Duke Ellington With Johnny Hodges - Side by Side

The sound of Johnny Hodges's alto saxophone--a tone of ethereal smoothness combined with slyly familiar blues phrasing and a capacity for both wit and romance--may be the most identifiable sonic marker of Duke Ellington's music, and it's much in evidence on the two small group sessions on this CD. One, from 1959, has Hodges and Ellington in a sextet with two great Basie alumni, drummer Jo Jones and trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison. The combination generates extraordinary swing, especially on the opening "Stompy Jones," with Ellington's percussive chords and Jones's drums generating enough power to drive a big band. Hodges and Edison maintain the big-band illusion, fuelling one another's solos with supportive riffs, while Ellington seems to revel in the wide-open spaces, soloing on "Going Up" with an expansive and almost casual brilliance. Though Duke is absent from the second date on this CD, featuring a septet recorded in 1958, his alter ego, Billy Strayhorn, plays piano in appropriately ducal fashion. This band has an even stronger Ellington flavor, with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster and trombonist Lawrence Brown adding their unique sounds to a joy-filled session that recalls Duke's small group recordings of the '30s. --Stuart Broomer Amazon.com

Side By Side

Classic Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges working together, side by side to create their unique and full bodied sound. October 18, 2007

Bury Me With This CD

This is hands down one of the best, smoothest, swingingest cds you'll ever buy. EVER! I bought this for my bro who intro'd me to jazz and I was floored when he said he didn't have this one. Dude, this is ESSENTIAL. A must have. Again, this is another cd you can play at anytime: driving kids to little league, baking a pie, jumping out airplanes, negotiating world peace, in time out, studying, eating flapjacks - kid, you can't go wrong here - put your money down and enjoy the life you are about to have with this music in it, 'cause baby the old one without this, just wasn't worth it. September 25, 2007

Just A Memory

It's hard to imagine that only 40 or so years ago, muscians like Johnny Hodges, Lawrence Brown, Harry Edison, Ben Webster, Jo Jones, Billy Strayhorn, Roy Eldridge and Duke Ellington still exsited. The techniques used by these men on this recording; Swinging with a blues sensibility and without force, and a master control of dynamics; are a lost art in, not only most of jazz today, but all music. It is a treat to hear these musicians in these small group context. March 4, 2007

Spectacular odds and ends

I've found this set, along with the "Back to Back", among the most remarkable recordings attributed to either of these men since they split, temporarily, in the early Fifties. The three pieces recorded at the same sessions as "Back to Back" share that album's gravity and lyricism, but in a much more uptempo, jazz mainstream mode. Ensemble and solo quality is consistently extraordinary in all, but I'd single out "Goin' up", in an arrangement greatly improved over the one from Carnegie Hall in the early Forties which featured a momentum-destroying trombone break and a rather weak violin solo. Here the dynamic continues throughout, with both Duke and Hodges turning in solos as good as any they'd ever produced on record.
The sessions including Eldridge, Lawrence Brown and Ben Webster are, on first hearing, somewhat lower-voltage, that stemming, I think, from the presence of Billy Strayhorn rather than Duke Ellington on the piano. Whatever either one of them may have said about it, I really think that Duke was the more memorable pianist of the two, his lack of virtuosity in the usual sense actually being a stylistic advantage. Maybe Elton John could have PLAYED these lines (though without Duke's dynamic control) but would he ever THINK of such music, for a single measure? In any event, all of the horn players, Hodges, Eldridge, Lawrence Brown produce fabulous solos on each piece, with Ben Webster, especially, nearly equaling Hodges in intensity and elegance.
My only negative criticism of this re-issue, and its sibling Back to Back, would be the failure to include any alternate takes. Perhaps they were destroyed by the company? I've heard stories about Artie Shaw rescuing some of his airshot recordings at the last minute, called in by a friend just as Victor was throwing them out. February 18, 2006

Jeep in his prime

This is my favorite of my many Johnny Hodges records. Like fine cognac, Jeep seemed to keep improving over his long career. Particularly noteworthy in this late fifties set is the energy of the uptempo numbers; Johnny's not noted for speed, but here he skips along like a perfectly thrown flat rock into a stream. Duke seems inspired to pound the ivories with equal (and equally rare) vigor.

On the slow numbers, no alto player ever began to match JH for touch-your-heart balladry. On "Squeeze Me" and "Just A Memory" he outdoes even himself. A religous experience.

The sound quality of the 24bit mastering is genuinely unbelievable! Sounds better than most Super Audio CDs. Be sure to also get JH's Verve session "With Billy Stayhorn and the Orchestra"; has the same awesome sound quality and all of Dukes men blowing the roof off in the background.

We're way beyond five stars here music fans, give this one the whole galaxy. And we're way beyond "jazz" here too, this one transcends genre setting the standard for music that can touch us at a deep and personal level. No foolin'. April 26, 2004

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