Piano in the Background
Piano in the Background | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1960 | |||
Recorded | May 31 – June 30, 1960 | |||
Genre | Jazz | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Duke Ellington chronology | ||||
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Piano in the Background is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded and released on the Columbia label in 1960.[1]
Reception
[edit]The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars and stated "designed to showcase a series of new arrangements for the Ellington Orchestra, it also offers the composer and bandleader as a pianist leading the band... In all, this and the two discs that were reissued as companions to this one, Piano in the Foreground and Blues in Orbit, mark a highly creative and productive time in Ellington's long career".[2]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Track listing
[edit]:All compositions by Duke Ellington except as indicated
- "Happy Go Lucky Local" - 3:02
- "What Am I Here For" (Duke Ellington, Frankie Laine) - 4:08
- "Medley: Kinda Dukish/Rockin' in Rhythm" (Ellington, Harry Carney, Irving Mills) - 5:52
- "Perdido" (Juan Tizol) - 6:49
- "I'm Beginning to See the Light" (Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, Harry James) - 2:06
- "Midriff" (Billy Strayhorn) - 4:29
- "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" (Ellington, Mills) - 4:33
- "Main Stem" - 4:15
- "Take the "A" Train" (Strayhorn) - 5:33
- "Lullaby of Birdland" (George Shearing) - 5:23 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "The Wailer" (Gerald Wilson) - 4:25 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Dreamy Sort of Thing" (Strayhorn) - 3:56 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Lullaby of Birdland" [alternate take] (Shearing) - 5:27 Bonus track on CD reissue
- "Harlem Air Shaft" - 4:03 Bonus track on CD reissue
- Recorded at Radio Recorders, Los Angeles on May 31, 1960 (tracks 4 & 5), June 2, 1960 (track 7), June 20, 1960 (tracks 3, 10, 12 & 13), June 22 (track 8), June 28, 1960 (tracks 6 & 9), June 29, 1960 (track 2) & June 30, 1960 (tracks 1 & 11) and March 3, 1961 (track 14)
Personnel
[edit]- Duke Ellington – piano
- Ray Nance, Willie Cook, Andres Meringuito, Eddy Mullins, Gerald Wilson - trumpet
- Lawrence Brown, Britt Woodman, Booty Wood - trombone
- Juan Tizol - valve trombone
- Jimmy Hamilton - clarinet, tenor saxophone
- Johnny Hodges - alto saxophone
- Russell Procope - alto saxophone, clarinet
- Paul Gonsalves - tenor saxophone
- Harry Carney - baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet
- Aaron Bell - bass
- Sam Woodyard - drums
- Gerald Wilson - arrangement, Perdido
- W. A. Mathieu, as Bill Mathieu - arrangement, I'm Beginning to See the Light, It Don't Mean a Thing
References
[edit]- ^ A Duke Ellington Panorama Archived 2017-09-09 at the Wayback Machine accessed May 14, 2010
- ^ a b Jurek, T. Allmusic Review accessed May 14, 2010
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