Recollections of the Big Band Era
Encyclopedia
Recollections of the Big Band Era is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington
recorded in 1962 & 1963 for the Reprise
label but not released until 1974 on the Atlantic
label. The album features performances of compositions associated with big bands led by artists such as Count Basie
, Fletcher Henderson
, Louis Armstrong
, Cab Calloway
and others by the Duke Ellington's Orchestra. The 1989 CD reissue included 11 bonus tracks that originally appeared on Will the Big Bands Ever Come Back? which was released on Reprise in 1965.
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
recorded in 1962 & 1963 for the Reprise
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
label but not released until 1974 on the Atlantic
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
label. The album features performances of compositions associated with big bands led by artists such as 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...
, Fletcher Henderson
Fletcher Henderson
James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson, Jr. was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. His was one of the most prolific black orchestras and his influence was vast...
, Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
and others by the Duke Ellington's Orchestra. The 1989 CD reissue included 11 bonus tracks that originally appeared on Will the Big Bands Ever Come Back? which was released on Reprise in 1965.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Bruce Eder awarded the album 3 stars and stated "The material is done in a smooth, swinging style, more laid-back than what the Count Basie orchestra of the same period would have done with this same stuff but with enough fire and boundless elegance to make it more than worthwhile... this is sort of a concept album, and a rather good one at that".Track listing
- "Minnie the MoocherMinnie the Moocher"Minnie the Moocher" is a jazz song first recorded in 1931 by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, selling over 1 million copies. "Minnie the Moocher" is most famous for its nonsensical ad libbed lyrics . In performances, Calloway would have the audience participate by repeating each scat phrase in a...
" (Cab CallowayCab CallowayCabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
, Clarence Gaskill, Irving MillsIrving MillsIrving Mills was a jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose."Mills was born to Jewish parents in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He founded Mills Music with his brother Jack in 1919...
) - 2:47 - "For Dancers Only" (Sy OliverSy OliverMelvin "Sy" Oliver was a jazz arranger, trumpeter, composer, singer and bandleader...
, Don RayeDon RayeDon Raye , born Donald MacRae Wilhoite, Jr., in Washington, D.C., was an American vaudevillian and songwriter, best known for his songs for the Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", "The House of Blue Lights", "Just For A Thrill" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."While known for...
, Vic SchoenVic SchoenVictor "Vic" Schoen was an American bandleader, arranger, and composer whose career spanned from the 1930s until his death in 2000...
) - 3:04 - "It's a Lonesome Old Town (When You're Not Around)" (Charles Kisco, Harry TobiasHarry TobiasHarry Tobias was an American lyricist. Like his younger brother Charles, he is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame....
) - 2:20 - "Cherokee" (Ray NobleRay Noble (musician)Ray Noble was an English bandleader, composer, arranger and actor. Noble studied music at the Royal Academy of Music and became leader of the HMV Records studio band in 1929. The band, known as the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day...
) - 2:54 - "The Midnight Sun Will Never Set" (Dorcas CochranDorcas CochranDorcas Cochran was an American lyricist and screenwriter. She is also referenced by her married name, Dorcas Cochran Jewell.-Biography:...
, Quincy JonesQuincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Henri SalvadorHenri SalvadorHenri Salvador was a French Caribbean singer.-Biography:Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of a native Indian from the Caribbean, were both from Guadeloupe, French West Indies...
) - 3:06 - "Let's Get Together" (Chick WebbChick WebbWilliam Henry Webb, usually known as Chick Webb was an American jazz and swing music drummer as well as a band leader.-Biography:...
) - 2:40 - "I'm Getting Sentimental Over YouI'm Getting Sentimental Over You"I'm Getting Sentimental Over You" is a song recorded by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra. The words were written by Ned Washington and the music was written by George Bassman. It was first performed in 1932. The original copyright is dated 1933 and issued to Lawrence Music Publishers, Inc. The...
" (George BassmanGeorge BassmanGeorge Bassman was an American composer and arranger.-Biography:Born in New York to a Russian Jewish émigré couple, Bassman was later raised in Boston and began studying music at the Boston Conservatory while still a boy....
, Ned WashingtonNed WashingtonNed Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962...
) - 3:25 - "Chant of the Weed" (Don RedmanDon RedmanDonald Matthew Redman was an American jazz musician, arranger, bandleader and composer.Redman was announced as a member of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame on May 6, 2009....
) - 3:26 - "Ciribiribin" (Alberto PestalozzaAlberto PestalozzaAlberto Pestalozza composed and published a popular Italian song, "Ciribiribin", in 1898.Born and died in Turin.-References:* *...
) - 3:28 - "Contrasts" (Jimmy DorseyJimmy DorseyJames "Jimmy" Dorsey was a prominent American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, trumpeter, composer, and big band leader. He was known as "JD"...
) - 2:45 - "Christopher Columbus" (Chu Berry, Andy Razaf) - 3:05
- "Auld Lang SyneAuld Lang Syne"Auld Lang Syne" is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song . It is well known in many countries, especially in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight...
" (Robert BurnsRobert BurnsRobert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
, Traditional) - 2:19 - "Tuxedo JunctionTuxedo Junction"Tuxedo Junction" is a song co-written by Birmingham, Alabama composer Erskine Hawkins and saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson. Julian Dash is also credited for the music. The song was introduced by Hawkins's orchestra. Lyrics were by Buddy Feyne...
" (Erskine HawkinsErskine HawkinsErskine Ramsay Hawkins was an American trumpet player and big band leader from Birmingham, Alabama, dubbed "The 20th Century Gabriel". He is most remembered for composing the jazz standard "Tuxedo Junction" with saxophonist and arranger Bill Johnson...
, Bill JohnsonBill Johnson (reed player)Bill Johnson was an American alto saxophonist, clarinetist, and arranger....
, Buddy FeyneBuddy FeyneBuddy Feyne was an American composer and lyricist of the swing era.He penned the lyrics for the standards "Tuxedo Junction" and "Jersey Bounce"...
) - 3:27 Bonus track on CD reissue - "Smoke Rings" (Gene GiffordGene GiffordH. Eugene "Gene" Gifford was an American jazz banjoist, guitarist, and arranger.Gifford was raised in Memphis, Tennessee, and played banjo in high school; following this he played in territory bands, including Watson's Bell Hops and the bands of Bob Foster and Lloyd Williams...
, Ned WashingtonNed WashingtonNed Washington was an American lyricist.-Biography:Washington was nominated for eleven Academy Awards from 1940 to 1962...
) - 2:51 Bonus track on CD reissue - "Artistry in Rhythm" (Stan KentonStan KentonStanley Newcomb "Stan" Kenton was a pianist, composer, and arranger who led a highly innovative, influential, and often controversial American jazz orchestra. In later years he was widely active as an educator....
) - 3:17 Bonus track on CD reissue - "The Waltz You Saved for Me" (Gus KahnGus KahnGustav Gerson Kahn was a musician, songwriter and lyricist.-Biography:Kahn was born in Koblenz, Germany in 1886. The family emigrated from there to the United States and moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1890...
, Wayne KingWayne KingWayne King was an American musician, songwriter, singer and orchestral leader. He was sometimes referred to as "the Waltz King" because much of his most popular music involved waltzes; "The Waltz You Saved For Me" was his standard set closing song in live performance and on numerous radio...
) - 2:27 Bonus track on CD reissue - "Woodchopper's BallWoodchopper's Ball"Woodchopper's Ball", also known as "At the Woodchopper's Ball" is a 1939 jazz composition by Joe Bishop and Woody Herman. The up-tempo blues tune was the Woody Herman Orchestra's biggest hit, as well as the most popular composition of either composer, selling a million records.The tune has been...
" (Joey BishopJoey BishopJoey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
, Woody HermanWoody HermanWoodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
) - 3:15 Bonus track on CD reissue - "Sentimental JourneySentimental Journey (song)"Sentimental Journey" is a popular song, published in 1944. The music was written by Les Brown and Ben Homer, and the lyrics were written by Arthur Green.-History:...
" (Les BrownLes Brown (bandleader)Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
, Bud GreenBud GreenBud Green was an Austrian-born songwriter. Bud Green grew up in Harlem at 108th & Madison Ave. at the turn of the century, the eldest of seven. He dropped out of elementary school to sell newspapers and help the family...
, Ben Homer) - 2:29 Bonus track on CD reissue - "When It's Sleepy Time Down SouthWhen It's Sleepy Time Down South"When It's Sleepy Time Down South", also known as "Sleepy Time Down South", is a 1931 jazz song written by Clarence Muse, Leon René and Otis René. It was sung in the movie Safe in Hell by Nina Mae McKinney, and became the theme song of Louis Armstrong, who recorded it almost a hundred times during...
" (Clarence MuseClarence MuseClarence Muse was an actor, screenwriter, director, composer, and lawyer. He was inducted in the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973. Muse was the first African American to "star" in a film. He acted for more than sixty years, and appeared in more than 150 movies.-Life and career:Born in...
, Leon RenéLeon RenéLeon René was an American music composer of R&B and rock and roll songs in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. He sometimes used the songwriting pseudonym Jimmy Thomas. He also established several record labels...
, Otis René) - 3:17 Bonus track on CD reissue - "One O'Clock JumpOne O'Clock Jump"One O'Clock Jump" is a jazz standard, a 12-bar blues instrumental, written in 1937 by Count Basie, with arrangement from Eddie Durham and Buster Smith. The original recording of the tune by Basie and his band is noted for the saxophone work of Herschel Evans and Lester Young; trumpeting by Buck...
" (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...
) - 7:20 Bonus track on CD reissue - "GoodbyeGoodbye (Gordon Jenkins song)Goodbye is a song written by American composer and arranger Gordon Jenkins, published in 1935. It became well known as the closing theme song of the Benny Goodman orchestra....
" (Gordon JenkinsGordon JenkinsGordon Hill Jenkins was an American arranger, composer and pianist who was an influential figure in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s, renowned for his lush string arrangements...
) - 3:04 Bonus track on CD reissue - "Sleep, Sleep, Sleep" (Earl Lebieg) - 2:45 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Rhapsody in BlueRhapsody in BlueRhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band written in 1924, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects....
" (George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
) - 4:47 Bonus track on CD reissue- Recorded at Fine Studios, New York on November 29, 1962 (tracks 6-8, 11, 20 & 21), December 11, 1962 (tracks 3, 9 & 13), December 13, 1962 (tracks 1 & 18), December 14, 1962 (tracks 2 & 19), December 20, 1962 (tracks 10, 22 & 23), December 29, 1962 (track 12), January 3, 1962 (tracks 5, 15 & 17), and January 4, 1963 (tracks 4, 14 & 16).
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... - 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...
- cornetCornetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was... - Cat Anderson, Roy Burrowes, Cootie WilliamsCootie WilliamsCharles Melvin "Cootie" Williams was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter.-Biography:...
- 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... - Lawrence Brown, Buster CooperBuster CooperGeorge "Buster" Cooper is an American jazz trombonist.Cooper was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. He played in a territory band with Nat Towles in Texas in the late 1940s, and gigged with Lionel Hampton in 1953. He played in the house band at the Apollo Theater in New York City in the mid-1950s,...
- 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... - Chuck Connors - bass trombone
- 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... - 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 saxophone - 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...
, clarinet, bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet... - Ernie Shepard - 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 ....