out to my wife, Chrissy, who shoots and edits the web series with
me. So thank you, Honey, and thank you all for watching! Please like, comment, subscribe, and share!
And again, Chuck, it's been an honor. Take me out fishing sometime? [bullshit, signing off, etc.]