And now for Judy’s “Man That Got Away”

Jesus Mary and Joseph. That’s all I have to say.

Judy Garland, singing “The Man That Got Away” in the film Star is Born (clip below the fold).

Minute 3:04 to 3:17 is seriously beyond words. I’m all goosebumpy and freaked out. Watch her one gesture when she sings “But fools will be fools” … it’s startling in its subtlety and quietness … its honesty and introspection … because the rest of it is just so OUT there – singing for her was a full-body experience. And this is what people mean when they talk about the “musicianship” of people like Garland, or Sinatra or Dean Martin or Ella Fitzgerald. They didn’t just have good voices, and stand up on stage singing. They understood music, intuitively. They knew how to use their voices, first of all – and that’s very important – but they understood music on a broader level, a higher-up level – that today’s pop stars (for the most part) cannot even come close to approaching. Judy, for all intents and purposes, is just standing there – in the clip below … but my God, isn’t she doing so much more than that?? Not only is she living the song, and pouring her experience into her voice (and that takes skill) … but she is part of the band. That’s why I love this clip, in particular -and love that scene from the movie. Surrounded by jazz musicians afterhours in a smoky club, it makes the point: Garland’s voice is just another instrument in the band. It’s part of the whole. She’s not just the girl in front of the band, she’s one of them, she’s a trumpet, a flute, a piano. Watch how she deals with the musicians, grinning at one who has a little solo, working with them, leading them, following them – it is an organic group experience that can only come from deep intellectual (on an almost unconscious level) understanding. Garland probably couldn’t describe what she was doing. She doesn’t need to. The proof is in the result. She’s a maestro.

Also: one take. One take only. Unbelievable.