Happy Reunion
Encyclopedia
Happy Reunion is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington
recorded in 1956 and 1958 but not released on the Sony label until 1985. The album features two small group sessions led by Ellington and recorded in Chicago.
awarded the album 2½ stars and stated "A particular highlight is hearing Gonsalves play 31 choruses on "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" in this setting".
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
recorded in 1956 and 1958 but not released on the Sony label until 1985. The album features two small group sessions led by Ellington and recorded in Chicago.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Scott YanowScott Yanow
Scott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...
awarded the album 2½ stars and stated "A particular highlight is hearing Gonsalves play 31 choruses on "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" in this setting".
Track listing
:All compositions by Duke Ellington except as indicated- "Way Back Blues" (Count BasieCount BasieWilliam "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
) - 3:25 - "Where's the Music?" - 3:11
- "Rubber Bottom" - 2:48
- "Play the Blues and Go" - 4:32
- "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...
" [Take 1] (Ellington, Milt GablerMilt GablerMilton Gabler was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century.-Early life:...
) - 3:14 - "In a Mellow Tone" [Take 2] (Ellington, Gabler) - 2:58
- "Happy Reunion" [Take 1] - 3:26
- "Happy Reunion" [Take 2] - 2:42
- "Diminuendo and Crescendo in BlueDiminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" is a big band jazz composition written in 1937 by Duke Ellington. In its early form, the two individual pieces, "Diminuendo in Blue" and "Crescendo in Blue," were recorded on both sides of a 78 rpm record....
(The Wailing Interval)" - 7:20- Recorded at Universal Studios, Chicago on March 19, 1956 (tracks 1-4) and June 24, 1958 (tracks 5-9).
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... - 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...
- 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...
(tracks 1-4) - John Sanders - valve trombone (tracks 1-4)
- 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...
(tracks 1-4) - 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 1-4) - 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...
(tracks 5-9) - 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... - 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...
- 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 ....