The Blanton–Webster Band
   HOME
*





The Blanton–Webster Band
''The Blanton–Webster Band'' is a compilation album that combines the master takes of all the recordings by Duke Ellington's Orchestra during the years of 1940 to 1942, involving bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. The recordings were originally made for RCA Victor during what many critics regard as the Ellington orchestra's golden period. The three CDs contain many numbers which were to become classics, and the arrangements (by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn) were frequently inventive and innovative. It was voted number 283 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' (2000). The collection does not include alternate takes or the duets Ellington performed with Jimmy Blanton, available elsewhere. With 66 tracks, the selection includes many of Ellington's hits and classic songs. ''Rolling Stone'' praises the collection as "a masterwork of composition and leadership" and "a series of individual triumphs from the greatest team of j ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote or collaborated on more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, such as Juan Tizol's " Caravan", which brought a Spanish tinge to big band jazz. At the end of the 1930s, Ellington began a nearly thirty-year collaboration with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his writing and arranging companion. With Strayhorn, he composed multipl ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Virgin Books
Virgin Books is a British book publisher 90% owned by the publishing group Random House, and 10% owned by Virgin Group, the company originally set up by Richard Branson as a record company. History Virgin established its book publishing arm in the late 1970s; in the latter part of the 1980s Virgin purchased several existing companies, including WH Allen, well known among ''Doctor Who'' fans for their Target Books imprint; Virgin Books was incorporated into WH Allen in 1989, but in 1991 WH Allen was renamed Virgin Publishing Ltd. Virgin Publishing's early success came with the ''Doctor Who'' New Adventures novels, officially licensed full-length novels carrying on the story of the popular science-fiction television series following its cancellation in 1989. Virgin published this series from 1991 to 1997, as well as a range of ''Doctor Who'' reference books from 1992 to 1998 under the Doctor Who Books imprint. In recent times the company is best known for its commercial non- ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Carl Sigman
Carl Sigman (September 24, 1909 – September 26, 2000) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish-American family, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his bar exams to practice in the state of New York. Instead of law, encouraged by his friend Johnny Mercer, he embarked on a songwriting career, that saw him become one of the most prominent and successful songwriters in American music history. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his efforts in Africa, during World War II. Career Although Sigman wrote many song melodies, he was primarily a lyricist who collaborated with songwriters such as Bob Hilliard, Bob Russell, Jimmy van Heusen, and Duke Ellington. He also wrote English language lyrics to many songs which were originally composed in other languages, such as "Answer Me", "Till", " The Day the Rains Came", "You're My World", and "What Now My Love?". During the big band era, Sigman composed works used by top band ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


All Too Soon
"All Too Soon" is a 1940 song composed by Duke Ellington with lyrics written by Carl Sigman. It is recorded in the key of C major. It was subsequently recorded by several contemporary and modern artists. Notable recordings *Duke Ellington **recorded in 1940, available in compilation albums such as '' Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band'' (2003) **recorded during 1953–1955 **'' Unknown Session'' (recorded in 1960, released in 1979) **'' Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur'' (1966) **''1969: All-Star White House Tribute'' (recorded in 1969, released in 2002) *Mildred Bailey - recorded on June 13, 1941 for Decca Records (No. 3888B). * Sarah Vaughan - recorded during 1944–1946, ''The Duke Ellington Songbook, Vol. 1'' (1979) *Ella Fitzgerald - ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook'' (1958), '' Fitzgerald and Pass... Again'' (with Joe Pass, 1979) * Peggy Lee, George Shearing - '' Beauty and the Beat!'' (1959) * Chris Connor - ''A Portrait of Chris'' (1961) *Billy B ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Edgar Leslie
Edgar Leslie (December 31, 1885 – January 22, 1976) was an American songwriter. Biography Edgar Leslie was born in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1885. He studied at the Cooper Union in New York. He published his first song in 1909, starting a long prolific career as a composer and lyricist. He died in 1976. Musical career Leslie's first song, "Lonesome" (1909), was an immediate success, recorded by the Haydn Quartet and again by Byron G. Harlan. Other notable artists recorded his early works. Among them were Nat M. Wills, Julian Rose, Belle Baker, Lew Dockstader, James Barton and Joe Welch. A founding member of ASCAP in 1914. In 1927, he traveled to England and collaborated with Horatio Nicholls on several songs, most notably "Among My Souvenirs". Leslie served as its director from 1931 to 1941 and from 1947 to 1953. His most enduring success of the era was probably 1935's " Moon Over Miami". He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972.
[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Joe Burke (composer)
Joseph Aloysius Burke (March 18, 1884 – June 9, 1950) was an American composer, pianist and actor. His successful songs, written with various lyricists, included "Down Honolulu Way" (1916), "Oh How I Miss You Tonight" (1924), "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" (1929), " Moon Over Miami" (1935), " Getting Some Fun Out of Life" (1937) and " Rambling Rose" (1948). Life and career Joe Burke was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He graduated from the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music and started as a pianist accompanying silent movies and an arranger in a music publishing firm. He also worked as a film actor, appearing in the 1915 silent movie ''The Senator''. "Joe Burke", ''Songwriters Hall of Fame''
. Retrieved 10 April 2017
It was during this time that he started writing songs for publication ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Bob Russell (songwriter)
Bob Russell (April 25, 1914 – February 18, 1970) was an American songwriter (mainly lyricist) born Sidney Keith Rosenthal in Passaic, New Jersey. Career Russell attended Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. He worked as an advertising copywriter in New York; for a time, his roommate there was Sidney Sheldon, later a novelist. He turned to writing material for vaudeville acts, and then for film studios, ultimately writing complete scores for two movies: ''Jack and the Beanstalk (1952 film), Jack and the Beanstalk'' and ''Reach for Glory''. The latter film received the Locarno International Film Festival prize in 1962. A number of other movies featured compositions by Russell, including ''Affair in Trinidad'' (1952), ''The Blue Gardenia, Blue Gardenia'' (1953), ''The Girl Can't Help It'' (1956), ''The Girl Most Likely'' (1957), ''A Matter of WHO'' (1961), ''Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd'' (1952), ''Sound Off (film), Sound Off'' (1952), ''That Midnight Kiss'' (1949 ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Don't Get Around Much Anymore
"Don't Get Around Much Anymore" is a jazz standard written by composer Duke Ellington. The song was originally entitled "Never No Lament" and was first recorded by Duke Ellington and his orchestra on May 4, 1940. "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" quickly became a hit after Bob Russell wrote its lyrics in 1942. Two different recordings of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", one by The Ink Spots and the 1940 instrumental by Ellington's own band, reached No. 1 on the R&B chart in the US in 1943. Both were top-ten pop records, along with a version by Glen Gray. The Duke Ellington version reached No. 8 on the pop chart. Other versions * Mose Allison – '' Young Man Mose'', Prestige, 1958) * Mose Allison – ''Creek Bank'' (Prestige, 1975) * Louis Armstrong with his All-Stars and Duke Ellington – ''The Great Reunion'' (1961) and included on ''The Great Summit'' * Louis Armstrong – ''I've Got the World on a String'' (1960) * Tony Bennett and Miguel Bosé – '' Viva Duets'' (2010) * To ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Cotton Tail
"Cotton Tail" is a 1940 composition by Duke Ellington. It is based on the rhythm changes from George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm". The first Ellington recording (4 May 1940) is notable for the driving tenor saxophone solo by Ben Webster. Originally an instrumental, "Cotton Tail" later had lyrics written for it by Ellington. Later, more lyrics were written, based on the 1940 recording, by Jon Hendricks, and recorded by Lambert, Hendricks and Ross. The 1941 Soundie gives the title as "Hot Chocolate," with "Cotton Tail" below it in parentheses and smaller letters, but this was likely done by the producer, as that title does not seem to appear anywhere else between the original record's release and this production. Slide Hampton's arrangement of "Cotton Tail" on Dee Dee Bridgewater's 1997 album '' Dear Ella'' won him the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) in 1998. "Cotton Tail" is the theme song for "The Art of Jazz," a music history radio program ho ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
"Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" (also written as "Do Nothin' Til You Hear from Me") is a song with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Bob Russell. It originated as a 1940 instrumental ("Concerto for Cootie") that was designed to highlight the playing of Ellington's lead trumpeter, Cootie Williams. Russell's words were added later. In 1944, Ellington's own recording of the song was a number one hit R&B chart for eight non-consecutive weeks and number six on the pop chart. Other recordings to reach the ''Billboard'' charts in 1944 were by Woody Herman and by Stan Kenton (vocal: Red Dorris). Other versions "Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" has since been performed by many other famous musical artists, including: *Nat King Cole, 1944, with The King Cole Trio *Billie Holiday, 1944 - Live, 1955, Studio, '' Stay With Me'' *Lena Horne, 1944, appears on her 2002 compilation album ''The Young Star'' *Patti Page, 1949, released in 1986 on ''The Uncollected Patti Page (1949): Patti P ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Juan Tizol
Juan Tizol Martínez (22 January 1900 – 23 April 1984) was a Puerto Rican jazz trombonist and composer. He is best known as a member of Duke Ellington's big band, and as the writer of the jazz standards " Caravan", "Pyramid", and " Perdido". Biography Tizol was born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Music was a large part of his life from an early age. His first instrument was the violin, but he soon switched to valve trombone, the instrument he played throughout his career. His musical training came mostly from his uncle Manuel Tizol, who was the director of the municipal band and the symphony in San Juan. Throughout his youth, Tizol played in his uncle's band and also gained experience by playing in local operas, ballets and dance bands. In 1920, Tizol joined a band that was traveling to the United States to work in Washington, D.C. The group eventually made it to Washington (traveling as stowaways) and established residence at the Howard Theater, where they played for tour ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Jimmy Mundy
James Mundy (June 28, 1907 – April 24, 1983) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, arranger, and composer, best known for his arrangements for Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Earl Hines. Mundy died of cancer in New York City at the age of 75. Discography *1937–1947: ''Jimmy Mundy 1947–1947'' (Classics) *May 1946: "Bumble Boogie" / "One O'Clock Boogie" (Aladdin 131) *June 1946: "I Gotta Put You Down Pt 1" / "I Gotta Put You Down Pt 2" (Aladdin 132) *1958: ''On a Mundy Flight'' (Epic) *2002: ''Fiesta in Brass'' (Golden Era) As arranger ;With Chet Baker *'' Baker's Holiday'' (Limelight, 1965) With Al Hibbler *'' After the Lights Go Down Low'' (Atlantic 1957) With Illinois Jacquet *'' The Soul Explosion'' (Prestige, 1969) With Harry James *''Harry James and His Orchestra 1948–49'' (Big Band Landmarks Vol. X & XI, 1969) With Sonny Stitt *''Sonny Stitt & the Top Brass'' (Atlantic, 1962) *''Little Green Apples'' (Solid State, 1969) *''Come Hither'' (Solid State, 1969) ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]