''Blue Rabbit'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist
Johnny Hodges
Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...
and organist
Wild Bill Davis
Wild Bill Davis (November 24, 1918 – August 17, 1995) was the stage name of American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger William Strethen Davis. He is best known for his pioneering jazz electric organ recordings and for his tenure with t ...
featuring performances recorded in 1963 and 1964 and released on the Verve label.Verve Records Catalog: 8500 series accessed February 11, 2016Discography of the Verve, Clef and Norgran labels accessed February 11, 2016
Reception
The
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
site awarded the album 3 stars stating "The music is fairly typical for a Hodges date, with four Ellington standards, some blues and some basic originals. In a few spots, the organists really do a good job of filling in for the Ellington Orchestra. Tasty and swinging music".
Track listing
# "Blues O' Mighty" (Johnny Hodges, Edith Hodges) - 4:54
# "Fiddler's Fancy" (Wild Bill Davis) - 2:50
# "
Tangerine
The tangerine is a type of citrus fruit that is orange in color. Its scientific name varies. It has been treated as a separate species under the name ''Citrus tangerina'' or ''Citrus'' × ''tangerina'', or treated as a variety of ''Citrus retic ...
" (
Victor Schertzinger
Victor L. Schertzinger (April 8, 1888 – October 26, 1941) was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include '' Paramount on Parade'' (co-director, 1930), ''Something to Sing About'' (1937) with James C ...
Creole Love Call
"Creole Love Call" is a jazz standard, most associated with the Duke Ellington band and Adelaide Hall. It entered the '' Billboard'' USA song charts in 1928 at No. 29.Duke Ellington) - 5:45
# "
Things Ain't What They Used To Be
"Things Ain't What They Used to Be" is a 1942 jazz standard with music by Mercer Ellington and lyrics by Ted Persons.
Background
In 1941 there was a strike against the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, of which Duke Elling ...
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Mercer Ellington
Mercer Kennedy Ellington (March 11, 1919 – February 8, 1996) was an American musician, composer, and arranger. His father was Duke Ellington, whose band Mercer led for 20 years after his father's death.
Biography Early life and education
Ellin ...
Satin Doll
"Satin Doll" is a jazz standard written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Written in 1953, the song has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, 101 Strings, Terry Callier, and Nancy Wilson. Its chord progressio ...
I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" is a 1938 composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics added by Irving Mills, Henry Nemo and John Redmond. The song became a number one hit for Ellington in 1938. Other hit versions the same year were by Benny Goodman ...
Henry Nemo
Henry Nemo (June 8, 1909 – November 26, 1999) was a musician, songwriter, and actor in Hollywood films who had a reputation as a hipster.
Band leading
In 1941, Nemo formed his own 19-piece band. The group featured four Chinese women as singers ...
, John Redmond) - 2:37
# "Mud Pie" (
Jimmy Hamilton
Jimmy Hamilton (May 25, 1917 – September 20, 1994) was an American jazz clarinetist and saxophonist, who was a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
Biography
Hamilton was born in Dillon, South Carolina, United States, and grew up in ...
) - 4:10
*Recorded in New York on May 15, 1963 (tracks 3 & 8), May 16, 1963 (track 4), April 28, 1964 (tracks 1, 2, 5 & 7), and April 30, 1964 (tracks 6 & 9)
Personnel
*
Johnny Hodges
Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...
Wild Bill Davis
Wild Bill Davis (November 24, 1918 – August 17, 1995) was the stage name of American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger William Strethen Davis. He is best known for his pioneering jazz electric organ recordings and for his tenure with t ...
(tracks 1, 2, 5-7 & 9), Ray Jackson (tracks 3, 4 & 8) - organ
*
Kenny Burrell
Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
double bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
*
Bobby Donaldson
Robert Stanley "Bobby" Donaldson (November 29, 1922, Boston – 1971) was an American jazz and R&B drummer.
After playing locally in the early 1940s, Donaldson played with Russell Procope while serving in the Army in New York City. In 1946–47 ...
(tracks 3, 4 & 8),
Osie Johnson
James "Osie" Johnson (January 11, 1923, in Washington, D.C. – February 10, 1966, in New York City) was a jazz drummer, arranger and singer.
Johnson studied at Armstrong Highschool where he was classmates with Leo Parker and Frank Wess. He firs ...