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DUKE ELLINGTON AND COLEMAN HAWKINS - DUKE ELLINGTON MEETS COLEMAN HAWKINS (HYBRID SACD)

Duke Ellington And Coleman Hawkins Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins On Hybrid SACD

For years Duke Ellington and tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins promised each other that they would one day find a way to collaborate on an album. Finally, in 1962, they recorded at the famed Rudy Van Gelder Studios in New Jersey, with a small personnel from the Ellington band. The event was marked by the combination of the guest tenor's distinctive and expansive tones, the rich ensemble sound, and of course, the extraordinary Ellington compositions. Duke Ellington covered the piano and brought with him Aaron Bell, brass; Lawrence Brown, trombone; Sam Woodyard, drums; and Ray Nance, cornet and violin. What became obvious almost immediately was the interplay of Hawkin's tenor and Harry Carney on alto saxophone and the alto voicing of Johnny Hodges. Highlights include the infectious calypso-like opening of "Limbo Jazz" that moves from solos by Hodges, Ray Nance and Lawrence Brown to a solo by Coleman Hawkins. Ellington's classic "Mood Indigo" is the perfect vehicle for Hawkins with his rich, resonant phrasing. "Wanderlust," which was first recorded in 1938, is revived here with Lawrence Brown and Ray Nance contributing to the blues mood of the piece. Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins features two legendary masters of jazz in a meeting that remains as masterful and thrilling as it did when it first took place in 1962.