Duke Ellington (piano), Charles Mingus (contrabajo) y Max Roach (batería). Extraído del álbum Money Jungle (1963).
En 1936, cuando el swing estaba en pleno apogeo, Duke Ellington grabó poco y sin éxito. Hizo una serie de grabaciones de cámara y sesiones de combo con sextetos, octetos y nonetos, hasta que en 1937 reunió de nuevo su big band y volvió al Cotton Club. Su mayor éxito de aquel año fue «Caravan», un exótico tema de implicaciones modales. Sin embargo, su orquesta estaba a punto de comenzar su período más brillante, que duraría hasta la suspensión de las grabaciones durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. De 1938 a 1942 la big band produjo una serie de obras maestras gracias a la incorporación del pianista, arreglista y compositor Billy Strayhorn, el saxofonista tenor Ben Webster y el contrabajista Jimmy Blanton.
In 1936, when swing was at its peak, Duke Ellington recorded little and without success. He made a series of chamber recordings and combo sessions with sextets, octets, and nonets, until in 1937 he gathered his big band again and returned to the Cotton Club. His biggest hit that year was “Caravan”, an exotic tune with modal implications. However, his orchestra was about to start its most brilliant period, which would last until the suspension of the recordings during World War II. From 1938 to 1942 the big band produced a series of masterpieces thanks to the incorporation of pianist, arranger and composer Billy Strayhorn, tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and double bassist Jimmy Blanton.
En 1940 Ellington contrató al cantante, trompetista y violinista Ray Nance, que dio un nuevo sabor a la orquesta. Además, comenzó a interesarse por los arreglos de swing en tiempo medio que estaban de moda en aquella época y demostró su habilidad para provocar profundas emociones con recursos simples. A pesar de estas incursiones en el swing, Ellington continuó elaborando su estilo personal. La big band estaba dando buenos resultados y Ellington añadía nuevos recursos estilísticos en sus obras sin romper su cohesión. En 1943 salió con su orquesta en las películas musicales Cabin in the Sky y Reveille with Beverly.
In 1940 Ellington hired singer, trumpeter and violinist Ray Nance, who gave a new flavor to the orchestra. He also became interested in the mid-tempo swing arrangements that were in vogue at the time and showed his ability to induce deep emotions with simple resources. Despite these forays into swing, Ellington continued to develop his personal style. The big band was giving good results and Ellington added new stylistic resources in his works without breaking their cohesion. In 1943 he was featured with his orchestra in the musical films Cabin in the Sky and Reveille with Beverly.
Este tema es un blues que Ellington interpreta con maestría a tiempo medio-rápido. Comienza su solo con frases sencillas mezclándolas con los acordes mientras Mingus hace su solo por detrás hasta que introduce el walking. Roach apoya a los otros dos músicos con destreza. El discurso de Ellington suena bastante tradicional, pero utiliza recursos inusuales con frases repetitivas y en cada chorus va introduciendo una melodía distinta hasta que reexpone el tema.
This theme is a blues that Ellington masterfully performs at medium-fast tempo. He begins his solo with simple phrases mixing them with the chords while Mingus takes his solo in the background until he introduces walking. Roach supports the other two musicians skillfully. Ellington’s speech sounds quite traditional, but he uses unusual resources with repetitive phrases and in each chorus introduces a different melody until he re-exposes the theme.
Translated with the help of DeepL
℗ United Artists Records
Si te ha gustado el tema, quizá querrás escuchar también los anteriores de este álbum:
If you liked the track, you might also want to listen to the previous ones on this album:
Each time you review this man Ellington, I keep wondering how great a musician He was. It is actually very funful to have a nice band in which they understand themselves well and are able to produce songs excellently.
Nice review man
I wish I can belong to a good band like Ellington's