A veritable big within the historical past of jazz and the early years of widespread music, Duke Ellington is rightly revered for his skills as a composer and bandleader, however the truth that he was additionally a dexterous and gifted pianist with a singular model is commonly ignored. Among the many myriad albums launched below his title throughout his lengthy profession, solely a handful targeted on his skills as a pianist. Probably the greatest was The Duke Performs Ellington (later renamed Piano Reflections).
The album was recorded on Monday, April 13, 1953, when the Washington, DC-born jazz aristocrat, then just a few weeks shy of his 54th birthday, went into Hollywood’s Capitol studios with only a bassist (Wendell Marshall) and a drummer (Butch Ballard) to put down eight tracks.
Hearken to Piano Reflections now.
It was an intimate, low-key session that started with one in every of Ellington’s signature tunes, “In A Sentimental Mood,” which started life as a big-band instrumental in 1935 earlier than changing into a vocal monitor after buying lyrics written by Manny Kurtz. Right here, Ellington’s elegant, crystalline piano floats above a gently swinging backbeat propelled by Butch Ballard’s softly swirling brushes. One other Ellington basic to obtain a minimalist piano trio makeover again in April 1953 was the urbane “Prelude To A Kiss,” a sleek piece first written in 1938 that was influenced by classical music.
Additionally acquainted to Ellington followers was “Things Ain’t What They Used To Be” – revived as a midtempo blues on The Duke Performs Ellington – which was written by the pianist’s son, Mercer, in 1942. Elsewhere on the album, although, Ellington served up model new materials specifically conceived for the album.
Blues affect
The affect of the blues on Ellington’s music is in proof on the playful “B Sharp Blues,” the place the pianist/composer makes use of dissonance so as to add a piquant high quality to the melody. In acute distinction, the stunning “Reflections In D” is a floating ballad the place dense patterns of lush chords create a dreamy soundscape. A extra unique temper is conjured by “Passion Flower,” a tune that Ellington composed with one in every of his key collaborators, Billy Strayhorn (the Ohio-born composer of the all-time Ellington favourite “Take The A Train”).
In addition to having the ability to create evocative tone poems, Ellington knew find out how to swing, because the propulsive “Who Knows” ably demonstrates with its vibrant, percussive piano traces. The closing tune on the unique album, “Janet,” additionally hurtles alongside at a fast tempo, although shortly modifications gear and morphs right into a meditative ballad with a delicate rhythmic undertow equipped by tender, pulsing brushes, earlier than resuming the skittish character of its unique tempo.
The Duke Performs Ellington was first launched as a ten” LP on Capitol Information in 1954, however later, in 1958, when the extra widespread 12” vinyl had grow to be the norm within the music trade, the album was expanded to accommodate 4 further tracks which had been recorded on April 14, 1953. They had been two haunting ballads, “Melancholia” and “Retrospective” – the latter was extra ornate and dramatic by way of its piano content material – plus “All Too Soon,” a revamp of a 40s Ellington tune, and the jaunty “Dancers In Love,” outlined by a descending chromatic line underpinned by a sprightly, stride piano rhythm.
A go-to album
In 1989, 15 years after Ellington’s demise, The Duke Performs Ellington was lastly reissued on CD for the primary time, although it was renamed Piano Reflections and appeared on the Blue Word label. It was additionally bolstered with three beforehand unissued cuts (“Kinda Dukish,” “Montevideo,” and “December Blue”), all taken from a December 1953 session at Capitol studios.
Greater than half a decade on, The Duke Performs Ellington stays a go-to album if you wish to hear Ellington’s appreciable piano expertise in full impact. It gives compelling proof that the person born Edward Kennedy Ellington, in 1899, might have been profitable as a jobbing pianist if his profession as a bandleader and composer hadn’t taken off so spectacularly.
The Piano Reflections reissue may be purchased right here.
