Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
Encyclopedia
Duke Ellington & John Coltrane is a jazz
album
by Duke Ellington
and John Coltrane
recorded on September 26, 1962 and released in February 1963 on Impulse! Records
.
For Ellington, it was one of many collaborations with fellow jazz-greats in the early 1960s, including Count Basie
, Louis Armstrong
, Coleman Hawkins
, Max Roach
and Charles Mingus
. More unusually, it placed him in a jazz quartet setting (in this case, saxophone, piano, bass and drums), rather than his usual one in a big band
.
For Coltrane, it was an opportunity to work with one of jazz's all-time greats. It was one of several albums he recorded in the early 1960s in a more conservative and accessible style, alongside John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
and Ballads
. Despite their differences in background, style and age (Ellington was 63 and Coltrane 36 when the tracks were recorded), it has been said that the two interact seamlessly and subtly, neither one outshining the other.
The quartet was filled out by the bassist
and drummer
from either of their bands. The tracks they recorded featured Ellington standards ("In a Sentimental Mood
"), new Ellington compositions and a new Coltrane composition ("Big Nick").
Coltrane felt very honoured to work with Ellington: "I was really honoured to have the opportunity of working with Duke. It was a wonderful experience. He has set standards I haven't caught up with yet. I would have liked to have worked over all those numbers again, but then I guess the performances wouldn't have had the same spontaneity. And they mightn't have been any better!" (Excerpt from the CD booklet.)
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
and John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
recorded on September 26, 1962 and released in February 1963 on Impulse! Records
Impulse! Records
Impulse! Records was an American jazz record label, originally established in 1960 by producer Creed Taylor as a subsidiary of ABC-Paramount Records, based in New York City...
.
For Ellington, it was one of many collaborations with fellow jazz-greats in the early 1960s, including Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
, Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
and Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
. More unusually, it placed him in a jazz quartet setting (in this case, saxophone, piano, bass and drums), rather than his usual one in a big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
.
For Coltrane, it was an opportunity to work with one of jazz's all-time greats. It was one of several albums he recorded in the early 1960s in a more conservative and accessible style, alongside John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman is a 1963 studio album featuring John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman.Though Coltrane and Hartman had known each other since their days playing with Dizzy Gillespie's band in the late 1940s , Hartman is the only vocalist with whom the...
and Ballads
Ballads (John Coltrane album)
Ballads is a jazz album by the John Coltrane Quartet. It was recorded in December 1961 and 1962, and released on the Impulse! label in 1963 as A-32 and later AS-32 . Critic Gene Lees stated that the quartet had never played the tunes before...
. Despite their differences in background, style and age (Ellington was 63 and Coltrane 36 when the tracks were recorded), it has been said that the two interact seamlessly and subtly, neither one outshining the other.
The quartet was filled out by the bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
from either of their bands. The tracks they recorded featured Ellington standards ("In a Sentimental Mood
In a Sentimental Mood
"In a Sentimental Mood" is a jazz composition by Duke Ellington which is also performed as a song. Ellington composed the piece in 1935 and recorded it with his orchestra the same year. Lyrics were later written for the tune by Irving Mills and Manny Kurtz. According to Ellington, the song was...
"), new Ellington compositions and a new Coltrane composition ("Big Nick").
Coltrane felt very honoured to work with Ellington: "I was really honoured to have the opportunity of working with Duke. It was a wonderful experience. He has set standards I haven't caught up with yet. I would have liked to have worked over all those numbers again, but then I guess the performances wouldn't have had the same spontaneity. And they mightn't have been any better!" (Excerpt from the CD booklet.)
Track listing
- "In a Sentimental MoodIn a Sentimental Mood"In a Sentimental Mood" is a jazz composition by Duke Ellington which is also performed as a song. Ellington composed the piece in 1935 and recorded it with his orchestra the same year. Lyrics were later written for the tune by Irving Mills and Manny Kurtz. According to Ellington, the song was...
" – 4:14
(Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
) - "Take The Coltrane" – 4:42
(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...
) - "Big Nick" – 4:30
(John ColtraneJohn ColtraneJohn William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
) - "Stevie" – 4:22
(Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
) - "My Little Brown Book" – 5:20
(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...
) - "Angelica" – 6:00
(Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
) - "The Feeling of Jazz" – 6:00
(Bobby TroupBobby TroupRobert William "Bobby" Troup Jr. was an American actor, jazz pianist and songwriter. He is best known for writing the popular standard " Route 66", and for his role as Dr...
/Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
/George T. SimonGeorge T. SimonGeorge Thomas Simon was an American jazz writer and occasional drummer. He began as a drummer and was an early drummer in Glenn Miller's orchestra...
)
Personnel
- Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
- piano - John ColtraneJohn ColtraneJohn William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
- tenor saxophone, except on "Big Nick", where he plays soprano saxophone - Jimmy GarrisonJimmy GarrisonJimmy Garrison was an American jazz double bassist born in Miami, Florida. He was best known through his long association with John Coltrane from 1961–1967.-Biography:...
- bass (tracks 2,3,6) - Aaron BellAaron BellSamuel Aaron Bell was an American jazz double-bassist.As a child, Bell played piano, and learned brass instruments in high school. He attended Xavier University, where he began playing bass, and graduated in 1942; following this he joined the Navy, completing his service in 1946...
- bass (tracks 1,4,5,7) - Elvin JonesElvin JonesElvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....
- drums (tracks 1-3, 6) - 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 4,5,7)