The Blanton–Webster Band
The Blanton-Webster Band | |
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Compilation album by Duke Ellington | |
Released | 1986 LP[1] |
Recorded | 1940–1942 |
Genre | Jazz Swing Big band music |
Length | 204:07 |
Label | Bluebird Records (RCA/BMG) |
Producer | Steve Becker, Bob Porter |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | link |
Rolling Stone | [2] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
The Blanton–Webster Band is a compilation album that combines the master takes of all the recordings by Duke Ellington's Orchestra during the years of 1940 to 1942, involving bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. The recordings were originally made for RCA Victor during what many critics regard as the Ellington orchestra's golden period. The three CDs contain many numbers which were to become classics, and the arrangements (by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn) were frequently inventive and innovative.
It was voted number 283 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[4]
The collection does not include alternate takes or the duets Ellington performed with Jimmy Blanton, available elsewhere. With 66 tracks, the selection includes many of Ellington's hits and classic songs. Rolling Stone praises the collection as "a masterwork of composition and leadership" and "a series of individual triumphs from the greatest team of jazz players...ever assembled".[5] Allmusic describes it as "essential for all jazz collections".[6]
Bassist Blanton was only with the Ellington orchestra for two years, retiring in 1941 due to tuberculosis, and dying the following year at the age of 23. Despite this compilation's title, Blanton does not appear on the final 17 tracks of the collection, having been replaced on bass by Alvin "Junior" Raglin.
This reissue first surfaced as a four-LP set in 1986.[1] The collection was re-organized, rereleased, and remastered with additional tracks in 2003 as Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band.
Track list
Unless otherwise noted, all tracks by Duke Ellington.
Disc one
- "You, You Darlin'" (M.K. Jerome, Jack Scholl) – 3:19
- "Jack the Bear" – 3:15
- "Ko Ko" – 2:39
- "Morning Glory" (Ellington, Rex Stewart) – 3:15
- "So Far, So Good" (Jack Lawrence, Jimmy Mundy, E.G. White) – 2:50
- "Conga Brava" (Ellington, Juan Tizol) – 2:54
- "Concerto for Cootie" – 3:19
- "Me and You" – 2:54
- "Cotton Tail" – 3:08
- "Never No Lament (Don't Get Around Much Anymore)" (Ellington, Bob Russell) – 3:15
- "Dusk" – 3:19
- "Bojangles" – 2:50
- "A Portrait of Bert Williams" – 3:09
- "Blue Goose" – 3:21
- "Harlem Air Shaft" – 2:57
- "At a Dixie Roadside Diner" – (Joe Burke, Edgar Leslie) – 2:45
- "All Too Soon" (Ellington, Carl Sigman) – 3:28
- "Rumpus in Richmond" – 2:46
- "My Greatest Mistake" (Jack Fulton), Jack O'Brien) – 3:27
- "Sepia Panorama" – 3:20
- "There Shall Be No Night" (Gladys Shelley, Abner Silver) – 3:05
- "In a Mellow Tone" (Ellington, Milt Gabler) – 3:19
Disc two
- "Five O'Clock Whistle" (Kim Gannon, Gene Irwin, Josef Myrow) – 3:18
- "Warm Valley" – 3:20
- "The Flaming Sword" – 3:06
- "Across the Track Blues" – 2:58
- "Chloe" (Gus Kahn, Neil Moret) – 3:24
- "I Never Felt This Way Before" (Al Dubin, Ellington) – 3:23
- "The Sidewalks of New York" (James W. Blake, Charles B. Lawlor) – 3:14
- "Flamingo" (Edmund Anderson, Ted Grouya) – 3:22
- "The Girl in My Dreams Tries to Look Like You" – 3:19
- "Take the "A" Train" (Billy Strayhorn) – 2:54
- "Jumpin' Punkins" – 3:33
- "John Hardy's Wife" – 3:28
- "Blue Serge" – 3:20
- "After All" (Strayhorn) – 3:19
- "Bakiff" (Tizol) – 3:23
- "Are You Sticking?" – 3:02
- "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'" (Ellington, Gaines, Strayhorn) – 3:33
- "The Giddybug Gallop" – 3:29
- "Chocolate Shake" (Ellington, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:50
- "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" (Ellington, Webster) – 3:17
- "Clementine" (Strayhorn) – 2:53
- "Brown-Skin Gal (In the Calico Gown)" (Ellington, Webster) – 3:06
Disc three
- "Jump for Joy" (Ellington, Sid Kuller, Webster) – 2:50
- "Moon Over Cuba" (Ellington, Tizol) – 3:09
- "Five O'Clock Drag" – 2:49
- "Rocks in My Bed" – 3:06
- "Bli Blip" (Ellington, Kuller) – 3:03
- "Chelsea Bridge" (Strayhorn) – 2:52
- "Rain Check" (Strayhorn) – 2:28
- "What Good Would It Do?" (Harry James, Buddy Pepper) – 2:44
- "I Don't Know What Kind of Blues I Got" – 3:13
- "Perdido" (Ervin Drake, H.J. Lengsfelder, Tizol) – 3:08
- "C Jam Blues" (Barney Bigard, Ellington) – 2:37
- "Moon Mist" – 2:58
- "What Am I Here For?" (Ellington, Frankie Laine) – 3:28
- "I Don't Mind" (Ellington, Strayhorn) – 2:49
- "Someone" – 3:09
- "My Little Brown Book" (Strayhorn) – 3:13
- "Main Stem" – 2:47
- "Johnny Come Lately" (Strayhorn) – 2:39
- "Hayfoot, Strawfoot" (Drake, Lengsfelder, Paul McGrane) – 2:30
- "Sentimental Lady" – 2:58
- "A Slip of the Lip (Can Sink a Ship)" (Ellington, Henderson) – 2:54
- "Sherman Shuffle" – 2:38
Personnel
Performance
- Duke Ellington — arrangements, conductor, piano (alternating with)
- Billy Strayhorn — arrangements, piano
- Ivie Anderson — vocals
- Herb Jeffries — vocals
- reed section
- Barney Bigard — clarinet, tenor saxophone
- Johnny Hodges — alto sax, soprano sax, clarinet
- Ben Webster — tenor saxophone
- Otto Hardwick — alto saxophone
- Chauncey Haughton — clarinet, tenor sax
- Harry Carney — baritone saxophone, clarinet, alto saxophone
- brass section
- Rex Stewart — cornet
- Cootie Williams — trumpet
- Ray Nance — trumpet, violin, vocals
- Wallace Jones — trumpet
- Juan Tizol — valve trombone
- Joe Nanton — trombone
- Lawrence Brown — trombone
- rhythm section
- Fred Guy — guitar
- Jimmy Blanton — bass
- Alvin "Junior" Raglin — bass
- Sonny Greer — drums
Production
- Bob Porter – reissue producer
- Ed Begley – remastering
- Steve Backer – executive producer
- Mary Tucker – liner notes
References
- ^ a b Gold, Gerald (December 7, 1986). "Bluebird Flies Once More". The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ Swenson, John, ed. (1999). The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. p. 223.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
- ^ Colin Larkin, ed. (2006). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 121. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
- ^ The Blanton-Webster Band[dead link] Rolling Stone. Accessed September 15, 2007.
- ^ The Blanton–Webster Band at AllMusic
- v
- t
- e
- Harlem Jazz, 1930
- Ellingtonia, Vol. One
- Ellingtonia, Vol. Two
- Braggin' in Brass: The Immortal 1938 Year
- The Blanton–Webster Band
- Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band
- Smoke Rings
- Liberian Suite
- Great Times!
- Masterpieces by Ellington
- Ellington Uptown
- The Duke Plays Ellington
- Ellington '55
- Dance to the Duke!
- Ellington Showcase
- Historically Speaking
- Duke Ellington Presents...
- The Complete Porgy and Bess
- A Drum Is a Woman
- Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956
- Such Sweet Thunder
- Studio Sessions 1957 & 1962
- Ellington Indigos
- Black, Brown and Beige
- Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque
- The Cosmic Scene
- Happy Reunion
- Jazz Party
- Anatomy of a Murder
- Festival Session
- Blues in Orbit
- The Nutcracker Suite
- Piano in the Background
- Swinging Suites by Edward E. and Edward G.
- Unknown Session
- Piano in the Foreground
- Paris Blues
- Featuring Paul Gonsalves
- Midnight in Paris
- Studio Sessions, New York 1962
- Afro-Bossa
- The Symphonic Ellington
- Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session
- Studio Sessions New York 1963
- My People
- Ellington '65
- Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins
- Ellington '66
- Concert in the Virgin Islands
- The Popular Duke Ellington
- Far East Suite
- The Jaywalker
- Studio Sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, San Francisco, Chicago, New York
- ...And His Mother Called Him Bill
- Second Sacred Concert
- Studio Sessions New York, 1968
- Latin American Suite
- The Pianist
- New Orleans Suite
- Orchestral Works
- The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970
- The Intimacy of the Blues
- The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
- Studio Sessions New York & Chicago, 1965, 1966 & 1971
- The Intimate Ellington
- The Ellington Suites
- This One's for Blanton!
- Up in Duke's Workshop
- Duke's Big 4
- Mood Ellington
- Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live
- Black, Brown, and Beige
- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943
- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1944
- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1946
- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1947
- Ellington at Newport
- Dance Concerts, California 1958
- Dance Dates, California 1958
- Newport 1958
- Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II
- Duke Ellington at the Alhambra
- Live at the Blue Note
- Hot Summer Dance
- The Great Paris Concert
- A Concert of Sacred Music
- In the Uncommon Market
- Soul Call
- Yale Concert
- 70th Birthday Concert
- Togo Brava Suite
- Live at the Whitney
- Third Sacred Concert
- Eastbourne Performance
- Blue Rose
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
- Side by Side
- Back to Back
- The Great Summit
- First Time! The Count Meets the Duke
- Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
- Money Jungle
- Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
- Serenade to Sweden
- Ella at Duke's Place
- The Stockholm Concert, 1966
- Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur
- Francis A. & Edward K.
- It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing
- "African Flower"
- "All Too Soon"
- "Azure"
- "Black and Tan Fantasy"
- "Black, Brown and Beige"
- "C Jam Blues"
- "Come Sunday"
- "Cotton Tail"
- "Creole Love Call"
- "Day Dream"
- "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"
- "Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me"
- "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"
- "Drop Me Off in Harlem"
- "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"
- "Echoes of Harlem"
- "Everything but You"
- "I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues"
- "I Didn't Know About You"
- "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)"
- "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart"
- "I'm Beginning to See the Light"
- "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So"
- "In a Mellow Tone"
- "In a Sentimental Mood"
- "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
- "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'"
- "Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)"
- "The Mooche"
- "Mood Indigo"
- " Prelude to a Kiss"
- "Rocks in My Bed"
- "(In My) Solitude"
- "Sophisticated Lady"
- Queenie Pie (unfinished opera)
by Billy Strayhorn |
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by Juan Tizol |
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members
- Hayes Alvis
- Cat Anderson
- Ivie Anderson
- Harold Ashby
- Alice Babs
- Shorty Baker
- Butch Ballard
- Art Baron
- Aaron Bell
- Louie Bellson
- Joe Benjamin
- Barney Bigard
- Lou Blackburn
- Jimmy Blanton
- Wellman Braud
- Lawrence Brown
- Harry Carney
- Johnny Coles
- Willie Cook
- Buster Cooper
- Kay Davis
- Wild Bill Davis
- Wilbur de Paris
- Bobby Durham
- Mercer Ellington
- Rolf Ericson
- Jimmy Forrest
- Victor Gaskin
- Peter Giger
- Tyree Glenn
- Paul Gonsalves
- Sonny Greer
- Fred Guy
- Jimmy Hamilton
- Otto Hardwick
- Shelton Hemphill
- Rick Henderson
- Al Hibbler
- Johnny Hodges
- Major Holley
- Charlie Irvis
- Quentin Jackson
- Hilton Jefferson
- Herb Jeffries
- Freddie Jenkins
- Money Johnson
- Herbie Jones
- Wallace Jones
- Taft Jordan
- Al Killian
- Queen Esther Marrow
- Wendell Marshall
- Murray McEachern
- Louis Metcalf
- James "Bubber" Miley
- Harold "Geezil" Minerve
- Ray Nance
- Tricky Sam Nanton
- Oscar Pettiford
- Eddie Preston
- Russell Procope
- Junior Raglin
- Betty Roché
- Ernie Royal
- Al Sears
- Joya Sherrill
- Willie Smith
- Elmer Snowden
- Rex Stewart
- Billy Strayhorn
- Billy Taylor
- Clark Terry
- Juan Tizol
- Norris Turney
- Ben Webster
- Arthur Whetsel
- Cootie Williams
- Nelson Williams
- Skippy Williams
- Booty Wood
- Jimmy Woode
- Britt Woodman
- Sam Woodyard