Customer Reviews

Piano in the Background

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I'm writing about 2004 edition of this CD, with 5 bonus tracks - Lullaby of birdland, The Wailer (with Gerald Wilson on trumpet), Dreamy sort of thing, Lullaby of Birdland (alternate take) and Harlem Air Shaft; other editions may have less or no bonus tracks at all; without these tracks you still get 9 tracks of GLORIOUS SWING...
This is a great Ellington CD for someone who wants to meet the Duke's music for the first time, with strong solos, equally strong ensembles and the song selection that includes some of the "greatest hits" of the repertoire, as well as some general jazz standards (although it has some more rare numbers...).
The titles of the tracks are:
1. Happy Go Lucky Local, 2. What Am I Here For, 3. Medley: Kinda Dukkish/Rockin' in Rhythm, 4. Perdido, 5. I'm Beginning to See the Light, 6. Mid-riff, 7. It Don't Mean a Thing, 8. Main Stem, 9. Take the "A" Train /+ the bonus tracks I listed in the beginning/.

The names of players speak for themselves:
Ray Nance, Fats Ford, Willie Cook, Eddie Mullens, Gerald Wilson - tp; Britt Woodman, Juan Tizol, Booty Wood, Lawrence Brown, Mathew Gee- tb; Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope, Jimmy Hamilton, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney - reeds; Duke, Billy Strayhorn -p; Aaron Bell -b; Sam Woodyard-dm.

And if I add that booklet is rich and informative, photographically well funded, AND that Duke's piano is NOT in the background of this album, I believe I've said quite enough.

this is Ellingtom and Orchestra at the top of their game. Get it. And play it loud. The older this stuff gets, the more it stands out, like a good bottle of fine wine.