Personnel: Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn (arranger, piano); Milt Grayson (vocals); Paul Gonsalves (tenor saxophone, reeds); Russell Procope, Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Hamilton, Harry Carney, Harold Ashby (reeds); Ray Nance (trumpet, violin); Willie Cook, Clark Terry, Cat Anderson, Roy Burrowes, Bill Berry (trumpet); Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman, John Sanders, Lawrence Brown, Leon Cox, Chuck Connors (trombone); Jimmy Woode, Aaron Bell (bass); Sam Wodyard, Sonny Greer (drums).
Producer: Duke Ellington.
Reissue producer: Harry Hirsch.
Recorded in Chicago, Illinois in January 1957 and New York, New York in March-June 1962. Includes liner notes by Stanley Dance.
Personnel: Duke Ellington (piano); Milt Grayson (vocals); Harold Ashby, Harry Carney, Jimmy Hamilton, Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Russell Procope (reeds); Ray Nance (trumpet, cornet); Clark Terry, Bill Berry , Roy Burrowes, Willie Cook, Cat Anderson (trumpet); Leon Cox, Lawrence Brown , Quentin Jackson, Chuck Connors, John Sanders, Britt Woodman (trombone); Billy Strayhorn (piano); Sam Woodyard, Sonny Greer (drums).
Liner Note Author: Stanley Dance.
Recording information: Chicago, IL (01/1957-06/1962); New York, NY (01/1957-06/1962).
All the Duke's Men--on salary, so Ellington would make good use of "down time" (no tours/concerts) by organizing less formal (and self-produced; no record company "suggesting" things) recording sessions, where he could try out pieces before live performance. These sessions would include old classics reworked or re-arranged (here, "Perdidio," "Cottontail"), standards ("I Cover the Waterfront") and new pieces ("Something Sexual," featuring Johnny Hodges and an uncharacteristic vocal chorus). There's some swell trumpet playing throughout from Willie Cook, Clark Terry, Ray Nance, Bill Berry and Cat Anderson. Of course, Hodges, Gonsalves and Carney (Harry, not Art) are in typically sublime, soulful, restrained form--so typical, it's almost scary. Many of the tunes here are rich with a blues feeling -- 20 tunes, a great value, most of it perfect for late-night listening. A worthy addition to any CD collection, whether you're a fan or just getting into Ellington (or classic, though modern, big band jazz).
