Number 4 Ellington Uptown
The music on this album was recorded in 1951 and 1952 and represents the first major recording by Ellington without his principal saxophonist, Johnny Hodges. Hodges left the orchestra in 1951 and would not return until1955, the intervening years represented a very lean time for Ellington. Willie Smith took the lead alto saxophone chair from Hodges, he was white, and was not made feel very welcome so he left and was replaced by Hilton Jefferson who played lead until Hodges returned in 1955.
One of my favourite Ellington compositions is Duke’s “Tone Parallel to Harlem”, it is a tone poem not a suite. It was originally commissioned by the NBC Symphony in 1950 when Toscanini was its conductor. There is no record of the NBC performing it under Toscanini’s baton. Duke did record it in 1963 with members of the Paris Symphony Orchestra and I think that that particular recording is best avoided.A1 Skin Deep
Featuring – Louis Bellson
Written-By – L. Bellson*
A2 The Mooche
Written-By – Ellington*, I. Mills*
A3 Take The "A" Train
Vocals – Betty Roche
Written-By – Strayhorn
B1 A Tone Parallel To Harlem
Written-By – Ellington*
B2 Perdido
Written-By – E. Drake*, Lenk*, Tizol*
A Tone Parallel to Harlem was written by Duke when he was returning to America on the SS lle de France. Duke loved Harlem and when he wrote the poem he wanted to express it in his own musical language: a Spanish Harlem, a parade, jazz, a floorshow and chorus line, church, sermon, funeral, a “chic chick stopping traffic, a Sunday promenade and orators demanding civil rights. There are no soloists and Duke was too busy conducting to play piano. I think that it’s marvellous:
A Tone Parallel to Harlem,
Duke was reluctant to feature drummers with extended drum solos but he made an exception when Louise Bellson joined the orchestra, this may not be to your liking it’s
Skin Deep:
The cd version now contains the Liberian Suite too, not his best work I feel.
