Duke Ellington - Blues In Orbit
Duke Ellington – piano (A1, A3-B1, B3-6) [click here to see more vinyl featuring Duke Ellington]
Billy Strayhorn - piano (A2, B2)
Ray Nance - trumpet, violin
Cat Anderson, Shorty Baker, Clark Terry - trumpet (B5-7))
Fats Ford - trumpet (B6)
Britt Woodman - trombone
Matthew Gee, Booty Wood - trombone (A1-B4)
Quentin Jackson - trombone (B5-7)
John Sanders - valve trombone (B5-7)
Jimmy Hamilton - clarinet, tenor saxophone
Johnny Hodges - alto saxophone (A1-B4, B6)
Russell Procope - alto saxophone, clarinet
Paul Gonsalves - tenor saxophone
Harry Carney - baritone saxophone
Jimmy Woode - bass
Jimmy Johnson - drums (A1-B4)
Sam Woodyard - drums (B4-6)
1 LP, Gatefold jacket
Original analog Master tape : YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33RPM
Size : 12”
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : Quality Record Pressings
Label : Analogue Productions
Original Label : Columbia
Recorded February 4 & 12, 1958, February 25, December 2 & 3, 1959
Remastered by Bernie Grundman
Originally released in 1960
Reissued in 2016
Tracks :
Side A
- Three J’s Blues
- Smada
- Pie Eye’s Blues
- Sweet and Pungent
- C Jam Blues
Side B
- In A Mellow Tone
- Blues In Blueprint
- The Swinger’s Get The Blues Too
- The Swinger’s Jump
- Blues In Orbit
- Villes Ville Is The Place, Man
Reviews :
"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." Blues in Orbit Review by Bruce Eder
Ratings :
AllMusic 3/5 , Discogs 4.54/5