Lush Life
There are more than a few jazz songs that could sum up my life: “I’m Old Fashioned,” “My Way” and “Lush Life" come to mind right away. Of these classic tunes, “Lush Life” is my favorite. I’m no drunkard, but jazz, cocktails and city streets at night are three things I love. Their romanticization in song lyrics is deserved because there’s a certain amount of introspection in the swing of a saxophone, the bottom of a cocktail glass and the blinking lights on a city boulevard.
“Lush Life” was in my head as I sauntered through a slight snowstorm to head to dinner and cocktails at the Red Rabbit, a new and quite good Italian restaurant in Minneapolis’ North Loop. The neon signs illuminated the soft snow as pedestrians took their time to marvel at the fresh flakes while trying not to slip and fall. The warm and inviting atmosphere of Red Rabbit proved the perfect foil to the cold. My pasta with Italian sausage and fennel pollen was comforting after a long day at work and a brisk and slippery walk. The Negroni - one of the best, most balanced versions I’ve tried in town - soothed the soul. Cocktail aficionados take note - Red Rabbit has an excellent drink book which emphasizes the classic Italian drink. There are two other version of the Negroni on their menu, one old school and the other modern, that I’ll try on my next visit.
The next morning, I listened to the classic version of “Lush Life” performed by John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman. I wasn’t hungover, but I couldn’t get the song out of my head from the night before. “Lush Life” was written by great jazz composer Billy Strayhorn, and debuted in 1948 at Carnegie Hall with the Duke Ellington Orchestra. Countless versions have been performed since then, but none beat Trane and Hartman’s rendition. Trane needs no introduction, but Hartman was one of the most unsung jazz vocalists of the 20th century. His deep baritone was sensuous and emotive, perfect for plaintive ballads and slow declarations of love. There are few moments in music more beautiful than when he croons, “Romance is mush, stifling those who strive/I’ll live a lush life in some small dive/And there I’ll be while I rot with the rest/Of those whose lives are lonely too.” When Coltrane comes in with his melodic solo, swooping and crescendoing in front of the delicate vamping, musical nirvana is achieved.
Though I’m not a lonely melancholic and I avoid the gutter after a night on the town, Strayhorn’s lyrics coupled with Hartman’s delivery hit upon basic feelings of the human experience - the need to belong, the need for relief and the need for satisfaction. So take a walk through the city and drink a cocktail over slow jazz. Savor the sensations, enjoy the moment and live a lush life in the word's other meaning - slow, savored and splendid.
Location: Red Rabbit, Hennepin Avenue