A Child Is Born (jazz standard)


"A Child Is Born" is a jazz instrumental that was later recorded with lyrics added. It was written in 1969 by the jazz trumpeter Thad Jones with lyrics added independently by Alec Wilder after hearing the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra perform the instrumental. The instrumental and the song have been recorded by a number of musicians including Tony Bennett, Stanley Turrentine and Bill Evans, Richard Davis, Kenny Burrell, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Hank Jones and Helen Merrill.

Lyrics

Wilder's lyrics begin "Now, out of the night / New as the dawn / Into the light".

Form

"'A Child Is Born' is a 32 bars long song in 3/4 time, and when soloing over it, jazz musicians "usually omit the last two bars", leaving a "30-bar solo form". The original was recorded in B-flat major. It features a slow, lengthy introduction on the piano, lasting over a minute. Bob Yurochko in his book A Short History of Jazz refers to it as a "beautiful ballad" of mainstream jazz."