If you want to know what an alto saxophone is supposed to sound like, you need go no further than listen to the man who defined the sound back in the big band era with Duke Ellington, namely Johnny Hodges. His soft and lyrical tone, oozing with warmth, earned him the label “The Lily Pons of the Saxophone”. This two disc, 41 song set collects material that Hodges recorded when he took a hiatus from Ellington for a spell in order to spread his wings a bit.
The small group sessions are filled with former Ellington teammates, as well as some young kid named John Coltrane who is on a 1954 session for “Burgundy Walk”. With fellow Ducal genlots like Billy Strayhorn/p, Lawrence Brown/tb and Al Sears/ts, Hode swoons on “Blue Fantasia” and bounces with delight on “The Jeep Is Jumpin'” and “Castle Rock”. Hodges sighs and floats on glorious piece like the penetrating “Jeeps Blues” and “Solitude”, showing how emotional a saxophone can sound. Hodges was a master of the aria, glistening on “Daydream” and “I Got It Bad and It Ain’t Good”. A reunion with Ellington tenor saxist Ben Webster is an absolute delight, resulting in small group takes of “In A Mellow Tone” and “I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart”. In a day that artists prefer emotions with no feelings, Hodges plays like he’s painting a picture.