Now You Has Jazz

"Now You Has Jazz" is a song written by Cole Porter for the 1956 film High Society, where it was introduced by Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong.

Background

Sol C. Siegel, the producer of the film High Society, paid Cole Porter $250,000 for his first original film score in eight years. When Porter learned that Louis Armstrong was to appear in the film, he decided that he would have to write a jazz number. To help with his research, he called Fred Astaire and suggested that they attend a Jazz at the Philharmonic concert. Later, he spoke to jazz impresario Norman Granz on the telephone and Granz gave him a short introductory course in jazz terms. The eventual song was “Now You Has Jazz.” ^[1]

Notable recordings

• Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong and The All Stars recorded the song on January 18, 1956^[2] for the film soundtrack and this was the version issued on the High Society album. An edited version was also issued as a single and charted briefly in the No. 88 spot in the Billboard charts. The Band personnel were Louis Armstrong (tpt); Trummy Young (tbn); Edmond Hall (clt); Billy Kyle (pno); Arvell Shaw (bs); Barrett Deems (dms).^[3]
• Billy Crystal and The Muppets - Muppets Tonight episode (1996)

References

1. Schwartz, Charles (1979). Cole Porter: A Biography. New York: Da Capo Press. p. 300. ISBN 0306800977.
2. "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
3. Reynolds, Fred (1986). The Crosby Collection 1926-1977 (Part Four: 1951-1960 ed.). Gateshead, UK: John Joyce. pp. 158–159.