Once in a while a musician comes along with impecca… Read Full Bio ↴Beegie Adair Bio
Once in a while a musician comes along with impeccable technique, deep understanding of the jazz repertoire, an innate tendency to swing and the rare ability to communicate the heart and soul of a tune to listeners. That musician is Beegie Adair.
About her music Adair says, “Falling in love with jazz is like falling in love with a person, except with jazz you never get over it.” About Beegie (say B-G) Adair, what do others say?
Jazz great Helen Merrill salutes her “inventive jazz sense, her wonderful sense of time and improvised melody.”
Christopher Louden of Jazz Times magazine says Adair is “an accomplished artist with a delicate touch.”
The Los Angeles Times calls her music “Elegant.”
Entertainment News writes, “Beegie Adair is one of the finest piano players in the world.”
Intrigued? So are thousands of jazz fans, who agree with critics about Adair’s sophisticated and listenable jazz performances, and who have made her recordings among the biggest sellers in the jazz world.
Citing George Shearing, Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner among her influences, Adair has recorded 24 CDs, ranging from Cole Porter standards to Frank Sinatra classics to romantic World War II ballads. Her 6-CD Centennial Composers Collection of tunes by Rodgers, Gershwin, Kern, Ellington, Carmichael and Berlin became an instant collectible classic when it was released in 2002.
Kentucky born and raised, Adair lives and records in Nashville – something of a surprise to people who associate the city solely with country music. In fact Nashville lives up to its “Music City” nickname by hosting a vibrant jazz scene, in which she has been a leading light for decades. A sought-after studio musician in her early days there, Adair accompanied such legendary performers as Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash – and also worked with Lucille Ball, Dinah Shore, Mama Cass Elliott and Peggy Lee.
Her guests on Improvised Thoughts, Beegie’s radio talk/music show on the local NPR affiliate, included such greats as Tony Bennett, Joe Williams, Marian McPartland, Benny Golson and Helen Merrill. She has guested on McPartland’s Piano Jazz show and has performed with Nat Adderley, Bill Watrous, Lew Tabackin, Terry Clarke, Urbie Green and Jim Ferguson, among many others.
When she’s not in the studio or appearing in clubs and concert halls around the country, Adair wears a variety of hats, from adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University to teacher and mentor at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. Recently she co-wrote and scored an innovative theatrical production, Betsy, which in April 2006 premiered off-Broadway in New York.
She has recorded eight projects for Village Square Records in Nashville; her most recent CDs are Sentimental Journey, a popular collection of World War II-era songs, and a solo piano recording, Quiet Romance.
She performs solo and with the Beegie Adair Trio, whose members include drummer Chris Brown, a veteran of the Maynard Ferguson ensemble, and bassist Roger Spencer, who has played with the Les Brown Band, Ray Conniff, the Page Cavanaugh Trio and Pete Jolly. They are, she says, “my main guys. They’re so tuned into the way I visualize music that it’s effortless to play with them.”
In clubs and concert venues from Los Angeles to New York, Beegie and her “main guys” win kudos from audiences and critics alike who appreciate her unique take on classic jazz. She fell in love with the music a long time ago, and indeed she’s never gotten over it -- a love affair the jazz world is much the better for.
Caravan
Beegie Adair Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The myst'ry of their fading light
That shines upon our caravan
Sleep upon my shoulder as we creep
Across the sand so I may keep
The mem'ry of our caravan
You are so inviting
Resting in my arms
As I thrill to the magic charms
Of you beside me here beneath the blue
My dream of love is coming true
Within our desert caravan
The song "Caravan," originally composed by Duke Ellington, is a romantic tune that is perfect for a quiet and peaceful evening. Beegie Adair's version of "Caravan" further enhances the dream-like quality of the song with her soothing and light touch on the piano. The lyrics describe a caravan that travels through the desert as the night falls, with stars shining above them. The caravan represents a journey taken by two lovers, who spend the night resting on each other's shoulders, looking up at the night sky. The lyrics evoke a sense of calm and comfort as the two individuals travel in the caravan and dream of a life filled with love.
The song's lyrics not only refer to the physical journey that the caravan takes, but also to the emotional journey that the lovers undertake. They dream of a life together filled with love and passion as they travel across the desert. The imagery of the stars and night sky above them also suggest the vastness of their love and the limitless possibilities that lie before them. This is further emphasized by the words "my dream of love is coming true" that suggest that the lovers' journey will lead to a happy ending.
Line by Line Meaning
Night and stars above that shine so bright
The serene and captivating view of the shining stars in the sky above us
The myst'ry of their fading light
The intriguing and enigmatic nature of the gradually disappearing shine of the stars
That shines upon our caravan
The radiance of the stars that illuminates our moving group of travelers
Sleep upon my shoulder as we creep
Rest your head on my shoulder as we move silently and steadily
Across the sand so I may keep
So that I can cherish and preserve the memory of our journey across the sandy landscape
The mem'ry of our caravan
The reminiscence of our adventurous and exciting caravan trip
This is so exciting
Expressing the intense joy and enthusiasm felt by being part of this experience
You are so inviting
The alluring and captivating feeling that your presence generates
Resting in my arms
The comfort and assurance of being held tightly
As I thrill to the magic charms
The exhilaration felt by being under the spell of your magical attraction
Of you beside me here beneath the blue
Of being with you next to me under the vast blue sky
My dream of love is coming true
The realization and fulfillment of the dream of being loved
Within our desert caravan
Amongst the travelers in our train of camels crossing the desert
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RACHEL MARY BERKELEY PORTMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind