Description:
Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins were both involved in unusual collaborations in the early 1960s, often with much younger musicians: Ellington with Max Roach and Charles Mingus (Money Jungle) and with John Coltrane; Hawkins with Roach and Sonny Rollins. As surprising as any of those inter-generational sessions, however, is this 1962 meeting between Ellington and Hawkins, if only because it hadn't happened before. With a band of Duke's greatest veterans--alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, baritone saxophonist Harry Carney, trombonist Lawrence Brown, and Ray Nance on trumpet and violin--it's classic small-group Ellingtonia with one
Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins were both involved in unusual collaborations in the early 1960s, often with much younger musicians: Ellington with Max Roach and Charles Mingus (Money Jungle) and with John Coltrane; Hawkins with Roach and Sonny Rollins. As surprising as any of those inter-generational sessions, however, is this 1962 meeting between Ellington and Hawkins, if only because it hadn't happened before. With a band of Duke's greatest veterans--alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, baritone saxophonist Harry Carney, trombonist Lawrence Brown, and Ray Nance on trumpet and violin--it's classic small-group Ellingtonia with one essential difference. "Limbo Jazz" and "The Ricitic," pulled together for the occasion, are playful tunes with touches of lounge Latin. The latter becomes a delightful dialog focused on Nance's violin and Hawkins and Ellington's inspired accompaniment. The finest moments come with "Mood Indigo," a beautiful vehicle for Hawkins's warmly rambunctious tenor, and "Self-Portrait of the Bean," an Ellington-Strayhorn tribute that Ellington only finished in the studio on the day of recording. Rising to the special moment, Hawkins invests the ballad with extraordinary depth and grace. --Stuart Broomer
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Manufacturer: Grp Records
Release date: 24 October 1995
Number of discs: 1
EAN: 0011105016223 UPC: 011105016223
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