Duke Ellington & John Coltrane

by Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Johnny Hartman

Overview

The classic 1962 album Duke Ellington & John Coltrane showcased the rising jazz saxophone innovator performing alongside the long-established piano institution. While the pairing might have portended a dynamic clash of the musical generations, instead we got a casual, respectful, and musically generous meeting of like-minded souls. Similarly, while one might have assumed that Ellington would use his sidemen, instead producer Bob Thiele (who also produced similar albums for Ellington including pairings with Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins) chose to bring in Coltrane's own outfit for the proceedings. Consequently, the duo is backed here at various times by bassist Jimmy Garrison and drummer Elvin Jones, as well as alternates bassist Aaron Bell and drummer Sam Woodyard. The most surprising aspect of the Ellington/Coltrane date is how well suited Coltrane and his group are at playing what largely ends up being Ellington's own material. While he was certainly in the nascency of his more avant-garde period in 1962, Coltrane had a deep understanding of traditional jazz vocabulary, having played in a swing band in the Navy in the 1940s and studied the style of artists like Hawkins and Ben Webster while coming up in Philadelphia. Similarly, though an icon of the big-band era by the 1960s, Ellington had been on the upswing of a career resurgence ever since his dynamic performance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, later released as Ellington at Newport. His meeting with Coltrane was emblematic of his renewed creativity and was one of several albums he recorded in his latter life with theretofore unexpected artists, not the least of which his other 1962 date, Money Jungle with bassist Charles Mingus and drummer Max Roach. Here, Ellington and Coltrane play a handful of well-known Ellington book numbers, including a supremely lyrical "In a Sentimental Mood" and a soulful, half-lidded version of Billy Strayhorn's "My Little Brown Book." Ellington even supplied the brisk original "Take the Coltrane," allowing plenty of room for Coltrane to let loose with knotty, angular lines. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	09/08/2023
Label:	Imports
UPC:	8436563184222
Rank:	34882

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Duke Ellington   Primary Artist,Piano
John Coltrane   Primary Artist,Saxophone,Sax (Tenor),Sax (Soprano)
Johnny Hartman   Primary Artist
George Simon   Primary Artist
Bobby Troup   Primary Artist
Billy Strayhorn   Primary Artist
Miles Davis   Primary Artist
Elvin Jones   Guest Artist,Drums
Sam Woodyard   Drums
Aaron Bell   Bass
Jimmy Garrison   Bass

Technical Credits

Stanley Dance   Liner Notes
Bob Thiele   Producer
Irving Mills   Composer
Duke Ellington   Composer,Performer,Liner Notes
John Coltrane   Composer,Performer
Erick Labson   Digital Remastering
Robert Flynn   Cover Design
Bobby Troup   Composer
Rudy Van Gelder   Engineer
Billy Strayhorn   Composer
Michael Cuscuna   Reissue Producer
Todd Whitelock   Mastering
Cameron Mizell   Production Coordination
Bill Levenson   Reissue Supervisor
Manny Kurtz   Composer
George T. Simon   Composer
Joe Alper   Photography
Hollis King   Art Direction
George Simon   Composer
Isabelle Wong   Package Design
Jason Claiborne   Graphic Design
Bob Ghiraldini   Cover Photo,Photography
Joe Lebow   Liner Design