Just Jazz; Duke Ellington's Orchestra: 1940s, Pt. 1

Transcript

You You You You

You You You You You You You you You I You You In other Work 50 minutes long and it's original version never recorded because of the recording band of that time, unfortunately Only excerpts after that band ended and Except for the loss of kuti Williams in 1940 The great soloists and the personnel remain constant

We'll tell about 1943-44 and then some of the important members began leaving By the begot and Rex Stewart and Webster and others Still a fine band in the mid-40s of course and all through the 40s Though the music of the middle and late 40s is not so well known there were as many recordings either in the late 40s As far as that goes He joined Victor Had his first session for them think around March of 1940 So the new recording label association coincided with the decade too Left Victor in the late 46 and did some sides for music craft and then went back to Columbia for a time though He didn't record a great deal Also during that decade an annual series of concerted Carnegie Hall began in 1943 each of which introduced a new major work We'll concentrate on the shorter pieces in the three-minute classics James

And as in the case of the show on the 30s, the two parts show we did on the 30s We won't be using any of the extended works We'll save those for a later time at another big Ellington Bash in which we'll hear music in the 50s and 60s And also play I think some extended pieces of devoted whole show to it as a matter of fact Let's get underway and get a little jabberer off there dukes blues for the apple You

You You You

Main Game Power House Blues except for an inserted section on another string on which Ben Webster and Lance Brown's solo Yeah, again the solos you know so well integrated with the ensemble And yet a succession of solos Rex Stewart and Coenette and Johnny Hodges and Alta Rex again Ray Nance taking Cody's place playing mute Bonnie Beguard and Coenette Joe Nanton Strimbeau, Trekkie Sam

And Ben Webster and Lance Brown Main Stem from 1942 Excellent reissue set on Victor Cold in a mellow tone Easy indeed one of Duke's prettiest. No, this is Billy Strayhorn Let's make this for Billy too with some Lance Brown on after all You You You

You You You

You You You You You You You You You You You You You You Beautiful after all by Billy Strayhorn who joined the band you've heard me say a number of times in 1939 It was a remarkable year too and that Ben Webster joined the band to stay this time Making it a five band saxophone section and the great Jimmy Blanton came in on base to stay unfortunately tragically only for a couple of years Before illness took him out of the band and eventually he died of tuberculosis

But he's on most of these early 40s sides Lawrence Brown's very lyrical trombone and Johnny Hodges on alto Billy Strayhorn's after all from 1941 I suppose Billy is most famous ballad composition inspired by a painting I think London Town, you know it You You

You You You

Billi Strayhons Chelsea Bridge The original recording Unimprovable, 1941 Hollywood Billi playing piano here too It's pretty introduction Ben Webster's beautiful

First bridge there I'm bridging the first cars The reeds All the riding here Just lovely Spots there for Billi's piano Philins Monty Zoltz Valve Trombone And that last bridge I believe That's in the set cold Reissue the indispensable Duke Ellington Recording is running from 1940 I think it is to 1946 in his last dates For Victor, that decade And Chelsea And Jake returns to the blues To rock one The The The The

The The the The The The the The The the the the the the the the the

the the the the the the the the the the the

the the the the the the the the the the the the the

the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the

the the the the the the the the the the the the the

the the the the the the the the the the the

the the the the the the the the the the the the because there was the the the

the the the the the the the the the the the the the

the the the the the the the the the the the the the the

the the the the the the the the the the the the

the the the the the the the two big ones and the the can let into the of another clarinetist to the four Jimmy Hamilton came into the band about 1944-45 and has been there ever since

he has featured an unusual Ellington composition and it doesn't sound quite like most of the other things certainly of that period flippant flow name and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and and and and and these and they can which through Ellington's magic is transformed into what amounts to an Ellington original. It's pounded pavements. It's pounded pavements.

And it's pounded pavements. And and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and Johnny and Ivy and their classic Never treats me sweet and gentle

The way he should I got it fair and that ain't good My poor heart is sentimental Not made of wood I got it fair and that ain't good But when the fish are jumpin' And Friday rolled around

My man and me we gentle And brazen and gentle He don't love me The life I love him Nobody could I got it fair and that ain't good I got it fair and that ain't good I got it fair and that ain't good I got it fair and that ain't good

Like a lonely living willow Lost in the wood Lord, I got it fair and that ain't good Tender but strong Ivy Anderson Their classic performance I got it fair and that ain't good Because the one song by Duke From a marvelous score For a review he did in Los Angeles in 1941 At a theater there The whole new score

The one song that became a standard and popular Of course still is He was recorded in 1941 too Johnny Hodges front and back Way up in the upper register of the alto Sounding a bit like the sprinter He stopped playing about this time It's a beauty On the Unibelotone set Yeah, a non-core For Ivy At a beauty too And very funny, dig the lyrics Extremely clever In the Paul Francis Webster I think Also from Jump For Joy That same review The Chocolate Shake Back in those biblical days

Eve learned to shake like a snake She was punished from eating for days But doing the chocolate shake Venus and Milo had chimes She gave the Greeks quite a break That poor gal is minus her arms I'm doing the chocolate shake It was under an African sun That Stanley met all living stunts While the gal shook their fruit He blew on his fruit Seeking the Zeke while unroot Shoot They introduced a new thrill That killed him on old sugar hills Then it spread like a rhythmical quake Keeping that hat in no way Doing the chocolate shake It's a marvelous writing for the reeds

And the ensemble there Harry Carnie's Baratone And wonderful Ivy Anderson Equally effective Personal and individualistic Met ballads And swingers Herb light style And the up-tempered things Fine lyrics That set too That tomb Paul Francis Webster No, I wish they'd recorded that whole score That was effective They goofed on that There are a number of other tombs There's a record, it's hard to find It's deadly On Mercury I discovered some time ago Mercury MRC Which cannonball, Adely, the altruist Working with unusual combination And Bill Russo arrangements I think it's String Quartet I recall Dimly Amid Barris' trumpet And rhythm Cannon's altar On the full score And there are a whole flock of fine tombs there

Of course Duke didn't record himself Most unfortunately From Jump For Joy Every well and of cotton, cotton lily is out of style I nature jump for joy

Don't you grieve a little leaf All the hounds I do believe Have been killed I'm just real jump for joy Have you seen pastures proving Green pastures Was just a technicolour movie When you stop up to heaven and you beat Old Saint Pete Tell that boy jump for joy Step right in, give me some skin and jump for joy Not the original issued version

Say take on this one because It's a different version Modulation there to Ivy's chorus Originally it was issued with Herb Jeffries vocal Her beautiful ballad singer Like the finest that Duke ever had And was with him in the early 40s Been with Earl Hines band And Herb sang this on the commercially released 78 recording And here, another version with Ivy Both this and the preceding chocolate shake we heard Recorded in 1941 And both from the show Jump For Joy Don't you grieve a little leaf All the hounds I do believe Have been killed Ain't you thrilled jump for joy Wonderful satellite Paul Francis Webster and said Cooler work with Duke on the score For Jump For Joy Sharing the lyric chores And Duke wrote one or two

Himself as a matter of fact Most notably the beautiful blues Ivy sings And sang on records Rocks in my bed This is a loveless set of Reissues tears They finally got around to some of these Well, a few had been reissued much, much earlier On Victor, on the 10-inch The first one they put out called The Duke and his men And the 10-inch preceding there Before they got the In a mellow tone that is very best sets out in the late 50s Early 60s Classic Ellington recording is on Victor Have the early 40s Early to middle 40s The title song Jump For Joy The Duke's review Lars Angeles in 1941 Ivy Anderson Three consecutive I got it bad The chocolate shake Back in those biblical days

Eve learned a shake like a snake She was banished from Eden for days For doing the chocolate shake It was me Webster is still active too But in the lyrics to a lot of fine songs Out Hollywood way Just jazz at beach with you And the first part of a two-parter On the Ellington recordings Of the 1940s They've back into us and we always heed the call Okay Through the years The 30s And the early 40s particularly The Duke and the Cuban Valve Trombones To play lead in the section most of the time One T-Zo collaborated a number of

Exotic themes And this is one A

Show A Just a few Sound Laughs Until the end That's it Bullock Yeah moon over Cuba some nice writing there too Mostly Latin Went straight for a swing there for Ben Webster's last bridge The wanties old playing the theme as he almost always did on these things like Caravan The wanties old Duke Ellington's moon over Cuba Johnny Hodges in there for a solo too And that was about it Recorded in 1941 Yeah, I don't think it's available in reissue at present This is it

Watch for that heavy accent on that Four that delayed heavy accent on that fourth beat yeah Because this is a jazz konga and a magnificent piece of writing and performance Konga bravo Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah

Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah

Again Von Diesel's Trimbone fountain back with the theme And again they went straight for swing four Ben Webto's solo along on this time On the marvelous Konga Brava just and so well known some of the others And ought to be some beautiful writing there And Konga Ben, the big jazz solo And a good one too from Rex Stewart on Cornette 1940 on this one And again, a T-Zole Ellington collaboration This in the jazz Latin vein So far ahead of its time it's almost incredible today And this kind of thing was being experimented with Stan Kenton As you go lesbians, five, six years later One of the greatest Ellington achievements I think of that whole period In composition And the solos themselves, the integration of those solos Into the ensemble, into the writing And how they grow naturally out of the writing

And it's a basic 64 bar chorus And again what we got here essentially is a jazz Konga With a great deal of variety One, two, three, kick The flaming sword Oh Oh

Oh Fantastic piece and performance. Duke Ellington's The Flaming Sword from 1940.

Wow. The brass, the sacks, the 2D Williams, the trumpet, and one T-Zold's Valve Trombone again. Ellington's device following his three distinctively styled Trombonists, at least a couple of them often. This was the case here, in juxtaposed, consecutive solos, with the Joe Natt and following T-Zold, wild ensemble there. The reeds, but of Rex Stewart I think too, on the flaming sword. The Innamalotone set. Duke returns to the blues. Ellington's device following his three distinctively styled Tromboneists, at least a couple of them. Ellington's device following his three distinctively styled Tromboneists, at least a couple of them.

Ellington's device following his three distinctively styled Tromboneists, at least a couple of them. Ellington's device following his three distinctively styled Tromboneists, at least a couple of them. Carnegie Blues, in a portion of Black, Brown and beige, which was recorded individually, in 1945. You're so after the excerpts that were recorded from Black, Brown and beige, finally found the way in the studio, to be placed on wax.

No, less than a year, about a month later, actually. Maybe down in late 1944, the blues section, part of the blues section, of the huge Ellington work, Black, Brown and beige, never recorded in its entirety. atisfiedyl eracr他 ever sang. Measell Sere's antenna, saw me feature for him and he replaced Ben Webster, spot there for Duke's piano. Constable said incidentally a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music, 1940 to 46, the Victor recordings. Carnegie blues, beautiful ballad, Dick Duke's introduction and the contrast on the statement of the theme of Johnny Hodges Prado in the first eight bars and then bang to Harry County's barred tone on Blue Goose.

The second is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music. The third is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music. The fourth is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music. The fourth is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music. The fourth is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music. The fourth is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music. The fourth is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music. The fourth is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music.

The fourth is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music. The fourth is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music. The fourth is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music. The fourth is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music. The fourth is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music.

The fourth is a two-disc reissue set on Elegant's music. Lovely blue goose.

By Duke. Johnny Harder's soprano. I'm leading the section two on soprano. Beautiful writing for the reeds. Harry Carnie's Beretel's saxophone. Cody Williams playing open trumpet. And a very brief solo for Ben Webster. And then Laurence Brown, Elegant and Romantic. That's beauty. The jumping pumpkin set of reissues. Victor Vintage. Blue goose from 1940. From the blue goose to Laurence Brown. And blue cellophane. And ciao.

Yes. Lance Brown's blue cellophane. Here's a feature of Duke's composition. And a couple of features of La Hour II. A one named Golden Cress, which we'll not go into here. This software is James! This box is from 1945 for Victor. Highly skillful. Trombone style. The indispensable set again. Blue cellophane. This is a Brown Duke collaboration, on which Lance has the principal instrumental solo. During 1946 and 1947, through there, Duke was carrying on another of his innovations, of which there have been so many, using the, well, semi-legitimate soprano of K. Davis, as an instrument almost exclusively, wordless instrument voiced with various instrumental combinations. As she is here, on a turquoise cloud.

Blue cellophane. Blue cellophane. Blue cellophane. Blue cellophane. Blue cellophane. Blue cellophane.