''Piano in the Foreground'' is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded and released on the Columbia label in 1961.A Duke Ellington Panorama
accessed May 14, 2010 It features Ellington in a

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of m ...

setting, emphasising his own keyboard prowess rather than the big band arrangements more typical of his recordings.

Track listing

'':All compositions by Duke Ellington except as indicated'' # "

I Can't Get Started "I Can't Get Started", also known as "I Can't Get Started with You" or "I Can't Get Started (with You)", is a popular song. It was written in 1936 by Vernon Duke (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics) and introduced that year in the film '' Ziegfeld ...

" (

Vernon Duke Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer/songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for " Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I Can' ...

, Ira Gershwin) – 4:23 # "Cong-Go" ( Aaron Bell, Ellington) – 4:16 # " Body and Soul" (

Edward Heyman Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul," "When I Fall in Love," and " For Sentimental Reasons." He also contributed to a number of songs for films. Biog ...

Robert Sour The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, hono ...

, Frank Eyton, Johnny Green) – 4:49 # "Blues for Jerry" – 4:38 # "Fontainebleau Forest" – 2:53 # " Summertime" (

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

, Ira Gershwin, Dubose Heyward) – 3:52 # "It's Bad to Be Forgotten" – 3:22 # "A Hundred Dreams Ago" – 2:26 # "So" – 4:33 # "Searching (Pleading for Love)" – 1:49 # "Springtime in Africa" (Bell, Ellington) – 3:46 # "Lotus Blossom" ( Billy Strayhorn) – 3:18 # " All the Things You Are" ( Oscar Hammerstein II,

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

) – 4:00 Bonus track on CD reissue # "All the Things You Are" lternate take(Hammerstein, Kern) – 3:51 Bonus track on CD reissue # "Piano Improvisation No. 2" – 3:25 Bonus track on CD reissue # "Piano Improvisation No. 3" – 2:48 Bonus track on CD reissue # "Piano Improvisation No. 4" – 1:53 Bonus track on CD reissue # "Piano Improvisation No. 1" – 9:45 Bonus track on CD reissue *Recorded: :at Columbia Records 30th Street Studio on March 20, 1957 (tracks 15–18) (stereo) :at Columbia Records 30th Street Studio on October 10, 1957 (tracks 13–14) (monaural) :at Radio Recorders, Los Angeles on March 1, 1961 (tracks 1–11) & March 2, 1961 (track 12) (stereo)

Personnel

* Duke Ellington –

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Aaron Bell – bass (#1–12) *

Jimmy Woode James Bryant Woode (September 23, 1926 – April 23, 2005) was an American jazz bassist. He played and/or recorded in bands with Flip Phillips, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Nat Pierce, Sidney ...

– bass (#13–18) *

Sam Woodyard Sam Woodyard (January 7, 1925 – September 20, 1988) was an American jazz drummer. He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States. Woodyard was largely an autodidact on drums and played locally in the Newark, New Jersey area in the 1940 ...

– drums

References

{{Authority control Columbia Records albums Duke Ellington albums 1961 albums