Piano in the Background

by Duke Ellington, Duke Ellington Orchestra

Overview

Recorded in 1960, Piano in the Background's title is a bit of a misnomer. While it's true that Duke Ellington often didn't appear on his recordings at all and this one is designed to showcase a series of new arrangements for the Ellington Orchestra, it also offers the composer and bandleader as a pianist leading the band. All of the album's original nine cuts, as well as its five bonus tracks, are introduced by the man himself at the ivories, and he also takes each one out. The selection here is a beauty: from "Happy Go Lucky Local" from "Deep South Suite" and the nearly forgotten "What Am I Here For," to a medley of "Kinda Dukish," "Rockin' in Rhythm," "Perdido," "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," and "I'm Beginning to See the Light," to Billy Strayhorn's classics "Take the 'A' Train" and "Midriff." These arrangements are crisp, sometimes startling, and dynamically performed. The bonus material includes Strayhorn's "Dreamy Sort of Thing" and a couple takes of George Shearing's "Lullaby of Birdland" as well as Gerald Wilson's awesome "The Wailer." There is also a slippery read of the Duke's "Harlem Air Shaft," which was recorded at a session in 1961 and was previously unreleased. In all, this and the two discs that were reissued as companions to this one, Piano in the Foreground and Blues in Orbit, mark a highly creative and productive time in Ellington's long career. ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	07/27/2004
Label:	Legacy / Columbia
UPC:	0696998710726
Rank:	102352

Tracks

1. Happy Go Lucky Local
2. What Am I Here For
3. Medley: Kinda Dukish/Rockin' in Rhythm
4. Perdido
5. I'm Beginning to See the Light
6. Midriff
7. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
8. Main Stem
9. Take the "A" Train
10. Lullaby of Birdland
11. The Wailer
12. Dreamy Sort of Thing
13. Lullaby of Birdland
14. Harlem Air Shaft

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Duke Ellington   Primary Artist,Piano
Duke Ellington Orchestra   Primary Artist
Andre Merenghito   Trumpet
Lawrence Brown   Trombone
Aaron Bell   Double Bass,Bass
Booty Wood   Trombone
Russell Procope   Clarinet,Sax (Alto)
Sam Woodyard   Drums
Juan Tizol   Trombone (Valve)
Jimmy Hamilton   Clarinet,Sax (Tenor)
Matthew Gee   Trombone
Ray Nance   Trumpet
Johnny Hodges   Sax (Alto)
Willie Cook   Trumpet
Gerald Wilson   Trumpet
Harry Carney   Sax (Baritone),Clarinet (Bass)
Andres Merenghito   Trumpet
Eddie Mullens   Trumpet
Paul Gonsalves   Sax (Tenor)
Britt Woodman   Trombone
Billy Strayhorn   Piano

Technical Credits

Irving Townsend   Audio Production,Producer,Liner Notes
Duke Ellington   Composer
Frankie Laine   Composer
Don George   Composer
Juan Tizol   Composer
Mark Wilder   Remixing,Mastering
Billy Strayhorn   Composer
Michael Cuscuna   Reissue Producer
Johnny Hodges   Composer
Ervin Drake   Composer
Patricia Willard   Liner Notes
Gerald Wilson   Arranger,Composer
Harry Carney   Composer
Harry James   Composer
Seth Rothstein   Project Director
Howard Fritzson   Art Direction
Bill Mathieu   Arranger
Hans Lengsfelder   Composer
Randall Martin   Design
Don Hunstein   Photography
Irving Mills   Composer
Steven Berkowitz   A&R
Michael Brooks   Reissue Producer
George Shearing   Composer