AprilCadence2013

DUKE ELLINGTON
BIG BANDS LIVE:
DUKE ELLINGTON
ORCHESTRA
JAZZHAUS 101703
TAKE THE "A" TRAIN/ JOHNNY
COME LATELY/ SWAMP
GOO/ KNOB HILL/ EGGO/
LA PLUS BELLE AFRICAINE/
RUE BLEUE/ A CHROMATIC
LOVE AFFAIR/ SALOME/
THE SHEPHERD/ TUTTI FOR
COOTIE/ FREAKISH LIGHTS/
KIXX. 73:41.
Diuke Ellington, comp, arr,
p; Cat Anderson, Cootie
Williams, Herbie Jones,
Mercer Ellington, tpt; Johnny
Hodges, as; Russell Procope,
as, cl; Paul Gonsalves, ts;
Jimmy Hamilton, ts, cl; Harry
Carney, bari s, cl; Chuck
Connors, Lawrence Brown,
Buster Cooper, tbn; John
Lamb, b; Rufus Jones, d.
March 6, 1967, Stuttgart,
Germany.
New Issues
116 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013
At several sessions in late 1967, Duke Ellington
recorded the music for one of his finest albums,
...And His Mother Called Him Bill, a tribute to his close
friend and musical collaborator Billy Strayhorn, who
had died that May. The music on Big Bands Live: Duke
Ellington Orchestra was taped on March 6 of the same
year at a concert at Stuttgart, Germany's Liederhalle.
Most of the musicians who were present on the studio
recording were also there for the live performance,
including such luminaries as Johnny Hodges, Paul
Gonsalves, Harry Carney, and Cootie Williams. Although
performances from the concert have been released
earlier, this recording features thirteen selected tracks,
digitally re- mastered. The CD begins with a minute of
the band's theme, Strayhorn's classic "Take The A Train,"
and includes two other Strayhorn tunes, the gently
swinging "Johnny Come Lately" and altoist Johnny
Hodges's heart-rending version of "Blood Count,"
identified here by its earlier name "Freakish Lights." A
highlight among many highlights, Hodges's exquisite
reading of the mournful song rivals his performance of it
on the aforementioned studio CD. Except for Raymond
Fol's "Salome," the other compositions are all Ellington's
and underline his extraordinary compositional talent.
With its several well-integrated sections, "La Plus Belle
Africaine" emphasizes the breadth of his conception
(it also offers a lovely bowed bass solo by John Lamb).
And his shuffle-based "Eggo" adds a quality of freshness
to the venerable blues form with unexpected dissonances.
As for the other soloists, Harry Carney shows
off the most beautiful baritone saxophone sound ever
on his feature "A Chromatic Love Affair." Likewise, Paul
Gonsalves' lush tenor tone and sinewy phasing help
make the Latin "Knob Hill" memorable. Trumpeter Cat
Anderson on "Salome," clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton on
"La Plus Belle Africaine," trombonist Lawrence Brown
on "Rue Bleue," trumpeter Cootie Williams on "Tutti for
Cootie" and "The Shepherd," clarinetist Russell Procope
on "Swamp Goo," and drummer Rufus Jones on "Kixx"
are all at the top of their games. Special mention should
be made of the precise, swinging ensemble work on the
particularly difficult passages of the blazing finale "Kixx."
The band obviously came to play that day.
David Franklin