Thursday, January 3, 2008

Duke Ellington and his Orchestra

First of all, my best wishes for the New Year to all of you out there in the big cyber yonder.

Let's start the new year with a trip down memory lane. What can be said here about Duke Ellington and his great soloists that hasn't been said before? My guess is nothing, so I leave you to enjoy these masterpieces without the benefit of my usually prosaic commentary, besides the Duke does it so elegantly himself. First number is "Take The "A" Train", the Duke's signature piece composed by his alter ego and life-time collaborator, the great Billy Strayhorn.


Next comes "Satin Doll", maybe the Duke's second best-known tune.


This is "Blow By Blow", a blues affair featuring tenor sax great and long standing Ellington sideman Paul Gonsalves.


Another blues number, "Things Ain't What They Used To Be", featuring the great Johnny Hodges on alto sax.


Time for the Duke to feature his amazing rhythm players, Aaron Bell on bass and Sam Woodyard on drums in a trio number, "Kind Of Dukish".


That's all for now, enjoy!