Customer Reviews

With Billy Strayhorn & The Orchestra

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This disc which is the result of a session in 1961 that features Johhny Hodges on alto sax with Billy Strayhorn as the band leader. Detail of the session is related in Lush Life the biographpy of Billy Strayhorn (pg 217). Briefly, Strayhorn was given free rein in providing new arrangments of songs by Ellington, Hodges and himself. In the 30 plus years they worked together Strayhorn used the Ellington orchestra to feature Hodges. However, this disc really puts Hodges in the forefront of the orchestra and the results are tremendous. Hodges, under Strayhorns direction gives top notch redendtions of 2 of the greatest songs they did together, Day Dream and I Got It Bad. I haven't stopped playing this disc, comparing the arrangements by Strayhorn and playing by Hodges against other Ellington discs. Another one you may want to try is "And His Mother Called Him Bill" which I think is Hodges greatest performance. Oh by the way, Happy 100th Birthday Duke (April 29th) We love you madly!

And that goes for all Johnny Hodges fans too. If you hear a more lovely reading of "Your Love Has Faded" anywhere, I'd like to know where. Hodges was at the pinnacle of his career and Strayhorn finally got some overdue recognition and lee way to do a fantastic album of covers and originals. Its unknown exactly what was Strayhorn's and what was Ellington's when it came to the big band's compositions, but some of the very best are right here. Where "Faded" moans in an achingly beautiful way, "Tailor Made" and "Juice-A-Plenty" really swing! It is important to remember that Johnny Hodges, while being a very articulate man (probably brushed off from Duke himself) could barely read or even sign his name. Thank God he knew how to play sax!!!

Johnny was a notoriously diffident leader, so his other recordings as headliner (all small groups), while featuring the most beautiful alto player ever, seldom have great arrangements or interplay. With Strays at the helm, this is probably Hodges' most "together" recording.

It is also the best recorded I've heard (as you might imagine from the pseudonym, I have a LOT of his recordings), including my Mosaic boxed set. Jeep has an incredibly delicate tone, and to appreciate the true majesty of his art requires the best possible reproduction.

Side By Side makes a perfect companion. A small group session, again in sparkling fi, which (although Duke is on the cover), features a rare glimpse of Strayhorn just playin' with a small band. Duke plays on half the tracks, Bill on the rest. Bet you can't tell which is which without peeking at the liner notes.

This is fun to play for people who "don't like jazz". Warning: failure to respond to a Johnny Hodges ballad indicates an urgent need for spiritual and/or medical assistance!

Very nice playing, especially on the ballads like "I Got it Bad..." "Your Love Has Faded" and "Day Dream." Hodges' solos on these tracks are achingly pretty and Strayhorn's arrangements are elegant.

This is a great record. It fulfills my desire of listening to a good set of Johnny Hodges performances gathered in one album. The wonderful ballads or the wonder that "I`m Just a Lucky So-and-so" or the freshness of "Tailor Made" are worth a listening. This is the way I wanted to listen to, I don't miss new arragements. Highly recommended.

A recent documentary has noted that it is difficult to distinguish the respective compositional arrangements of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, so in sync were they in understanding the men of the orchestra and their sound. Perhaps. I have long suspected that Strayhorn soon became the dominant arranger, and this album of well-known Ellington works retooled by Strayhorn may prove the point, though the synergy was probably superior to either's contribution. Aside from such academic conjecturing, this album is outstanding. Johnny Hodges' saxophone is at the fore, with his smoothed-out Bechet melodic lilt. ***** for him! There is a soft, relaxed spirit throughout, evident in Jeeps Blue's and even Juice-a-Plenty. A caveat is that Jimmy Jones is at the piano, so do not expect the minimalism of Ellington or the sensitivity of Strayhorn. The high resolution digital mastering makes this 1961 setting as sharp as a tack. This is a very fine addition to the Ellington collection.

Listening to this CD has prompted me to start buying more music from this time/style. Sensuous, playful, teasing, mellow, tender... just some of the adjectives that are evoked while listening to Mr. Hodges' saxophone. This one will be on my playlist for a long, long time...

The musical language of Billy Strayhorn was and is magnificent. I agree with musicologists who state that his genius was overshadowed only by his lack of self promotion. He single handedly made all other big band conductors work to keep up with the Strayhorn-Ellington collaborative machine. [Name placement is deliberate]

SERVICE WAS FAST . CD ARRIVED IN PERFECT CONDITION . THIS IS SOME GREAT JAZZ .