Blues in Orbit

by Duke Ellington

Overview

Blues in Orbit lacks the intellectual cache of the suites and concept pieces that loomed large in Ellington's recordings of this period, but it's an album worth tracking down, if only to hear the band run through a lighter side of its sound -- indeed, it captures the essence of a late-night recording date that was as much a loose jam as a formal studio date, balancing the spontaneity of the former and the technical polish of the latter. Ellington and company were just back from a European tour when the bulk of this album was recorded at one after-midnight session in New York on December 2, 1959 -- the arrangements had to be hastily written out when the copyist failed to appear for the gig. So on the one hand, the band was kicking back with these shorter pieces; on the other, the group was also improvising freely and intensely at various points. The title track, recorded more than a year before most of the rest, is a slow blues that puts Ellington's piano into a call-and-response setting with the horns, with Ellington getting in the last word. "Villes Ville Is the Place, Man" is a bracing, beat-driven jaunt, highlighted by solos featuring Ray Nance, Harry Carney, and Johnny Hodges on trumpet, baritone sax, and alto, respectively. "Three J's Blues" shows off composer Jimmy Hamilton playing some earthy tenor sax in a swinging, exuberant blues setting. "Smada" features Billy Strayhorn on piano and Johnny Hodges on alto, in a stirring dance number, and "Pie Eye's Blues" is a hot studio improvisation featuring Ray Nance and Jimmy Hamilton trading three solos each. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	08/11/2017
Label:	Wax Time
UPC:	8436559462303
Rank:	42838

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Duke Ellington   Primary Artist,Piano
Jimmy Johnson   Drums,Drums
Jimmy Woode   Double Bass,Bass
Johnny Sanders   Trombone
Clark Terry   Guest Artist,Trumpet
Johnny Hodges   Guest Artist,Sax (Alto)
Billy Strayhorn   Guest Artist,Piano
Paul Gonsalves   Sax (Tenor)
Shorty Baker   Trumpet
Bill Graham   Sax (Alto)
Booty Wood   Trombone
Russell Procope   Clarinet,Sax (Alto)
Cat Anderson   Trumpet
Sam Woodyard   Drums
Jimmy Hamilton   Clarinet,Sax (Tenor)
Matthew Gee   Trombone,Trombone,Horn (Baritone)
John Sanders   Trombone,Trombone (Valve)
Quentin Jackson   Trombone
Ray Nance   Violin,Trumpet
Britt Woodman   Trombone
Harold Baker   Trumpet
Harry Carney   Sax (Baritone),Clarinet (Bass)
William Cat Anderson   Trumpet
Andrew "Fats" Ford   Trumpet
Jimmy Johnson, Jr.   Drums

Technical Credits

Teo Macero   Audio Production,Producer,Liner Notes
Irving Townsend   Audio Production,Producer
John Latouche   Composer
Steven Berkowitz   A&R
Duke Ellington   Composer
Fred Plaut   Engineer
Jimmy Hamilton   Composer
Matthew Gee   Composer,Composer
Mark Wilder   Remixing,Mastering
Billy Strayhorn   Composer
Michael Cuscuna   Reissue Producer
Milt Gabler   Composer
Michael Brooks   Reissue Producer
Barney Bigard   Composer
Lowell Frank   Engineer
Patricia Willard   Liner Notes
Seth Rothstein   Project Director
Howard Fritzson   Art Direction
Randall Martin   Design
Triana DOrazio   Packaging Manager
Jay Maisel   Cover Photo
Don Hunstein   Photography
Liz Reilly   Photo Research
James Hamilton   Composer