Restless Visionary: Eight groundbreaking Herbie Hancock tracks

Herbie Hancock is a restless visionary and groundbreaking artist. This year marks the 80th birthday of one of music’s most important innovators. Growing up in Chicago, being a classical piano prodigy, and having an insatiable appetite for curiosity, both as a player and technological innovator the keyboardist has pushed the boundaries of genre and collaboration for over 50 years. From his beginnings with Donald Byrd, to his life changing experience as a member of the […]

Herbie Hancock is a restless visionary and groundbreaking artist. This year marks the 80th birthday of one of music’s most important innovators. Growing up in Chicago, being a classical piano prodigy, and having an insatiable appetite for curiosity, both as a player and technological innovator the keyboardist has pushed the boundaries of genre and collaboration for over 50 years. From his beginnings with Donald Byrd, to his life changing experience as a member of the Miles Davis Quintet for five years, Hancock has walked a musical tightrope of creation.

This piece  focuses on a carefully curated selection of eight  groundbreaking Hancock  tracks that go beyond the borders of jazz and are significant for their enduring influence, and use of new technologies at the time: the Arp, Moog, Prophet and Oberheim synthesizers, the Fender Rhodes electric piano, the Sennheiser vocoder, the Linn LM-1 drum machine and the parents of modern digital audio workstations, the Fairlight and Synclavier synthesizers.  One track, “Harvest Time” while acoustic in nature, is included for it’s use of then new digital recording technology and the audiophile direct to disc recording system.

Rain Dance from Sextant (Columbia, 1972).   Hancock left Blue Note in 1969, and signed with Warner Bros for three albums.  Following Fat Albert Rotunda, a soundtrack for Bill Cosby’s television show that introduced funk into Herbie’s repertoire moreso than an initially rejected (but later released) track “Don’t Even Go There” or his soundtrack for the Italian cult classic film Blow UpFat Albert Rotunda still retained the lush rich orchestrations of his final Blue Note albums Speak Like A Child  (1968) and The Prisoner (1969) but  Mwandishi, consisting of Eddie Henderson on trumpet, Bennie Maupin on reeds, Julian Priester on trombones, Buster Williams on bass and Billy Hart on drums and Dr. Patrick Gleeson on synthesizer. the band sought something different.  From Crossings (1972) the band’s second album, and the ensemble freely explored avant leaning improvisations, treacherous odd meters and textures influenced by musique concrete and composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen.  Additionally, with  burgeoning black consciousness expanding following the civil rights movement each musician adopted African names– Mwandishi, Hancock’s chosen moniker meant teacher or leader in Swahili.  A huge reason for the bands success as a working unit t was not just Hancock, it was the man who introduced him to synthesis, Dr. Patrick Gleeson who not only provided ground breaking and other worldly synth textures to Crossings, and Sextant but also toured with the ensemble .  Background on  Dr. Gleeson is critically important to understanding why “Rain Dance” is such a pivotal track.  Hancock’s primary use of Fender Rhodes electric piano as opposed to his customary acoustic, fitted with an echo plex tape device permitted cosmic and under water like textures that sounded unlike anything else at the time.

Gleeson’s goal was to originally play jazz piano.    Hailing from Seattle, he eventually forged an academic career teaching English literature and was also a significant political activist.  The time of the late 1960’s was a new cultural frontier with Eastern spirituality, the traumas and outrage from the Vietnam war, and growing tensions from the assassinations of Robert Kennedy, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, Jr.   While teaching, Gleeson’s experience of tripping on acid, led him  to return to music  in a roundabout way.  These events lead to  the creation of Different Fur Trading a community funded studio which Hancock also used for Headhunters. Further, Gleeson’s challenges as a political activist and strong conviction against practices at the university landed him an unjust arrest record, and following leaving the university began his quest of integrating music and technology in unprecedented ways.  His mission was to investigate synthesis in a manner that would eventually lead to innovative, practical applications beyond the walls of an academic institution.

The professor’s first forays into synthesis began while he used San Francisco State’s AV facilities department to record mundane sounds which would be later edited, and used as transitional material between rock groups at local SF venues such as the Avalon Ballroom and the Haight Theater.  As Gleeson  noted in a 2015 interview with Red Bull Music Academy:

“It was electronic music, not jazz. And when I say electronic music, I really mean musique concrète – tape manipulations and that sort of thing. There was no real distinction at the time,” he recalls. He began using equipment from San Francisco State’s AV department to go out and record sounds from his everyday life, which he would then splice with a razorblade. “We’d put on performances of this stuff at places like The Avalon Ballroom or at some theater in the Haight. We’d do it between rock groups. You know? You’d bring your shit in and turn it on. And everyone was out of their heads on acid, so no matter what you did they’d say, ‘Wow, this sounds great!’”

These experiments would later foster a relationship with the Divisadero Street Tape Music Center where Dr. Gleeson would encounter avant garde luminaries such as pioneer composers of so called “minimal” music, Steve Reich, Terry Riley and also Don Buchla of whom he acquired the first Buchla synth unit.  Without Gleeson, or Bwana as he was known in the band, the music of Mwandishi would not have turned out as it did.  During the sessions for Crossings, the final album for Warner Brothers and arguably the group’s most adventurous album, Gleeson further explained in the Red Bull Academy interview:

“I told him about what I’d been doing with Bitches Brew and said, ‘I’d like to get in on this. I can do this.’ And so, David went to Herbie and (I later found out) said, ‘Look, there’s this guy, he’s not in your league – which, fair enough, who is – but he’s been doing synthesizer programming for me and he can play. But what he can really do is set the machine up for you.’”

At the time, Hancock and the Mwandishi band were recording Crossings, the daring follow-up to Mwandishi. Rubinson advised Hancock to bring some of the already recorded material to Different Fur to see what they might add. “So Herbie comes down to the studio with the material they’d already recorded. I’d just bought a 16 track, and it had a loop function. So he tells me to set everything up and he puts on ‘Quasar.’ So we’re listening and he says, ‘Can we hear that again?’ We loop it. He says, ‘I’m thinking of something we can add here.’ So I start patching the Moog 3, and I’m just rushing like crazy because I think I have no time to get this shit together. And then he says, ‘Okay, did you record that?’ And I tell him no because I was setting up the synthesizer for him to play. And Herbie being Herbie, he liked what I was doing and says, ‘Well, why don’t you just keep playing, I’ll be back later, just keep going.’ And by the time he’d come back the next day I’d overdubbed an entire side of the album.”

Hancock’s Milesian instincts to let Gleeson just be himself, set the stage for some of the most intriguing music yet heard in the keyboardist’s oeuvre.  “Quasar” alternates odd meters, swing, unusual electronic textures with voices for something sounding like a soundtrack for a super hero epic, while Bennie Maupin’s strange “Water Torture” lays a few thematic elements that mood wise would resurface on “Vein Melter” the last cut on Headhunters and intense dramatic arc from Gleeson’s synth work amidst highly conversational rubato playing.  Gleeson’s overdubs in a marvel of post production sound absolutely as if he was playing with the band in the studio in real time.

 

“Rain Dance” was the opening track on Hancock’s first Columbia album Sextant (1972). Aside  from Robert Springett’s futuristic cover art continued from Crossings , the track is a microcosm of the keyboardist’s fascination with technology and genre blurring.  Kraftwerk had also laid the template for electronic music producers in the ensuing decades in the 1960’s, but “Rain Dance” with it’s use  of analog synth sequencing at the cut’s opening, hand claps, and panoply of electronic sounds juxtaposed with the acoustic sounds of bass and drums, with Henderson’s heavily reverberant trumpet sounded of the the future.  The burbling, occasionally discordant synth blasts  from Gleeson  (who also makes brilliant textural contributions to Joe Henderson’s Black Narcissus) firmly rooted in the tradition of pieces such as Edgar Varese’s “Poeme Electronique” (1958) but also pointing to untraveled places, forming a wall of noise were also ahead of their time and a blueprint for a lot of current trends in electronic music.  The overall sound of Sextant did signal some changes in that it was leaning towards in some respects the funkier direction  of Headhunters.  It is the most accessible of all the Mwandishi recordings but no less challenging and rewarding.  Dr. Gleeson has recently released an electronic interpretation of Holst’s The Planets and for further reading on Mwandishi, Bob Gluck’s You Know When You’ll Get There: Herbie Hancock and The Mwandishi Band is available.

Chameleon from Headhunters (Columbia, 1973)

Hancock’s Mwandishi group, despite being some of the most satisfying artistic work of his entire career was unsustainable commercially.  Their live shows, (of which no tapes reportedly survive of officially recorded material) were legendary for traveling to unknown vistas. Much like former boss Miles Davis, Hancock was looking at new ways of reinventing his sound and gaining a new audience.  He took interest in the music of Sly Stone, and James Brown and sought to reconcile that with his own conception.  Bennie Maupin remained on saxophones, while Hancock added bassist Paul Jackson, the specialist maestro of African percussion, Bill Summers, and drummer Harvey Mason.  The result was Headhunters, a journey into in the pocket but simultaneously elastic funk, jazz improvisation and advanced harmony.  The music was such a change for Hancock in the eyes of Columbia record executives, that he and manager David Rubinson had to fight to get it released.  Also, “Chameleon” itself had to be edited down to 7 minutes from 15 and a half minutes to accommodate single release.

The track’s iconic bass line with Hancock on an Arp Odyssey synthesizer was a bit of a role reversal.  As the Miles Davis Quintet reversed roles with the rhythm section leading Wayne Shorter’s classic “Nefertiti”, Hancock took an active role as a bass player AND guitarist through guitar like comping on the Hohner D-6 clavinet via overdubs.  Bassist Paul Jackson, a former acoustic bassist whose electric bass lines captured an agility of an acoustic, tuned up the electric bass and used it as an electric guitar adding more counterpoint in the thick polyrhythmic stew.  Hancock’s Arp Odyssey solo on the first section explored it’s timbral and textural capacity.  On the third section of the track with rich harmonies often omitted when bands cover the track, the keyboardist has yet another iconic moment with his rich, pillowy Fender Rhodes electric piano solo.  Ironically, the Fender Rhodes was developed in the 1940’s but did not see widespread popular music use until the late 60’s and by the early 70’s, had become the de facto keyboard sound of a decade.  Hancock, along with Chick Corea and Joe Zawinul had developed an immensely personal voice on the instrument,  and along with Corea has been for years one of the most imitated and emulated sounds  in all of music.  While Hancock’s solo made use of the stereo tremolo on the Rhodes, his Arp string ensemble orchestrations were so organic they sounded like a real string section– even more convincing than the analog tape loops used for the mellotron, which can be viewed as one of the world’s first sampling keyboards long before the Fairlight and Synclavier entered the digital realm.

Come Running To Me from Sunlight (Columbia, 1977)

Sunlight followed several albums that included the Headhunters line up Thrust (1974) and the live initially only released in Japan Flood (1975) with the exception of Mike Clark adding his innovative funk conception based out of Oakland replacing Harvey Mason.  Man Child (1975)and Secrets (1976) refined the R&B and funk that Hancock first explored with Headhunters with vestiges of the Headhunters lineups mixed with the cream of the crop of LA studio pros.  The productions became slicker, and more commercial with the aim of really crossing over to the popular music tastes in the black community that were captured by Sly Stone, James Brown, Parliament Funkadelic and Earth, Wind and Fire just to name a few.  With Sunlight, Hancock aimed at the disco crowd with it’s title track and thumping lead single “I Thought It Was You”; but there was a distinct difference this time around.  Not only did Hancock play keyboards, but also became a lead singer.

If the thought of Hancock becoming a vocalist seems like a paradox viewed from a jazz purist perspective, it is the root of his next sonic and technological innovation.  Vocoders seem like just a normal part of the musical landscape today, as well as being the technology that is at the core of Autotune, Melodyne and other pitch correction software- but it was quite fresh in the 1970’s.  The vocoder was developed by Homer Dudley, who worked at Bell Labs, first patented in 1928 and used for military use.  The function of the vocoder was to convert human speech and break it down as digital bits garbling, distorting it,  giving a robotic sound.  The intended use of the vocoder originally was for underwater communication.  Kraftwerk was a huge proponent of the instrument, the same time as Hancock.  Avant garde icon Laurie Anderson also had a major mainstream hit with 1983’s “O Superman” in which the vocoder was used to transmit a cold, harsh, robotized voice that satirized the corporate nature that society had morphed into.  The Sennheiser vocoder offered the keyboardist a chance to sing with his imperfect voice.  

 

“Come Running To Me” was a lush love song co written with hit maker Allee Willis, and also contained orchestration from brass, reeds and strings.  Hancock’s arrangement recalled the gorgeous dark instrumental timbres found on Speak Like A Child, The Prisoner and “Tell Me A Bed Time Story” on Fat Albert Rotunda.   The vocoded singing seemed to portray an extra feeling of longing, the detached humanity adding melancholy.  The track has been incredibly popular with hip hoppers, especially the late J Dilla ingeniously slowing it down in a track, and long before Daft Punk, Sunlight was a shining example of vocoder use in popular music.  Hancock would continue to use the vocoder to varying degrees of success on future albums, and as recently as a few years ago began using it again in live concerts reprising “Come Running to Me”.

The Piano (CBS/Sony, 1978)

There is a reason for including an entire album in this list of eight tracks, because it is of a piece.  The Piano was one of eight albums that Hancock recorded for Columbia’s Japanese affiliate CBS/Sony.  Prior to it’s debut U.S. CD release in 2004,  and subsequent reissue in The Complete Columbia Album Collection 1972-1988 the album was also one of the rarest and hardest to find in Hancock’s discography.  The CBS/Sony connection allowed the keyboardist to record straight ahead albums that the U.S. Columbia branch deemed not as profitable, but they also gave him the opportunity to test out emerging technologies.  Sony had developed the PCM 1600 for digital recording one of the first widely available digital recording systems, and also were actively involved in the audiophile direct to disc process in which a performer played live in real time as a vinyl album was being cut, by a stylus cutting into a lathe, not unlike early pre magnetic tape recording at the start of recorded music.  A back up digital tape was made of the session, but the direct to disc process forced Hancock to cut a precise error free suite of songs without stopping, enough to cover an LP side.  Hancock played a variety of tunes, both standards associated with Miles Davis, and recent originals.  The album sounds absolutely incredible, and is a rare example of him as a solo pianist.

Textures from Mr. Hands (Columbia, 1980)

Mr Hands was Hancock’s last funk album before the next  stylistic change into pop, rock and R&B.  The brief stylistic detour would ultimately culminate in his electro and techno based trilogy with Bill Laswell that through the smash “Rockit” would make Hancock a household name for an entire new generation that did not grow up on jazz.  “Textures” book ended an album that saw Hancock reunite with the original Headhunters lineup with Harvey Mason, Ron Carter and Tony Williams whom he had been playing with in the VSOP Quintet, and Jaco Pastorius.  The track was significant because not only did the keyboardist play all instruments himself, but he debuted a new piece of gear into his arsenal– the digital, sample based Linn LM-1 drum machine.  The LM-1, while not the first drum machine to exist, did change the face of pop music forever as it was prominent throughout the new decade of the 80’s.  Hancock programmed a relatively simple, subtly swinging beat, but it’s striking  in the context of the moody sound scape the track created, which also included his trusty  Sennheiser vocoder.

The Twilight Clone from Magic Windows (Columbia, 1981)

The album Magic Windows was the second in a triptych that saw Hancock interested in more of an L.A. rock, R&B and funk based sound but also still contained disco elements with the track “Magic Number” featuring Sylvester on vocals.  “The Twilight Clone”, the final track is a fascinating pre Future Shock glimpse into the musical world Hancock would inhabit a year and a half later with Bill Laswell.  In some ways the track is even more effective than the Laswell collaborations because there is a real post futurist dystopian grit through the use of the LM-1, Hancock’s synthesizers and the otherwordly tones of  King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew that seemingly suggest a neon industrial city, the stuff of cyberpunk stories like Blade Runner or Japanese animation classics like Akira.

Rockit from Future Shock (Columbia, 1983)

“Rockit” from the first album with producer/bassist Bill Laswell and his collective Material was a game changing track in a lot of ways.  Not only did it elevate Hancock to household name status, he was one of the first artists with a jazz background to take on the young genre of hip hop on it’s own terms.  Previously Fab Five Freddy collaborated with Max Roach, but in it’s scope seemed to be more of something to connect the roots of hip hop to jazz.  With “Rockit”, Hancock was willing to take the music on it’s own terms, and after his string of pop and R&B albums wished to try something new.  Hancock had heard a tape of Material, was blown away by that and the use of early turntablism on a track from Malcolm McLaren and agreed to collaborate with Laswell and together incorporated these elements into the track.  As Hancock detailed in his memoir Possibilities once Columbia executives were presented with the track at a meeting, they heard the sound of a record scratching courtesy of Grand Mixer D. ST (now DXT) at the start of the track, and could not make sense of it. 

 

As with Headhunters ten years earlier, the label felt that this new sound had nothing to do with Hancock’s previous work, had no idea how to market it and Hancock had to once more fight to have the album released.  Perhaps more than the hip hop and b-boy culture embracing the song, it’s video with robotic mannequins created by Jim Whiting had the biggest culture impact.  Hancock won an MTV video award for the bizarre, memorable video, as well as a Grammy, and as MTV was first starting, they refused to play black artists on TV, which is why Hancock only appeared on a video screen.  Along with Michael Jackson, Hancock was the other prominent black artist to get played on MTV, a major achievement that would pave the way for Prince, various hip hop artists and in future generations, Beyonce and Kanye West.  The mechanized feel of the track was also accomplished through the use of the Fairlight CMI, E-Mu digital keyboard and a host of other devices.  The Fairlight, along with it’s competitor New England Digital’s Synclavier were some of the main production tools in pop music in the 80’s and their host of recognizable timbres and samples can be found on countless recordings of the era.

Dis Is Da Drum from Dis Is Da Drum (Mercury, 1994)

A decade after “Rockit”, Herbie Hancock began a deal with a new label and was searching once more to update his sound.  For non jazz projects, he signed with Mercury, and for jazz oriented projects he signed with the legendary Verve Records.  The bulk of his most path breaking music was on Columbia, a tenure that ended with Perfect Machine  the final collaboration for the label with Bill Laswell in 1988.  This new deal offered some intriguing possibilities that would once again place Hancock at the forefront of technical innovation.  The initial concept for Dis Is Da Drum started as an interactive multimedia album, in which the user could choose different mixes, and make choices in the direction of the recording.  The idea/format never really took off in the form it was intended, but Hancock did innovate this 90’s hip hop and dance flavored track with another visionary video that used CGI and early facial motion capture.

(c)2020, CJ Shearn for New York Jazz Workshop, LLC

The New York Jazz Workshop is offering online courses post pandemic with world class instructors and catering to many levels of musicians.  The school has recently upgraded it’s streaming capabilities as well.

History of Piano

Each thing has its own history, there is a piano. Knowing her is certainly not only interesting, but also useful. This allows you to better understand the musical styles and understand the content of a work.
The invention of the piano at the beginning of the XVIII century was a turning point in the history of European culture. The piano completely changed the character of the musical culture of Western civilization.
Keyboards existed in the Middle Ages. The organ, the oldest of them, is a wind keyboard instrument (it does not have strings, but there are many pipes), and it is not a direct relative of the piano, but it is one of the first keyboard instruments.
The first keyboard instrument that had strings was the clavichord. Clavichord had a device similar to that of a modern piano. However, its sound was too soft and quiet so that it could be played in front of a lot of people. Clavichord, being much smaller and simpler than its relative harpsichord, was quite a popular instrument for home music, and it could certainly be found in the homes of baroque composers, including Bach.
The clavichord had a very simple device. When you press a key, a small copper square called a tangent hit the string. At the same time, the raised damper allowed the string to vibrate. The clavichord had one string for each key, while a modern piano has up to three strings for each key. Being a very quiet instrument, the clavichord still allowed to make crescendos and diminuendos.
Another keyboard instrument, the harpsichord, was most likely invented in Italy in the 15th century.
The keyboard instrument, the harpsichord, was most likely invented in Italy in the 15th century.
In this case, the sound is extracted by bird feathers. In addition, the harpsichord strings are parallel to the keys, horizontally, like a modern piano, and not perpendicular, like a clavichord and a modern piano. The sound of the harpsichord – subtle, chamber. This does not reduce its sound capabilities. The composers of the Rococo era, namely this period of the peak of the harpsichord, showed imagination in every way. In music, this is manifested in an abundance of melismas, which only reveals the sound possibilities of the harpsichord.
The third type of string instrument played on the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries is spinet. In essence, spinet is a small harpsichord with one or two four-octave keyboards. It was usually richly decorated and therefore was the same decoration of the house, like beautiful furniture.
Spinet is a small harpsichord with one or two four-octave keyboards.
At the turn of the XVIII century, composers and musicians became acutely aware of the need for a new keyboard instrument that would not be inferior in expression to a violin. Moreover, a tool with a large dynamic range, capable of a thunderous fortissimo, the softest pianissimo and the finest dynamic transitions was needed. These dreams came true when, in 1709, the Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori, who was involved in the musical instruments of the Medici family, invented the first piano. He called his invention “gravicembalo col piano e forte”, which means “keyboard playing gently and loudly.” This name was then abbreviated, and the word “piano” appeared. Somewhat later, such instruments were created by German music teacher Christopher Gottlieb Schröter (1717) and Frenchman Jean-Marius (1716).
The device of the pianoforte was very simple. It consisted of a key, a felt hammer and a special return. This piano had no dampers or pedals. A blow to the key forced the hammer to strike the string, causing its vibration, not at all similar to the vibration of the strings at the harpsichord or clavichord. The recipient allowed the hammer to go backward and not remain pressed to the string, which would dampen the vibration of the string. Later, a double rehearsal was invented, which allowed the hammer to go down by half, which greatly helped in the performance of trills and quickly repeating notes.

The great thing about piano is the ability to resonate and dynamic range. The wooden case and the steel frame (invented later, in the 19th century, the frame of Kristofori’s piano was wooden) allows the instrument to achieve an almost bell sounding sound on a forte. Another difference between the piano and its predecessors is the ability to sound not only quietly and loudly, but also to make crescendos and diminuendo, to change the dynamics suddenly or gradually.
When the piano first declared itself, the Rococo epoch (1725-1775) reigned in Europe – a period transitional from baroque to classicism. In the period of classicism, the piano became a popular instrument for home-playing and concert performances. The piano could not have been more suitable for the performance of the genre of the sonata that appeared at that time, a vivid example of which is the work of Clementi and Mozart. The appearance of the piano also caused a change in the repertoire of ensembles and orchestras. Piano concert with orchestra is a new genre, which became very popular during the period of classicism. For a long time, the harpsichord was an accompanying instrument, very rarely acting as a soloist. The dynamic capabilities allowed the piano to stand in a row of solo instruments, such as violin and trumpet, and to occupy a central place in the concert halls of Europe.
Due to the fact that the piano could now be heard not only in the palaces of the nobility, the circle of lovers of piano music began to expand. More and more people were willing to pay to hear one or another soloist. This caused the need for all new and new works for piano, the number of composers who received recognition for piano music grew.
The era of Romanticism comes to replace classicism, when in music, and in art as a whole, the expression of emotions began to play the main role. This was expressed, in particular, in the piano works of Beethoven and Schumann, Liszt and Chopin. And here the expressive capabilities of the piano were very helpful. Works for piano four hands became very popular during this period, when up to twenty sounds were simultaneously extracted from the piano, generating new colors.
During the period of romanticism, the piano was a popular instrument of home music. Music lovers preferred the piano, because it made it possible to play both melody and harmony at the same time. The growing popularity of the piano led to the emergence of virtuoso pianists.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that, despite the decline in its popularity, the harpsichord did not disappear from the scene at all. His gentle sound today can be heard at concerts of early music. Composers continue to write music for this instrument, the harpsichords are made in fairly large quantities.
Obviously, the advent of the piano – it would seem such an insignificant event – was a turning point in the history of art. This invention has changed the character of all European music, which is an important part of world culture. Over the past three hundred years, almost all great composers have written for piano, and many of them are famous precisely for their piano works. Today one cannot find a musician – be it a singer or a composer, a clarinetist or a violinist – who would not have a piano in his house. Despite his youth, the piano has a greater impact on society as a whole than any other instrument, and it must be assumed that its glory is still very far from sunset.

Tiger Rag & its Ellington Contrafacts (Podcast #18-018)

Tiger Rag provided Ellington with composition material for many years Continue reading

 



The recordings heard on this podcast episode:



 

jelly rollTiger Rag, 3rd, 4th And 5th Strains (CD: “Jelly Roll Morton ‎– The Complete Library Of Congress Recordings By Alan Lomax” Rounder Records ‎– ROUNDER 11661-1888-2)

Recorded 1938 at The Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Jelly Roll Morton – piano, narration


mood indigo

High Life (LP: “Mood Indigo” RCA ADL2-0152)

Recorded 16 January 1929 in New York City

Arthur Whetsel, Bubber Miley, Freddie Jenkins – trumpet; Joe Nanton – trombone; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney – reeds;  Duke Ellington – piano; Fred Guy – banjo; Wellman Braud – bass; Sonny Greer – drums, chimes.


okeh ellington

Hot and Bothered (CD: “The OKeh Ellington” Columbia C2K 46177)

Recorded 1 October 1928, New York City

Arthur Whetsel, Bubber Miley – trumpet; Joe Nanton – trombone; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney – reeds;  Duke Ellington – piano; Lonnie Johnson – guitar; Fred Guy – banjo; Wellman Braud – bass; Sonny Greer – drums; Baby Cox – vocal.


 

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 (CD: “Duke Ellington: The Columbia Years 1927-1962” Columbia 5176872)

Hot and Bothered

Recorded 12 June 1930, New York City

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins – trumpet; Joe Nanton – trombone; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney – reeds;  Duke Ellington – piano; Fred Guy – banjo; Wellman Braud – bass; Sonny Greer – drums.

Braggin’ In Brass

Recorded 3 March 1938, New York City

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart, Freddie Jenkins – trumpet; Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol – trombone; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwicke, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Fred Guy – guitar; Billy Taylor, Hayes Alvis – bass; Sonny Greer – drums.

 


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Daybreak Express (CD:“Highlights from the Duke Ellington Centennial Edition (1927-1973)” RCA Victor 09026636722)

Recorded 4 December 1933, New York City

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins, Louis Bacon – trumpet; Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton – trombone; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwicke, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Fred Guy – guitar; Wellman Braud – bass; Sonny Greer – drums.


jazz cocktail

Tiger Rag (CD: “Jazz Cocktail” ASV ‎– AJA 5024)

Recorded 8 January 1929, New York City

Arthur Whetsel, Bubber Miley, Freddie Jenkins – trumpet; Joe Nanton – trombone; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney – reeds;  Duke Ellington – piano; Fred Guy – banjo; Wellman Braud – bass; Sonny Greer – drums.


 

small groups

Tiger Rag (CD: “The Duke’s Men, Small Groups Vol. 1” Columbia C2K 46995)

Recorded 8 March 1937, New York City

Cootie Williams – trumpet; Joe Nanton – trombone; Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwicke, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Hayes Alvis – bass; Sonny Greer – drums.


1947Before My Time (from The Controversial Suite) (LP: “The Complete Duke Ellington 1947-1952” (French) CBS 66607/J)

Recorded 11 December 1951, New York City

Willie Cook, Harold Baker, Clark Terry, Ray Nance – trumpet; Britt Woodman, Quentin Jackson,Juan Tizol – trombone; Jimmy Hamilton, Russell Procope, Willie Smith, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Wendell Marshall – bass; Louie Bellson – drums.


live and rare

Tiger Rag (CD: “Duke Ellington – Live and Rare” Bluebird RCA 09026639532)

Recorded 1 December 1973, Eastbourne, England

Mercer Ellington, Harold “Money” Johnson, Barry Lee Hall, Johnny Coles – trumpet; Vincente Prudente, Art Baron, Chuck Connors – trombone; Russell Procope, Harold Minerve, Harold Ashby, Percy Marion, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Joe Benjamin – bass; Quentin White – drums.

Piano In the Foreground, II (Podcast #18-013)

Piano solo, duet and trio interpretations of Ellington compositions by Duke and others….
Continue reading

……[M]y mother decided I should take piano lessons. My piano teacher, Mrs. Clinkscales (that was really her name), got paid several times a week for many weeks for these lessons, but I missed more than I took, because of my enthusiasm for playing ball, and running and racing through the street. That I remember very well, because when she had her piano recital with all her pupils in the church, I was the only one who could not play his part.

-Duke Ellington, Music Is My Mistress


erroll garner

Duke Ellington and Erroll Garner


91Gg3tO-MnL._SL1500_

Earl “Fatha” Hines and Duke Ellington


Transcription of Duke Ellington’s “In A Sentimental Mood” solo



The recordings heard on this podcast episode:



de

In A Sentimental Mood (CD: “Piano Reflections” Capitol Jazz CDP 7 92863 2)

Recorded 13/14 April 1953

Duke Ellington – piano; Wendell Marshall – bass; Butch Ballard – drums.


evans

In A Sentimental Mood (CD: “Eloquence” Original Jazz Classics ‎OJCCD-814-2)

Recorded 1975, Montreux, Switzerland

Bill Evans – piano; Eddie Gomez – bass.


hines

In A Mellow Tone (CD: “Earl Hines plays Duke Ellington”

Recorded 27 November 1972, New York City

Earl Hines – piano.


R-6979598-1490539356-6224.jpeg

I Wanna Be A Rug Cutter (sic) (CD: “The Original Misty” Mercury ‎ 834 910-2)

Recorded 14 March 1955, Chicago

Erroll Garner – piano; Wyatt Ruther – bass; Eugene “Fats” Heard  – drums.


Monk

I Let a Song Go Out of my Heart (CD: “Thelonious Monk plays Duke Ellington” Universal 0546796)

Recorded 21 July 1955, Hackensack, New Jersey

Thelonious Monk – piano; Oscar Pettiford -bass; Kenny Clarke – drums.


Garner

Satin Doll (CD: “Ready Take One” Sony Music 88985363312)

Recorded 1967, New York City

Erroll Garner – piano;  Ike Isaacs – bass, Jimmie Smith – drums; Jose Mangual – congas.


tatum

Caravan (CD: “Art Tatum, The Complete Pablo Solo Masterpieces” Pablo 7PACD-4404-2)

Recorded 22 April 1954, Los Angeles

Art Tatum – piano


81R-fi4OThL._SX355_

Money Jungle (CD: “Money Jungle, Provocative In Blue” GrooveJazz Media LLC ‎– GJA 34026 02)

Released 2013

Gerald Clayton – piano; Christian McBride – bass; Terri Lynne Carrington – drums.


money jungle

Caravan (CD: “Money Jungle” Blue Note 7243 5 38227 2 9)

Recorded 17 September 1962, New York City

Duke Ellington – piano; Charles Mingus – bass; Max Roach – drums.


— Our closing music —-

0000120517

It’s Something You Ought To Know (Paul Gonsalves – “Ellingtonia Moods and Blues,” RCA Victor / RCA63562)

Recorded 29 February 1960, New York City

Paul Gonsalves- tenor sax; Johnny Hodges – alto sax; Ray Nance – cornet; Mitchell “Booty” Wood – trombone; Jimmy Jones – piano; Al Hall – bass; Oliver Jackson – drums.


The Symphonic Ellington (Podcast #18-008)

Borrowing the title of a 1963 album to survey a few of Ellington’s recordings with symphony orchestras.
Continue reading


In Memoriam – Brooks Kerr (1951 – 2018)


 

duke - grover sales 001



 



The recordings heard on this podcast episode:



 

live and rare

The Mooche (CD: “Duke Ellington – Live and Rare” Bluebird RCA 09026639532)

Recorded 28 July 1965 in Tanglewood, MA

Duke Ellington – piano; John Lamb – bass; Louie Bellson – drums; The Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler.


 

kunzel

New World A-Comin’ (LP: “Duke Ellington, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra” Decca DL 710176)

Recorded 28 May 1970 in Cincinnati, Ohio (In the podcast, I erroneously stated the date was 1966)

Duke Ellington – piano; The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conducted by Erich Kunzel


 

Reprise

Night Creature (3 Movements) (CD: “The Reprise Studio Recordings” Mosaic Records #193)

Recorded 31 January 1963, Paris

Cootie Williams, Roy Burrowes, Cat Anderson, Ray Nance – trumpet; Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Chuck Connors – trombone; Russell Procope, Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Hamilton, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Ernie Shepard – bass; Sam Woodyard – drums; Paris Symphony Orchestra.

Ellington & 100 years of Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie (Podcast #17-013)

Celebrating the 100th birth anniversaries of Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie through their connections with Duke Ellington. Continue reading

“I always like the bop, and I am proud to say that the fabulous, flamboyant John Birks Gillespie worked in our band once, for four weeks. Diz played with us at the Capitol Theatre in 1944, when we had the gorgeous Lena Horne on the bill. Of course, I’d known him for quite a while before that, because I was an avid visitor on Fifty-second Street.”

–  Duke Ellington, Music Is My Mistress


 

monk and diz.jpg

Thelonious Monk and Dizzy Gillespie at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival. (Photo by Jim Marshall)


diz and duke

Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie




 

DIZZY

Dizzy Gillespie at Disneyland, 1984. Autographed in 1985. (Photo by Steve Bowie.)



The recordings heard on this podcast episode:



happy BD

Happy Birthday To You (CD: “Happy Birthday, Duke! The Birthday Sessions, Volume  3” Laser Light 15 785)

Recorded 30 April !953, Portland, Oregon

Willie Cook, Cat Anderson, Clark Terry, Ray Nance – trumpet; Britt Woodman, Quentin Jackson, Juan Tizol – trombone ; Jimmy Hamilton, Russell Procope, Rick Henderson, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Wendell Marshall – bass; Butch Ballard – drums.


 DG

Caravan (CD: “Dee Gee Days The Savoy Sessions” Savoy ZD70517)

Recorded 25 October 1951 in New York City

Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet; Stuff Smith – violin; Bill Graham – baritone sax; Milt Jackson – piano; Percy Heath – bass; Al Jones – drums; unknown – percussion.


 

jazz party

U.M.M.G./Hello, Little Girl (CD: “Jazz Party” Columbia CK-40712)

Recorded 19 February 1959 in New York City

Cat Anderson, Harold Baker, Clark Terry, Ray Nance – trumpet; Britt Woodman, Quentin Jackson, John Sanders – trombone; Jimmy Hamilton, Russell Procope, Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Jimmy Woode – bass; Sam Woodyard – drums, Jimmy Rushing – vocal.


 

Monk

Caravan (CD: “Thelonious Monk plays Duke Ellington”  Universal
0546796)

Recorded 21 July 1955, Hackensack, New Jersey

Thelonious Monk – piano; Oscar Pettiford -bass; Kenny Clarke – drums.


 

blanton webster

Sentimental Lady (CD: “The Blanton-Webster Band” Bluebird RCA 5659-2-RB35)

Recorded 28 July 1942 in Chicago

Wallace Jones, Rex Stewart, Ray Nance – trumpet; Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol – trombone; Chauncy Haughton, Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwicke, Ben Webster, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Fred Guy – guitar; Junior Raglin – bass; Sonny Greer – drums.


 

Thelonious_Monk_-_straight,_no_chaser

I Didn’t Know About You (CD: “Straight, No Chaser” Columbia/Legacy CK 64886)

Recorded 1966 in New York City

Charlie Rouse – tenor sax; Thelonious Monk – piano; Larry Gales – bass; Ben Riley – drums.


 

volume 3

Monk’s Dream (CD: “The Private Collection, Volume 3” Saja 91043-2)

Recorded 13 September 1962 in New York City

Cootie Williams, Bill Berry, Roy Burrowes, Cat Anderson, Ray Nance – trumpet; Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Chuck Connors – trombone; Jimmy Hamilton, Russell Procope, Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Aaron Bell – bass; Sam Woodyard – drums.


 

Monk’s Dream/Frere Monk (LP: Gambit Records Ga 69299)

Recorded 8 July 1962, Newport, Rhode Island

Bill Berry, Roy Burrowes, Cat Anderson, Ray Nance – trumpet; Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Chuck Connors – trombone; Jimmy Hamilton, Gene Hull, Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney – reeds; Thelonious Monk – piano; Aaron Bell – bass; Sam Woodyard – drums.


 

0000120517

It’s Something You Ought To Know (Paul Gonsalves – “Ellingtonia Moods and Blues,” RCA Victor / RCA63562)

Recorded 29 February 1960, New York City

Paul Gonsalves- tenor sax; Johnny Hodges – alto sax; Ray Nance – cornet; Mitchell “Booty” Wood – trombone; Jimmy Jones – piano; Al Hall – bass; Oliver Jackson – drums.



 

Portrait of Barney Bigard (Podcast #17-012)

New Orleanian Barney Bigard joined the Ellington band in December 1927 and left in 1942 after tiring of life on the road. Continue reading

“I honestly can’t tell much about my impression of the band that first night. I was too busy fighting the notes, the reading stuff, to pay much attention to the band. I remember the weird chords that would come in behind us. I wasn’t used to that kind of chording at all, but the more I played with them, the more accustomed my ear got to it all. I used to go to Duke in the intermission and say,”Those chords behind me on such-and-such a number: they just don’t sound right to me.” He would sit right down and show me what he was doing. He’d break all the principles of arranging too. He’d give a guy different notes to what he should have had for his instrument.”

-Barney Bigard, With Louis and the Duke


reed section

Duke Ellington, Harry Carney, Barney Bigard, Otto Hardwicke, Johnny Hodges


 

Bigard

Autographs of Barney Bigard, Marshal Royal, Bill Berry and Britt Woodman

Anderson

Autographs of Buster Cooper and Cat Andersonprogram1program2



Click here to connect to Mark Sowlakis’ excellent blog posting Albany “Barney” Bigard – New Orleans Creole Clarinet, complete with several transcriptions and a discography.


cat anderson book

Geoff Winstead revised Cat Anderson’s high note trumpet method book.


“Paradox, Ambiguity, and Irony”


 


 

 



The recordings heard on this podcast episode:



 

mood indigo

High Life (LP: “Mood Indigo” RCA ADL2-0152)

Recorded 16 January 1929 in New York City

Arthur Whetsel, Bubber Miley, Freddie Jenkins – trumpets; Joe Nanton – trombone; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney – reeds;  Duke Ellington – piano; Fred Guy – banjo; Wellman Braud – bass; Sonny Greer – drums, chimes.


elling_duke_complete1_101b

Rose Room (CD: “The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra” Mosaic Records #248)

Recorded 11 February 1932, New York City

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins – trumpet; Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol – trombone; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Fred Guy – banjo; Wellman Braud – bass; Sonny Greer – drums.

Clarinet Lament (CD: “The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra” Mosaic Records #248)

Recorded 27 February 1936 in New York City

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart – trumpets; Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol – trumpets; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Fred Guy – guitar; Hayes Alvis – bass; Sonny Greer – drums.

Prologue to Black and Tan Fantasy/The New Black and Tan Fantasy (CD: “The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick, Columbia and Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra” Mosaic Records #248)

Recorded 13 January 1938 in New York City

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Rex Stewart, Freddie Jenkins – trumpet; Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton – trombone; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwicke, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Fred Guy – guitar; Billy Taylor, Hayes Alvis – bass; Sonny Greer – drums.


 

small groups

Caravan (CD:”The Complete 1936-1940 Variety, Vocalion and Okeh Small Group Sessions” Mosaic Records #235)

Recorded 19 December, 1936 in Los Angeles

Cootie Williams – trumpet; Juan Tizol – valve trombone; Barney Bigard – clarinet; Harry Carney – baritone sax; Duke Ellington – piano; Billy Taylor – bass; Sonny Greer – drums.


Highlights

Are You Sticking? (CD: “Highlights of the Great 1940-1942 Band” Avid AMSC1143)

Recorded 5 June 1941, Los Angeles

Wallace Jones, Rex Stewart, Ray Nance – trumpet; Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol – trombone; Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwicke, Ben Webster, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Fred Guy – guitar; Jimmie Blanton – bass; Sonny Greer – drums.


fabulousBojangles/Rose Room (CD: “The Fabulous Ellingtonians” Mercury 830 926-2)

Recorded 5 February 1945 in New York City

Barney Bigard – clarinet; Joe Thomas – trumpet; Johnny Guarnieri – piano; Billy Taylor – bass; Cozy Cole – drums.


armstrong ellington

In A Mellow Tone/The Beautiful Americans (CD: “The Complete Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington Sessions” Roulette Records / Blue Note 5245462)

Recorded 3 April 1961, New York City

Louis Armstrong – trumpet, vocal; Trummy Young – trombone; Barney Bigard – clarinet; Duke Ellington – piano; Mort Herbert – bass; Danny Barcelona – drums.


rugged jungle

Rose Room (CD: “Rugged Jungle” Lost Secret LSR-001)

Recorded 8 July 1972 at Carnegie Hall, New York City

Cootie Williams, Mercer Ellington, Harold “Money” Johnson, Johnny Coles – trumpet; Tyree Glenn, Vincente Prudente, Chuck Connors – trombone; Barney Bigard, Russell Procope, NorrisTurney, Harold Minerve, Harold Ashby,  Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Joe Benjamin – bass; Rufus Jones – drums.


clarinet gumbo


Mood Indigo
(LP: “Clarinet Gumbo” RCA APL1-1744)

Recorded 25 June 1973 in Hollywood, California

Barney Bigard – clarinet; Dick Cary – piano; Dave Koonse – guitar; Eddie Safranski – bass; Nick Fatool – drums.


0000120517

It’s Something You Ought To Know (Paul Gonsalves – “Ellingtonia Moods and Blues,” RCA Victor / RCA63562)

Recorded 29 February 1960, New York City

Paul Gonsalves- tenor sax; Johnny Hodges – alto sax; Ray Nance – cornet; Mitchell “Booty” Wood – trombone; Jimmy Jones – piano; Al Hall – bass; Oliver Jackson – drums.

Piano in the Foreground (Podcast #17-008)

We feature piano versions of Ellington’s music, by the Maestro himself and other giants like Hines, Tyner, Waller, Tatum and others…. Continue reading


 



 

foreground



 

……[M]y mother decided I should take piano lessons. My piano teacher, Mrs. Clinkscales (that was really her name), got paid several times a week for many weeks for these lessons, but I missed more than I took, because of my enthusiasm for playing ball, and running and racing through the street. That I remember very well, because when she had her piano recital with all her pupils in the church, I was the only one who could not play his part.

-Duke Ellington, Music Is My Mistress


 

orson

Duke Ellington, Orson Welles and Cab Calloway


I was fortunate enough to see three of this podcast’s featured artists in concert and get their autographs:

peterson

Oscar Peterson (along with Ella Fitzgerald, Freddie Green, Al Grey, Bobby Plater and Tommy Flanagan)

tyner

McCoy Tyner

hines

Earl “Fatha” Hines





The recordings heard on this podcast episode:



Greatest Concert

Take the “A” Train (LP: “The Greatest Jazz Concert In The World” Pablo 2625-704)

Recorded 1 July 1967 at The Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles

Oscar Peterson – piano; Cootie Williams, Cat Anderson, Herbie Jones, Mercer Ellington – trumpet; Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Chuck Connors – trombone, Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope, Paul Gonsalves, Jimmy Hamilton, Harry Carney – reeds, John Lamb -bass; Chris Columbus – drums.


 

Whitney

Soda Fountain Rag (CD: “Live at The Whitney” Impulse/GRP 173)

Recorded 10 April 1972, New York City

Duke Ellington – piano.


 

Luigi

Soda Fountain Rag (CD: “Duke Ellington Piano Works” Dynamic CDS7743)

Recorded 2015, Italy

Luigi Polombi – piano.


 

Waller

 

Solitude (CD”Romance a la Mode” Jazzsential)

Recorded 16 September 1943, New York City

Fats Waller – organ, vocal.


 

kenny burrell

Orson (LP: “Ellington Is Forever, Volume 2” Fantasy 79008 )

Recorded November & December, 1975, Berkeley, California

Jimmy Jones – piano


 

Monk

Black and Tan Fantasy (CD: “Thelonious Monk plays Duke Ellington”  Universal
0546796)

Recorded 21 July 1955, Hackensack, New Jersey

Thelonious Monk – piano; Oscar Pettiford -bass; Kenny Clarke – drums.


 

Tatum

In a Sentimental Mood (CD: “Art Tatum Solo Masterpieces, Volume 8” Pablo PACD-2405-439-2)

Recorded 29 December 1953, Los Angeles

Art Tatum – piano.


 

McShann

What Am I Here For? (CD: “The Missouri Connection” Reservoir (City Hall) 124)

Recorded 15 September 1992, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

Jay McShann, John Hicks – piano.


 

Garner

Caravan (CD: “Ready Take One” Sony Music 88985363312)

Recorded 2 December 1971, New York City

Erroll Garner – piano; Ernest McCarty, Jr. – bass; Jose Mangual – conga; Jimmie Smith – drums.


 

earl plays duke

Satin Doll (CD: “Jazz Royalty – Earl Hines plays Duke Ellington” New World Records
NW 81001)

Recorded 10 December 1971, New York City

Earl “Fatha” Hines – piano.


 

Tyner

Satin Doll (CD: “Double Trios”, Denon Records 1128)

Recorded 7 June 1986, New York City

McCoy Tyner – piano; Avery Sharpe – bass; Louis Hayes – drums.


 

Highlights

Pitter Panther Patter (CD: “Highlights of the Great 1940-1942 Band” Avid, AMSC1143)

Recorded 1 October 1940, Chicago

Duke Ellington – piano; Jimmie Blanton -bass.


 

This ones for Blanton

Pitter Panther Patter (CD: “This One’s for Blanton” Pablo PACD-2310-721-2)

Recorded 5 December 1972, Las Vegas

Duke Ellington – piano; Ray Brown – bass.


 

0000120517

It’s Something You Ought To Know (Paul Gonsalves – “Ellingtonia Moods and Blues,” RCA Victor / RCA63562)

Recorded 29 February 1960, New York City

Paul Gonsalves- tenor sax; Johnny Hodges – alto sax; Ray Nance – cornet; Mitchell “Booty” Wood – trombone; Jimmy Jones – piano; Al Hall – bass; Oliver Jackson – drums.