Duke Ellington – Blues In Orbit (1960/2016) [AcousticSounds DSF DSD64/2.82MHz]

Duke Ellington – Blues In Orbit (1960/2016) 
DSD64 (.dsf) 1 bit/2,82 MHz | Time – 36:27 minutes | 1,44 GB | Genre: Jazz
Official Digital Download – Source: AcousticSounds | © Columbia Records

Blues In Orbit captures the essence of a late-night recording date that was as much a loose jam as a formal studio date, balancing the spontaneity of the former and the technical polish of the latter.
Ellington and company were just back from a European tour when the bulk of this album was recorded. All of the takes were recorded during after midnight sessions recorded over two nights starting on December 2, 1959 in New York at Columbia Record’s studio on East 30th Street. Each night Duke’s late dinner arrived at 2 a.m. – a sizzling steak, a pot of coffee with lemons in it, portions of American cheese, and grapefruits. After dinner, and a breather for the band, the sessions finished around dawn in a swinging fashion.

Arrangements that had to be hastily written out when the copyist failed to appear for the gig. So on the one hand, the band was kicking back with these shorter pieces; on the other, the group was also improvising freely and intensely at various points. The title track, recorded more than a year before most of the rest, is a slow blues that puts Ellington’s piano into a call-and-response setting with the horns, with Ellington getting in the last word.

If you’re just getting into jazz, this album is highly recommended as a great way to initiate your collection.
Blues in Orbit lacks the intellectual cache of the suites and concept pieces that loomed large in Ellington’s recordings of this period, but it’s an album worth tracking down, if only to hear the band run through a lighter side of its sound — indeed, it captures the essence of a late-night recording date that was as much a loose jam as a formal studio date, balancing the spontaneity of the former and the technical polish of the latter. Ellington and company were just back from a European tour when the bulk of this album was recorded at one after-midnight session in New York on December 2, 1959 — the arrangements had to be hastily written out when the copyist failed to appear for the gig. So on the one hand, the band was kicking back with these shorter pieces; on the other, the group was also improvising freely and intensely at various points. The title track, recorded more than a year before most of the rest, is a slow blues that puts Ellington’s piano into a call-and-response setting with the horns, with Ellington getting in the last word. “Villes Ville Is the Place, Man” is a bracing, beat-driven jaunt, highlighted by solos featuring Ray Nance, Harry Carney, and Johnny Hodges on trumpet, baritone sax, and alto, respectively. “Three J’s Blues” shows off composer Jimmy Hamilton playing some earthy tenor sax in a swinging, exuberant blues setting. “Smada” features Billy Strayhorn on piano and Johnny Hodges on alto, in a stirring dance number, and “Pie Eye’s Blues” is a hot studio improvisation featuring Ray Nance and Jimmy Hamilton trading three solos each. ~~AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder

Tracklist:
1 Three J’s Blues 2:52
2 Smada 2:36
3 Pie Eye’s Blues 3:25
4 Sweet & Pungent 4:02
5 C Jam Blues 4:50
6 In A Mellow Tone 2:41
7 Blues In Blueprint 3:41
8 The Swingers Get The Blues, Too 3:07
9 The Swinger’s Jump 3:51
10 Blues In Orbit 2:27
11 Villes Ville Is The Place, Man 2:31

Personnel:
Duke Ellington – piano (tracks 1, 3-6 & 8-11)
Billy Strayhorn – piano (tracks 2 & 7)
Ray Nance – trumpet, violin
Cat Anderson, Shorty Baker, Clark Terry – trumpet (tracks 10-11)
Fats Ford – trumpet (track 11)
Britt Woodman – trombone
Matthew Gee, Booty Wood – trombone (tracks 1-9)
Quentin Jackson – trombone (tracks 10-11)
John Sanders – valve trombone (tracks 10-11)
Jimmy Hamilton – clarinet, tenor saxophone
Johnny Hodges – alto saxophone (tracks 1-9, 11)
Russell Procope – alto saxophone, clarinet
Paul Gonsalves – tenor saxophone
Harry Carney – baritone saxophone
Jimmy Woode – bass
Jimmy Johnson – drums (tracks 1-9)
Sam Woodyard – drums (tracks 10-11)

Download:

mqs.link_DukeEllingtnBluesInrbit19602016AcusticSundsDSD64.part1.rar
mqs.link_DukeEllingtnBluesInrbit19602016AcusticSundsDSD64.part2.rar