Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges - Back to Back (Hybrid SACD)
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Duke Ellington – piano [click here to see more products featuring Duke Ellington]
Johnny Hodges – alto saxophone [click here to see more products featuring Johnny Hodges]
Harry "Sweets" Edison – trumpet [click here to see more products featuring Harry Sweets Edison]
Les Spann – guitar
Al Hall – bass (1, 4)
Sam Jones – bass (2 to 7)
Jo Jones – drums
Hybrid SACD
Original analog Master tape : YES
Stereo
Studio
Label : Analogue Productions
Original Label : Verve records
Recorded February 20, 1959 at Columbia Studios, New York
Remastered by Bernie Grundman
Reissue produced by Chad Kassem
Originally released in 1959
Reissued in May 2011
Tracks :
- Wabash Blues
- Basin Street Blues
- Beale Street Blues
- Weary Blues
- St. Louis Blues
- Loveless Love
- Royal Garden Blues
Reviews :
"These distinctive small-group sessions, featuring Duke Ellington as pianist in a blues context, are part of a group of recordings issued under the confusing titles Back to Back and Side by Side, and further reissued under the not particularly distinctive name of Blues Summit. But there should be no confusion about the high quality of music that came out of these sessions -- it is all "cooking with gas" as the expression goes. From the jazz world, it would be difficult to find more profound soloists on traditional blues numbers than the Duke or his longtime collaborator Johnny Hodges, who does some of the most soulful playing of his career here. Also hitting a very high standard for himself is trumpeter Harry Edison and, while musicians are being patted on the back, the Jones boys in the rhythm section should be given a hand. That's Jo Jones (drums) and Sam Jones (bass), so as not to create additional confusion in the Jones-heavy jazz world. The songs all have titles that end in "Blues," with the oddball having "Love" in the title not once but twice. (It's "Loveless Love," what else?) But these songs are just vehicles for playing the blues, a formula that has produced great music many times, and certainly did every time this particular pianist was leading the group." AllMusic Review by Eugene Chadbourne
Rating:
Discogs 4.88 / 5