"A Child Is Born" is a 1969 jazz song written by Thad Jones, based on a tune by Roland Hanna. Alec Wilder independently added lyrics after hearing the recording. It has become a jazz standard with many recordings.
Composition The song was written in 1969 by the jazz trumpeter Thad Jones based on a tune by pianist Roland Hanna.Gioia, Ted. The Jazz Standards: A Guide to the Repertoire. Oxford University Press, 2021. 72f.
Roland Hanna improvised the song at the piano between sets with The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. The band would often improvise off of what Hanna played. Over several weeks at the Village Vanguard, Hanna developed the tune with the band.
One night, Jones came in with a full arrangement for the band. Hanna asked, "Is this my tune?" Jones replied, "No, it's mine."
Hanna recognized Jones was doing what every band leader does, writing down material that comes out of the unit.Hanna, Roland and Rowe, Monk. "Roland Hanna interviewed by Monk Rowe, Scottsdale, Arizona, April 15, 2000". Last modified April 14, 2025. Digital Collections, Hamilton College Library. Hanna had no hard feelings about Jones taking credit for the song, since he was the one who wrote it down. Hanna "gifted it to Thad".Stryker, Mark. Jazz from Detroit. University of Michigan Press, 2019. 97f. After hearing the band play it one night at the Vanguard, Alec Wilder went back to the Algonquin Hotel and wrote lyrics for it.McPartland, Marian. Marian McPartland's jazz world: All in good time. University of Illinois Press, 2003. 162.Wilder, Alec. Letters I Never Mailed: Clues to a Life. University of Rochester Press, 2005. 22. It is considered his best independent lyric.
Lyrics Now, out of the night New as the dawn Into the light This Child Innocent Child Soft as a fawn This Child is born
One small heart One pair of eyes One work of art Here in my arms Here he lies Trusting and warm Blessed this morn A Child is born
Form "A Child Is Born" is a waltz. Jazz soloists often shorten it so that the form is only 30 bars.Levine, Mark. The Jazz Theory Book. Sher Music, 2011. 561. The original was recorded in B-flat major with a long piano introduction. The melody is anchored by repeated low Ds that occasionally climb an octave to the higher D, creating a sense of two distinct vocal registers.
Recordings "A Child Is Born" was first recorded with Roland Hanna on piano in Richard Davis' band for his 1969 album Muses for Richard Davis. The track begins with Hanna intoning three low Bs on the piano and saying, "A child is born...Thad Jones". Thad Jones & Mel Lewis recorded it the following year for their 1970 album Consummation.Yurochko, Bob. A Short History of Jazz. Burnham, Incorporated, Publishers, 2001. 203.
The Singers Unlimited recorded it on In Tune, their 1971 collaboration with Oscar Peterson's trio. Their version is wordless. One of the first recordings with Wilder's lyrics was on The Free Design's 1972 album There Is a Song.Free Design, The. There Is a Song. Ambrotype, 1971. Tony Bennett recorded it with Bill Evans on their 1977 album Together Again.Bennet, Tony and Bill Evans. Together Again. Improv Records, 1977. Guitarist Stanley Jordan also covered the instrumental as the closing track on his 1985 album Magic Touch.
It has been frequently recorded as both an instrumental and with Wilder's lyrics by artists like Stanley Turrentine and Bill Evans (also released on Christmas with Sinatra & Friends), Richard Davis, Kenny Burrell, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Hank Jones, and Helen Merrill.Jenness, David, and Donald Velsey. Classic American Popular Song: The Second Half-Century, 1950-2000. Taylor & Francis Group, 2005. 135–6.
The song was included in a revue of Alec Wilder's music called "Clues to a Life". It ran for 20 performances at the Vineyard Theatre in 1982, and a cast album was released.Dietz, Dan. Off Broadway Musicals, 1910-2007: Casts, Credits, Songs, Critical Reception and Performance Data of More Than 1,800 Shows. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers, 2010. 10f.
References
External links "100 - A Child is Born", Wilderworld. February 16, 2007.