Listening to this most recent volume of radio broadcasts of Duke Ellington’s Orchestra from 1942-46 is akin to reading the Bible after listening to pop psychology. One is simply transient opinion and the other is authoritative.
Ellington’s band during the War Years had a richness of sound to match the fertility of the leader’s pen, and the juicy reward of these broadcasts is that there is always an obscure piece that is like a cold drink to a parched throat. This time around, the obscure Jimmy Blanton piece “The Strollers” gets dusted off and presented as a showpiece for tenor saxist Ben Webster. Also of note is the “Metronome All Out” which has Jimmy Hamilton doing magic with his black wand of a clarinet. Ray Nance features his violin on the Jerome Kern piece “And Russia is Her Name” and a couple of compositions by Count Basie alumni have the band swing hard on “9:20 Special” and “Hollywood Hangover.”
There’s also a full plate of comfort food as well, with Johnny Hodges glowing on “Daydream” and “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing, while surfing on a long board during “The Jeep is Jumping” as well as shooting the tube on “Blues Cluster.” Bassist Oscar Pettiford does twinkle toes on “Rhapsoditty” while “Jam-A-Ditty” includes Harry Carney’s volcanic baritone along with Lawrence Brown’s buttery trombone. The band’s textures are rich and textured, punching hard on “John Hardy’s Wife” and sounding hip and ultra modern n “The Eighth Veil.”
Can you ever have enough of Ellington? This two disc set underlines the obvious: “NO!”