What Jazz are you listening to now?

[San Antone]

Back to Back: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges Play the Blues



Back to Back is a 1959 studio album by Johnny Hodges and Duke Ellington. It was followed by Side by Side (1959), which combines three tracks recorded at one of the same sessions with six tracks recorded in August 1958 by a different, Hodges-led group that did not include Ellington.

"Wabash Blues" (Fred Meinken, Dave Ringle) – 6:22
"Basin Street Blues" (Spencer Williams) – 8:05
"Beale Street Blues" (W. C. Handy) – 7:40
"Weary Blues" (Artie Matthews) – 6:50
"St. Louis Blues" (Handy) – 5:45
"Loveless Love" (Handy) – 6:05
"Royal Garden Blues" (Clarence Williams, Spencer Williams) – 5:20

Duke Ellington – piano
Johnny Hodges – alto saxophone
Harry "Sweets" Edison – trumpet
Les Spann – guitar
Al Hall – bass (tracks 1 and 4)
Sam Jones – bass (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 7)
Jo Jones – drums

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Back to Back: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges Play the Blues



Back to Back is a 1959 studio album by Johnny Hodges and Duke Ellington. It was followed by Side by Side (1959), which combines three tracks recorded at one of the same sessions with six tracks recorded in August 1958 by a different, Hodges-led group that did not include Ellington.

"Wabash Blues" (Fred Meinken, Dave Ringle) – 6:22
"Basin Street Blues" (Spencer Williams) – 8:05
"Beale Street Blues" (W. C. Handy) – 7:40
"Weary Blues" (Artie Matthews) – 6:50
"St. Louis Blues" (Handy) – 5:45
"Loveless Love" (Handy) – 6:05
"Royal Garden Blues" (Clarence Williams, Spencer Williams) – 5:20

Duke Ellington – piano
Johnny Hodges – alto saxophone
Harry "Sweets" Edison – trumpet
Les Spann – guitar
Al Hall – bass (tracks 1 and 4)
Sam Jones – bass (tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 7)
Jo Jones – drums

I love (and am scared of) Johnny Hodges!

[San Antone]

I love (and am scared of) Johnny Hodges!

Scared of the Rabbit?      

He is possibly my favorite alto player.

[AnotherSpin]

Keith Jarrett
Solo-Concerts
Bremen / Lausanne

Several standout albums from ECM Records' magical 1970s period have been appearing in high resolution on Qobuz these past days. What better moment to slip back into those enchanting times?

I have already listened to a few, but that special spark has not quite ignited yet. No real miracle has happened. It seems that modern digital files, even in hi-res, simply cannot fully recreate the wonderful sound of the original ECM LPs. Or perhaps I am just romanticizing it, and the ears I have now are no longer capable of hearing what I once did.

Still, those 1970s ECM records had something truly irreplaceable. Sometimes the old wonder may sneak back in unexpectedly.

[San Antone]

Everthing Changes: a Be-Bopera
Performed by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and special guest vocalist Ashley Pezzotti, "Everything Changes" is a three-movement "bebopera" that embodies the spirit of the bebop revolution that took place after World War II. Composed and arranged by JLCO trombonist Vincent Gardner, the commission's world premiere at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Rose Theater on November 8th, 2024 is now available as an electrifying live album from Blue Engine Records. It honors the fearless young artists who forged a new musical language—one rooted in joy, intellect, and a demand for change.