Duke Ellington Piano In The Background CD

Additional Tracks

Personnel: Duke Ellington (piano); Duke Ellington; Eddie Mullens, Eddie Mullens, Andres Merenghito, Andre Merenghito (trumpet); Lawrence D. Brown, Lawrence Brown (trombone); Billy Strayhorn (piano); Aaron Bell (double bass); Russell Procope (clarinet, alto saxophone); Jimmy Hamilton (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Harry Carney (bass clarinet, baritone saxophone); Johnny Hodges (alto saxophone); Paul Gonsalves (tenor saxophone); Gerald Wilson, Ray Nance, Willie Cook (trumpet); Matthew Gee, Booty Wood, Britt Woodman (trombone); Juan Tizol (valve trombone); Sam Woodyard (drums).
Audio Remixer: Mark Wilder.
Liner Note Authors: Irving Townsend; Patricia Willard.
Recording information: Columbia Studios, Los Angeles, CA (1960); Radio Recorders, Los Angeles, CA (1960).
Photographer: Don Hunstein.
Arrangers: Gerald Wilson; Bill Mathieu.
This rare trio session by Duke Ellington (on which he is joined by bassist Aaron Bell and drummer Sam Woodyard) was the first of several in the early '60s that featured his piano in a variety of settings. It is particularly interesting hearing Ellington, along with three standards and a blues, performing some of his rarer compositions such as "Cong-go, Fontainbleau Forest," "It's Bad to Be Forgotten" and "A Hundred Dreams Ago." One wishes that today's revivalists when playing "the Duke Ellington Songbook" would bring back some of his true obscurities such as the ones on this somewhat forgotten session. ~ Scott Yanow
One of Ellington's rarer studio sessions and last out on this French CD, the main plot behind this runthrough of his standards is that the leader's piano is featured at some point in every song. His sidemen are also heard from and everyone is in fine form. Ellington's solo abilities were always a bit underrated due to his brilliance in other areas, but this set shows just how modern he remained through the years as a player. ~ Scott Yanow
At first glance, one might think that this album is another in a long line of standard-issue Duke Ellington compilations. However, this is a release created by the artist himself, and it presents sessions from May and June of 1960 with one of the best orchestras Ellington ever assembled. (Only the previously unissued "Harlem Air Shaft," one of five bonus tracks on the CD, was recorded in '61.)
The title of this collection is also something of a misnomer, since PIANO IN THE BACKGROUND prominently features the piano throughout. Each track boasts fabulous bluesy piano introductions, and, at the end of each tune, the ivories usually get the last word. This dramatic conclusion sometimes comes in the form of a final blow to the lower register of the keyboard, as on "Mid-Riff," "Main Stem," and "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)." These mysterioso rumblings of the piano make the tunes end with a kind of musical defiance not normally associated with jazz orchestras of the time. This is hard-swinging and inspired big-band music at its finest.
PIANO IN THE FOREGROUND, recorded in the late 1950s and early '60s, features the legendary Duke Ellington in a rare trio setting. Oddly enough, it wasn't often that Ellington blatantly promoted his skills as a pianist; his instrument was the orchestra itself. But in addition to his achievements as a composer, arranger, and bandleader, Ellington was also an undeniably gifted piano player whose approach to the instrument was both technically remarkable and unique.
Ellington's pianistic style may seem anachronistic by today's standards; he never embraced the advanced harmonies of bebop and always maintained his stride roots. Yet somehow he still sounds thoroughly modern on PIANO IN THE FOREGROUND. Perhaps it is his highly rhythmic lines that poke out of the groove. Or it may be his bold use of the blues, his thoughtful use of dynamics, or his ability to play spaciously. Whatever it is, Ellington's musical voice is strong, and each tune on PIANO IN THE FOREGROUND spaJazzTimes (p.89) - "Recorded mostly in 1960, the band was at its peak of popularity and enthusiasm..."