Ellington, Duke / Hodges, Johnny – Side By Side (LP Vinyl)
Product Details
The relationship between Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges ran deeper than any contract dispute or temporary departure could touch. Hodges' alto saxophone was so central to the Ellington sound for decades that Ellington once called him his favorite soloist, and these late-1950s small group dates capture that chemistry in an intimate setting, with Billy Strayhorn's presence as a pianist adding another layer of Ellington inner-circle history to the proceedings.
Vinyl LP pressing. When Norman Granz signed Johnny Hodges to a recording contract in 1951, it was a prelude to Hodges' leaving the Duke Ellington orchestra to lead his own small band. Four years later Hodges was back in the Ellington fold, but he continued to record for Granz under his own name. Side By Side, recorded in 1958 and 1959, is a throwback to the small-group sessions Ellington recorded with Hodges and other members of his orchestra in the 1930s, but with a couple of important differences: the absence of Ellington himself on several cuts (with Billy Strayhorn taking over on piano), and the presence of such notable non-Ellingtonians as drummer Jo Jones and trumpeters Roy Eldridge and Harry "Sweets" Edison. Verve Acoustic Sounds Series features transfers from analog tapes and remastered 180-gram vinyl in deluxe gatefold packaging.
Tracklist
Side A
Side B
UPC: 602475736066
Label: Verve
Release Date: 4.18.25
Format: LP Vinyl