Words: 18
Average Length: 5.00
Difficulty: Legato
This week’s Mostly Musical Mini brings Ellington, Winehouse, a (very) little rap, a multi-talented Bajan billionaire, and more. Please solve and enjoy!
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Words: 16
Average Length: 5.5
Difficulty: A gentle May breeze with one or two gusts
The seed for this one was 13 Across – to me, one of the greatest songs ever written. It’s a Leonard Cohen classic, and it was covered (gorgeously of course) by Judy Collins. You can listen to his version here, and hers here.
Check back on Sunday for a special Mothers’ Day Puzzle.
Words: 18
Average Length: 5
Difficulty: Like Chick Corea’s Children’s Song #1
Don’t know the reference? It’s a deceptively simple, hypnotic tune with an intriguing melody line and some tricky rhythms. You can listen to it here.
After last week’s tribute to Coltrane’s Giant Steps, this grid leans classical. Nothing is too obscure, however, except maybe 1 Across, which is why it has such a tortured clue.
Words: 18
Average Length: 5
Difficulty: Moderato ma non troppo
1 Down is way up on my favorite bands list and Robbie Robertson is a great songwriter, but after 50 years I still can’t tell you what The Weight means. 2 Down is the first Police song I ever heard and I still enjoy it, notwithstanding the lame couplet noted in the clue. In 6 Down, I added the reference to Fantasia because I have clear memories of seeing the movie, being a little scared by the Sorcerer’s Apprentice section, but loving the sound of the instrument in the answer.
Words: 18
Average Length: 5.00
Difficulty: Not bad if you know your musical farms
If there are any soprano sax players out there – or bandmates of soprano sax players – you know what I mean by the clue on 6 Down. I’ve got a wonderful Yamaha soprano sax which requires embouchurial gymnastics to keep the low notes from being sharp and the high notes from being flat. But the horn has a rich, almost oboe-like tone, so I put up with it. Besides, every other soprano sax I’ve tried has its own intonation challenges.
Words: 18 (7×7)
Average Length: 5.00
Difficulty: Für Elise-like
I’m not sure whether these will become a regular mid-week addition, but here’s the second in a possibly extended series of musical minis. This one is considerably easier than the one last week and features cameos from Ravel, two Bachs, the Andrews Sisters, Katy Perry, and the Grateful Dead, among others.
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