Blues in Orbit
Encyclopedia
Blues in Orbit is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington
recorded for the Columbia
label in 1959 and released in 1960. The album was re-released on CD in 2004 with bonus tracks including alternate takes and tracks from earlier sessions.
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
recorded for the Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
label in 1959 and released in 1960. The album was re-released on CD in 2004 with bonus tracks including alternate takes and tracks from earlier sessions.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Bruce Eder awarded the album 3 stars and stated "Blues in Orbit lacks the intellectual cachet of the suites and concept pieces that loomed large in Ellington's recordings of this period, but it's an album worth tracking down, if only to hear the band run through a lighter side of its sound. Indeed, it captures the essence of a late-night recording date that was as much a loose jam as a formal studio date, balancing the spontaneity of the former and the technical polish of the latter".Track listing
:All compositions by Duke Ellington except as indicated- "Three J's Blues" (Jimmy HamiltonJimmy HamiltonJimmy Hamilton was an American jazz clarinetist, tenor saxophonist, arranger, composer, and music educator, best known for his twenty-five years with Duke Ellington....
) - 2:54 - "Smada" (Ellington, Billy StrayhornBilly StrayhornWilliam Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
) - 2:38 - "Pie Eye's Blues" - 3:27
- "Sweet and Pungent" (Strayhorn) - 4:03
- "C Jam BluesC Jam Blues"C Jam Blues" is a jazz standard composed in 1942 by Duke Ellington and performed by countless other musicians, such as Dave Grusin and Django Reinhardt. As the title suggests, the piece follows a twelve-bar blues form in the key of C major....
" (Ellington, Barney BigardBarney BigardAlbany Leon Bigard, aka Barney Bigard, was an American jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist, though primarily known for the clarinet....
) - 4:52 - "In a Mellow ToneIn a Mellow Tone"In a Mellow Tone", also known as "In a Mellotone", is a 1939 jazz standard composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Milt Gabler. The song was based on the 1917 standard "Rose Room" by Art Hickman and Harry Williams...
" (Ellington, Milt GablerMilt GablerMilton Gabler was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century.-Early life:...
) - 2:43 - "Blues in Blueprint" - 3:43
- "The Swingers Get the Blues, Too" (Ellington, Matthew GeeMatthew GeeMatthew Gee was an American bebop trombonist and part time actor.Gee played trumpet and baritone as a child, and took up the trombone at age 11. After studying at Alabama State University, he played with Coleman Hawkins before doing a stint in the Army...
) - 3:09 - "The Swinger's Jump" - 3:53
- "Blues in Orbit" (Strayhorn) - 2:29
- "Villes Ville Is the Place, Man" - 2:33
- "Track 360" - 2:03 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Sentimental Lady" - 4:02 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Brown Penny" (Ellington, John La Touche) - 3:02 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Pie Eye's Blues" [alternate take] - 3:32 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Sweet and Pungent" [alternate take] (Strayhorn) - 3:52 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "The Swinger's Jump" [alternate take] (Ellington) - 3:51 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Blues in Orbit" [alternate take] (Strayhorn) - 2:39 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Track 360" [alternate take] - 2:01 Bonus track on CD reissue
- Recorded at Radio Recorders, Los Angeles on February 4, 1958 (tracks 12 & 19) and February 12, 1958 (tracks 10 & 18) and at Columbia 30th Street StudioCBS 30th Street StudioCBS 30th Street Studio, also known as Columbia 30th Street Studio, and nicknamed "The Church", was an American recording studio operated by Columbia Records from 1949 to 1981 located at 207 East 30th Street, between Second and Third Avenues in Manhattan, New York City...
, New York on February 25, 1959 (track 11), December 2, 1959 (tracks 1, 3-5 & 13-16) and December 3, 1959 (tracks 2, 6-9 & 17).
Personnel
- Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
(tracks 1, 3-6 & 8-19) - Billy StrayhornBilly StrayhornWilliam Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
- piano (tracks 2 & 7) - Ray NanceRay NanceRay Willis Nance was a jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer.Nance is best known for his long association with Duke Ellington through most of the 1940s and 1950s, after he was hired to replace Cootie Williams in 1940...
- trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Cat Anderson, Shorty BakerShorty BakerHarold "Shorty" Baker was a jazz trumpeter.Baker started on drums, but switched to trumpet in his teens. He began on riverboats and played with Don Redman in the mid-1930s. He also worked with Teddy Wilson and Andy Kirk before his more noted association with Duke Ellington...
, Clark TerryClark TerryClark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
- trumpet (tracks 10-12, 18 & 19) - Fats Ford - trumpet (track 11)
- Britt WoodmanBritt WoodmanBritt Woodman was a jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known for his work with Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus....
- tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Matthew GeeMatthew GeeMatthew Gee was an American bebop trombonist and part time actor.Gee played trumpet and baritone as a child, and took up the trombone at age 11. After studying at Alabama State University, he played with Coleman Hawkins before doing a stint in the Army...
, Booty WoodBooty WoodMitchell W. Wood, better known as Booty Wood was an American jazz trombonist.Wood played professionally on trombone from the late 1930s. He worked with Tiny Bradshaw and Lionel Hampton in the 1940s before joining the Navy during World War II. While there he played in a band with Clark Terry,...
- trombone (tracks 1-9 & 13-17) - Quentin JacksonQuentin JacksonQuentin "Butter" Jackson was an American jazz trombonist. In the early stage of his career he worked with Cab Calloway and was in the Duke Ellington Orchestra...
- trombone (tracks 10-12, 18 & 19) - John Sanders - valve trombone (tracks 10-12, 18 & 19)
- Jimmy HamiltonJimmy HamiltonJimmy Hamilton was an American jazz clarinetist, tenor saxophonist, arranger, composer, and music educator, best known for his twenty-five years with Duke Ellington....
- clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Johnny HodgesJohnny HodgesJohn Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for his solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932–1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair...
- alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
(tracks 1-9, 11 & 13-17) - Russell ProcopeRussell ProcopeRussell Procope , an American clarinettist and alto saxophonist, was known best for his long tenure in the reed section of Duke Ellington's orchestra, where he was one of its two signature clarinet soloists....
- alto saxophone, clarinet - Paul GonsalvesPaul GonsalvesPaul Gonsalves, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"...
- tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Harry CarneyHarry CarneyHarry Howell Carney was an American swing baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, and bass clarinetist mainly known for his 45-year tenure in Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Carney started off as an alto player with Ellington, but soon switched to the baritone. His strong, steady saxophone often served as...
- baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece... - Jimmy WoodeJimmy WoodeJimmy Woode was a jazz bassist. His father, also named Jimmy Woode, was a music teacher and pianist who played with Hot Lips Page...
- bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Jimmy Johnson - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(tracks 1-9 & 13-17) - Sam WoodyardSam WoodyardSam Woodyard was an American jazz drummer.Woodyard was largely an autodidact on drums, and played locally in the Newark, New Jersey area in the 1940s. He gigged with Paul Gayten in an R&B group, and then played in the early 1950s with Joe Holiday, Roy Eldridge, and Milt Buckner...
- drums (tracks 10-12, 18 & 19)