Search results for "Cootie Williams"

The Mills Brothers with Duke Ellington: Diga Diga Doo (Rating: 94/100) posted in Music March 09, 09

This song, written for the significant early black musical Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1928, is best characterized as ...

Duke Ellington: Tootin' Through the Roof (1939) (Rating: 92/100) posted in Music March 20, 09

For Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra, 1939 was a transitional year. Billy Strayhorn and Jimmy Blanton came on ...

Duke Ellington: Daybreak Express (Rating: 100/100) posted in Music March 15, 09

Unquestionably one of Duke Ellington’s masterpieces, “Daybreak Express” is one of the most thrilling train rides ever...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: TWELVE TRAIN TRACKS

For big bands in the thirties, trains were the logical upgrade from the drudgery of the band bus. Airplanes wer...

Duke Ellington: Artistry in Rhythm (Rating: 98/100) posted in Music October 21, 08

I promise I'll never again complain about excess bonus tracks on a CD. Though most such tracks tend to be alternate t...

Johnny Hodges: Jeep's Blues (Rating: 94/100) posted in Music March 16, 09

"Jeep" was the second of the nicknames Johnny Hodges had acquired ("Rabbit" being the first, from his youth). This wa...

Duke Ellington: Limehouse Blues (Rating: 92/100) posted in Music September 15, 09

"Limehouse Blues" is not a blues, but it was inspired by the London neighborhood. When Duke Ellington recorded the so...

Duke Ellington: Never No Lament (Rating: 90/100) posted in Music September 16, 09

I wonder how Duke Ellington reacted when he was asked to turn his instrumental "Never No Lament" into the pop song "D...

Duke Ellington: St. James Infirmary (Rating: 85/100) posted in Music August 16, 08

Manager Irving Mills got some publisher royalty money from the sales of this flexible Hit of the Week record starring...

Duke Ellington with Ella Fitzgerald: Imagine My Frustration (Rating: 100/100) posted in Music February 19, 08

The appearances together in 1966-67 of Ella with the Duke Ellington Orchestra quickly assumed almost legendary propor...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: TWELVE ESSENTIAL ELLA FITZGERALD PERFORMANCES

Ella Fitzgerald lived to sing. Nothing in her life meant as much to her. Yet she never had a music lesson in her life...

Benny Goodman (featuring Charlie Christian): Benny's Bugle (Rating: 98/100) posted in Music March 07, 08

It’s significant that much of Benny Goodman’s small group output for Columbia Records was reissued in 2002 as a Charl...

Duke Ellington: Caravan (1937) (Rating: 97/100) posted in Music October 24, 07

Ellington’s early contribution to the Latin jazz canon is a collaboration with valve trombonist Juan Tizol. “Caravan...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: TWELVE LATIN JAZZ CLASSICS

         Percussionist,  artwork by Suzanne Cerny Editor's n...

Duke Ellington: Jungle Nights in Harlem (Rating: 97/100) posted in Music November 05, 07

"The grotesque spectacle of Harlem nightclubs for all-white audiences," historian Ted Gioia believes, "served to miti...

Duke Ellington: Blood Count (Rating: 95/100) posted in Music November 07, 07

Billy Strayhorn wrote or co-composed with Duke Ellington some of the best-loved pieces in the Ellington band’s repert...

Duke Ellington: Cocktails for Two (Rating: 83/100) posted in Music November 20, 07

Among Duke Ellington's 7 singles and 2 albums enshrined in the Grammy Hall of Fame, the 2007 choice is least explicab...

Duke Ellington: It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) (Rating: 96/100) posted in Music December 03, 07

As Gunther Schuller points out in The Swing Era, the composer of this song that named its era was hardly dogmatic abo...

Duke Ellington: Sophisticated Lady (Rating: 91/100) posted in Music December 03, 07

During his illustrious 50-year recording career, Duke Ellington led >1,000 sessions, each yielding multiple tracks. W...

Johnny Hodges: Prelude to a Kiss (Rating: 94/100) posted in Music December 03, 07

Two weeks after recording "Prelude to a Kiss" under Ellington's aegis, Johnny Hodges switched from soprano to alto sa...

Duke Ellington: Jack the Bear (Rating: 100/100) posted in Music January 24, 08

Ask most people about great bass records from the early 1940s, and they will probably tell you about Joe DiMaggio get...

Duke Ellington: Harlem Air Shaft (Rating: 100/100) posted in Music May 17, 08

This composition may not be as well known as "Satin Doll" or "Mood Indigo," but make no mistake about it: this is one...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: HARLEM

                    &#x...

Duke Ellington: Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me (Rating: 93/100) posted in Music December 04, 07

Duke Ellington was both artist and entrepreneur. The composer who premiered his 45-minute tone poem Black, Brown and ...

Previous Page | Next Page