Two standards become one train of thought
The pairing in ‘Hey Love! / I Thought About You’ turns a playful declaration of affection into a more reflective journey. The first section presents love as easy companionship, complete with the small frictions and teasing that make a relationship feel lived-in; then the track pivots into ‘I Thought About You’, where a train ride becomes a series of images that keep returning the singer’s mind to the person left behind. The transition gives the title its shape: instead of treating the two pieces as unrelated standards, Yeghiazaryan’s medley lets one affectionate address open into a more wistful interior monologue. ‘I Thought About You’ is a 1939 song by composer Jimmy Van Heusen and lyricist Johnny Mercer, and its train imagery has made it a durable jazz standard. Yeghiazaryan’s version appears on *Hey Love!*, recorded at Van Gelder Studios with tenor saxophonist Grant Stewart, trumpeter Bruce Harris, pianist Tardo Hammer, bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington. That straight-ahead ensemble gives the melody a supple swing while keeping the vocalist’s narrative in front. The record is not trying to modernize the standard by dismantling it; its interest lies in how a familiar song can be made newly personal through phrasing, sequencing and the decision to connect it to another love song. All About Jazz reviewer Pierre Giroux specifically called the pairing of the titles a delightful offering and praised Yeghiazaryan’s take-charge vocal over the rhythm section’s cushion. That recognition is part of an album review, not evidence of a separate single campaign or chart result. In the wider *Hey Love!* set, the track sits among Songbook pieces and less frequently heard material, with arrangements that emphasize the ensemble’s easy propulsion. No reliable chart position is documented for this album cut. Its achievement is modest but satisfying: the first tune’s playful intimacy sets up the second’s distance, and the medley makes the act of thinking about someone feel like a natural continuation of saying you love them. |