In the Wee Small Hours came out on Capitol in 1955, arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. It came out both as two ten-inch records and as one twelve-inch LP, sixteen songs long.

One mood

Every song on it is a ballad of the late night: a man alone, the city asleep, a love that has gone. Nothing breaks the mood, no up-tempo number to lift the second side. It was made to be heard whole, in order, the way a story is read.

Singing it now

When we bring these songs to a room, we keep the order of the record and a small band: piano, bass, guitar and a horn. The quieter the room, the better they work.