Blues in Orbit

Occupation

• Piano: Duke Ellington (1, 3-6 & 8-19 )
• Piano: Billy Strayhorn ( 2 & 7)
• Trumpet: Ray Nance
• Trumpet: Cat Anderson, Harold Shorty Baker, Clark Terry ( 10-12, 18 & 19), Fats Ford (11 )
• Trombone Britt Woodman
• Trumpet Matthew Gee, Booty Wood ( 1-9 & 13-17)
• Trombone Quentin Jackson ( 10-12, 18 & 19)
• Valve trombone: John Sanders ( 10-12, 18 & 19)
• Clarinet, tenor saxophone Jimmy Hamilton
• Alto Saxophone: Johnny Hodges (1-9, 11 & 13-17)
• Alto Saxophone, Clarinet: Russell Procope
• Tenor Saxophone: Paul Gonsalves
• Baritone saxophone Harry Carney
• Bass: Jimmy Woode
• Drums: Sam Woodyard (10-12, 18 & 19), Jimmy Johnson (1-9 & 13-17)
• Arranger: Billy Strayhorn

Duke Ellington and his Award Winners - Blues in Orbit is a jazz album by Duke Ellington, which was created in five recording sessions between February 1958 and December 1959 in various formations and 1960 was published by Columbia. In 2004, the album was re-released on CD, extended by several alternate takes and pieces of previous sessions.

Background

Like the one year earlier resulting album The Cosmic Scene: Duke Ellington 's Spacemen played blues in orbit in the title on the satellite and Weltraumbeisterung of American society and Ellington. In the original liner notes Teo Macero described the atmosphere of the late-night recording session in which most of the songs of this album have been created; they began on December 2, 1959 in New York's Columbia Sudio in the 30th Street until midnight because Ellington's tight schedule and bookings for the studio did not permit any other time. The purpose of the session it was, inter alia, also, einzuspielen for the young producer Macero a number of jukebox -compatible pieces, with which one wanted to follow the success of his performance at Newport in 1956.

Ellington and Strayhorn, who still worked partially during the recordings of the arrangements, set for the session, the band at full strength (15 musicians for the title track and track 360) and small ensembles of nine, eleven or twelve members of the ensemble together. In the first piece, Jimmy Hamilton's Three J 's Blues, the composer is exceptional cases, to listen to the tenor saxophone. Its title refers to the three present " Jimmy ", namely Hamilton himself and Jimmy Woode and drummer Jimmy Johnson, who represented the then diseased Sam Woodyard. In Strayhorn composition Smada are Gonsalves and trumpeter Ray Nance, the soloists. Pie Eye 's Blues, a zwölftaktiger Jazz Blues, is a variant of Flirtibird theme from the soundtrack of 1959 by Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder, in which Ellington had an appearance as a bandleader Pie Eye.

C Jam Blues is a feature for Ray Nance on violin; as soloist are also the trombonist Matthew Gee and Gonsalves and Booty Wood. In In a Mellow Tone Ellington is first percussive accents on piano; then Harry Carney follows on the baritone saxophone. Matthew Gee was co- composer and baritone horn player at The Swingers Get the Blues, Too; the up-tempo number The Swingers Jump arose only during the recording sessions and was therefore first " Last Minutes Blues" called.

Johnny Hodges, who was in early 1958 with the Billy Strayhorn band on tour, can only be heard in three titles, in Villes Ville is the Place, Man, in the ballad Sentimental Lady and Brown Penny, consisting of the Broadway Revue Beggar 's Holiday came that Ellington had written with John La Touche. Billy Strayhorn is the pianist in Blues in Blueprint, fingerschnipsend directs the band at the Ellington; Harry Carney is playing bass clarinet.

Reception

In his review of the album at Allmusic Bruce Eder awarded only three stars and admitted that Blues in Orbit intellectual format of the suites and concept albums lacked, einnähmen the wide space under Ellington's recordings of this period; nevertheless, it was an album of its own value, even if it's just about going to see the band of a lighter side of their sound. The album constitutes the essence of this night session, the character had a jam session than a normal studio appointment rather balanced between the spontaneity of jam and the technical gloss of studio session.

Richard Cook and Brian Morton awarded the album the second highest rating of 3 ½ stars ("a very fine album " ) and lay emphasis on the solo performances by Paul Gonsalves shows that almost dominates the album, as in Brown Penny ( the earlier vocal version of Kay Davis imitate ), in the interpretation of zucksersüßen Sentimental Lady ( also I Did not Know About You ) and Smada, which was a feature for Jimmy Hamilton else. This sword on the tenor in Three J 's Blues and Pie Eye 's Blues rather anonymous. In C Jam Blues him return back to the usual clarinet; would be added excellent solos by Gonsalves and the most unknown Matthew Gee and Booty Wood. Erfeulich are also the newly created Ellington compositions Blues in Blueprint and The Swinger's Jump, which varied the slightly predictable profile.

List of items

• Duke Ellington and his Award Winners - Blues in Orbit (Columbia )

All compositions - unless otherwise stated, are by Duke Ellington.

The first two sessions took place at Radio Recorders, Los Angeles; on 4 February 1958, the pieces were 12 and 19 added; on February 12, 1958, the pieces 10 and 18 further sessions were held in the CBS 30th Street Studio in New York City; was born on February 25, 1959 11 piece, recorded the pieces 1, 3-5 and 13-16, and December 3, 1959 pieces 2, 6-9 & 17 on December 2, 1959.