- Take the A Train
- Jumpin’ Punkins
- Blue Surge
- John Hardy’s Wife
- Dear Old Southland
- Solitude
- Just A-Settin’ and A-Rockin
- Chocolate Shake
- I Got It Bad & That Ain’t Good
- The Brown Skin Girl
- Jump for Joy
- Chelsea Bridge
- Perdido
- Moon Mist
- The C Jam Blues
- What Am I Here For
- Johnny Come Lately
- A Slip of the Lip
- Sentimental Lady (I Didn’t Know About
You)
- Main Stem
Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra
Wardell Jones - Trumpet, Ray Nance - Trumpet
& Violin, Rex Stewart - Cornet
Joe Nanton, Lawrence Brown - Trombone, Juan
Tizol - Valve Trombone
Barney Bigard - Clarinet, Johnny Hodges -Clarinet,
Alto, Sop, Harry Carney - Baritone, Alto,
Clarinet. Otto Hardwick - Alto & Bass,
Ben Webster - Tenor.
Duke Ellington or Billy Strayhorn - Piano,
Fred Guy - Guitar, Jimmy Blanton or Junior
Raglin - Bass, Sonny Greer - Drums. Ivie Anderson,
Herb Jeffries - Vocals
This was a very creative period for the Duke,
he had a band that boasted so many superb
soloists, he was finding it difficult to use
them all to full effect. Billy Strayhorn was
also in full time employment as staff arranger
and occasional pianist and his co-operation
as an arranger and composer in partnership
with Ellington, produced a library of music
second to that of no other band in the world.
Billy Strayhorn’s Take the A Train had taken
over by this time as Ellington’s theme tune
replacing Duke’s original theme tune, East
St Louis Toodle-oo. The Ray Nance cornet solo
heard here has almost become an integral part
of the tune. Tracks 2 to5 are compositions
of Ellington’s son Mercer, whilst none of
these compositions are well known they all
make excellent vehicles for the band’s soloists,
It is however the band’s overall sound which
is really stamps all this music as pure Duke
Ellington. The band has an instantly recognisable
sound which stems from both the superb scoring
used and the band’s ability to control it’s
internal dynamics so effectively. Then there
is the superb tenor saxophone playing of Ben
Webster who at the time of these recordings
rated with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young
as the periods top three tenor men. Johnny
Hodges was an outstanding alto saxophone soloist
as well as a supreme lead player, Harry Carney
is instantly recognisable, his ability to
make the baritone saxophone sound easy to
play in an age where most people sounded clumsy
on it, put him ahead of everyone. Barney Bigard
is one of jazz’s best clarinet players and
anyone who doubts that should listen to this
record.
The brass players all have highly individual
styles Ray Nance, Rex Stewart, Lawrence Brown,
Sam Nanton and Juan Tizol are unmistakable
throughout. The rhythm section
Functions very well and both Ellington and
Blanton produce memorable solos.
There is not a bad track on this CD and some
are superb, The A Train, Just A Sittin’, I
Got it Bad, Jump for Joy, Chelsea Bridge,
What am I here for, Johnny Come Lately and
Sentimental Lady are all Ellington classic
tracks.
Don Mather
CD Reviews
8.120743
