The Duke Ellington Orchestra
in 1940 may not have been as popular with the general public as that of
Glenn Miller
, but they were one of the great
big bands
of all time. The best way to acquire their music is to get all of the alternate takes, which are available through
RCA
/
Bluebird
, but the
Classics
series has done a fine job of reissuing all of the master takes. This particular disc has a small-group session apiece led by altoist
Johnny Hodges
and cornetist
Rex Stewart
along with nine songs from the
big band
. Among the gems are
"In a Mellotone,"
"Five O'Clock Whistle,"
"Warm Valley"
(heard twice),
"Daydream,"
and
"Linger Awhile."
In addition, the four classic
Jimmy Blanton
-
Duke Ellington
bass-piano duets (which include
"Pitter Panther Patter"
"Mr. J.B. Blues"
) are included and find
Blanton
sounding quite futuristic, almost like
Charles Mingus
15 years later. ~ Scott Yanow