Penny Corris Adds a New Chapter to the Great American Songbook

Individuals such as Jerome Kern, Dorothy Fields, Jimmy Van Heusen and Harold Arlen may sound faintly familiar, but smart money says that ninety percent of people who don’t qualify for Medicare benefits would not be able to name their accomplishments. Although the authors of the Great American Songbook aren’t exactly household names, their songs are among the most iconic pieces of twentieth century popular music. “The Way You Look Tonight,” “Like Someone in Love,” “Stormy Weather” and “All The Things You Are” are just a few of the tunes that manage to define the sound of America in the 1920s through 1950s while not sounding the least bit dated to contemporary ears.

It’s fast company, then, that Penny Corris evokes by entitling her June 13 concert “The Penny Corris Songbook.” But the local composer shares a great deal with these hallowed names in music history. For one, Corris’ background is in the tradition of Western classical music. She has degrees in composition, music history and music theory, in addition to having studied the piano at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. The study has paid off with many well-received pieces as well as first prize in the liturgical competition of the International Jewish Song festival in Montreal, which was awarded to her composition “Mi Ha-ish,” a song written in Hebrew and English for her youngest daughter’s Bat Mitzvah.

In addition to her impeccable pedigree, Corris also shares with the co-authors of the Great American Songbook an unusual affinity for jazz. The popular songs of Irving Berlin, Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael graced not only Broadway stages but also constituted a significant portion of the repertoire of jazz musicians. While Corris admits to a love of jazz, she claims to listen infrequently and was therefore surprised when, two years ago, her music started to emerge with an unmistakably jazzy flavor. At this point Bob Corris (who holds a English degree from Harvard) took up the role of Ira Gershwin to Penny’s George Gershwin by gracing his wife’s compositions with lyrics. The result is the newest chapter of the Great American Songbook.

The premiere of “The Penny Corris Songbook” takes place at 8 p.m. on Saturday, June 13 at the Helene Zelazo Performing Arts Center. The music will be brought to life by the Dan Dance Jazz Quartet with vocal duties handled by Niffer Clarke. The concert is free, but donations are being accepted to support the Fisher House Wisconsin, whose mission is to provide lodging for military and veterans' families to be close to a loved one during hospitalization at the VA Medical Center in Milwaukee.