Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington: The Great Summit (Number One Essentials 291028)
In the spring of 1961 the two greatest names in jazz were finally brought together in a combined recording project. The resulting LP is reissued here on vinyl, plus two unused bonus tracks from the original sessions, Solitude and It Don’t Mean A Thing. The Armstrong All Stars play Ellington compositions, with Duke replacing Billy Kyle at the piano. With the two great masters each at a mature peak, the contrast in temperament and style could scarcely have been greater. Cheerfully ebullient, and full of spontaneous creative energy, Armstrong was never happier than when entertaining both vocally and instrumentally a live audience, unfazed by the set crowd-pleasing programme. Whereas Ellington, suave and sophisticated, excelled as band leader, composer and arranger in carefully planned and often themed new ideas, deploying his star soloists in multiple mood settings. There was, however, much genuine mutual admiration and respect, and an all-round cooperative atmosphere prevailed.
The All Stars must have enjoyed the change from their fixed touring repertoire. Barney Bigard, after many years working with both Ellington and Armstrong, provided a very useful bonding link and he solos impressively throughout, with a spectacular solo on the opener Duke’s Place (C Jam Blues, with Armstrong’s lyrics). Given limited space on an LP, Armstrong’s vocals are initially perhaps over-featured (every track on side A), at the expense of no trumpet (glorious on Mood Indigo) on I’m Just A Lucky So And So and Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me, with one of his less successful scats on Cottontail. It’s a mystery to me that the excellent bonus track Solitude wasn’t used, but we have it now. Side B, in contrast, is mainly instrumental, allowing the All Stars sidemen more expression. Trummy Young solos strongly on Black And Tan Fantasy and In A Mellow Tone, Bigard shines on Drop Me Off In Harlem (Armstrong’s lyrics again) and Armstrong’s trumpet is powerful and majestic on The Beautiful American, and laying down the blues in Black And Tan Fantasy and The Mooche. For his part, free of orchestral duties, Ellington demonstrates his undervalued skills as a pianist with subtle backing and ensemble rapport, and probing, intriguing solo passages.
Inevitably perhaps, on this specially contrived rendezvous, neither veteran maestro is spurred to new career heights, but there’s still much musical magic in these unique performances to cherish and enjoy. A classic rare gem.
Oscar Peterson: The Jazz Soul Of Oscar Peterson (Wax Time 771800)
A welcome treat for Peterson fans, Wextime have reissued a selection of his noted LP albums on 180-gram limited edition vinyl to commemorate the centenary of his birth. This release, from summer 1959, has been reissued with one added bonus track (It Ain’t Necessarily So) from a couple of months later, but with the same personnel. Oscar was leading his own trio (with Ed Thigpen and Ray Brown – who is surprisingly little featured here) besides constant touring with Norman Granz for Jazz At The Phil concerts. As an exceptionally gifted accompanist he was also constantly busy with studio work backing numerous star names.
Prior to this album, Oscar hadn’t recorded the tunes on side A (Liza, Con Alma and Close Your Eyes), or the first on side B (The Maidens Of Cadiz). But My Heart Stood Still was already a Peterson favourite, and he’d recorded the upbeat Gillespie tune Woody’n You with Dizzy himself in 1954. In the sparkling showcase style of his earlier years, Liza and Woody’n You feature a fast-fingered torrent of boppish invention. Close Your Eyes and My Heart Stood Still are natural jazz swingers, and build energetically with powerful rhythmic punctuation. More faceted arrangements of Dizzy’s Con Alma and the 19th-century ballad Maidens Of Cadiz blend balladry with dramatic dynamics and shifting rhythms, capturing Peterson’s ongoing development as a major artist.
His exceptional technical mastery of the keyboard was evident from his earliest recordings. Blessed also with a natural grasp of jazz idioms, and ability to swing, he had a ready flow of creative expression that would extend and develop over a long and prodigiously active career. Peterson would surpass the music on this album in the years to come, but the performance is already, unmistakably, world class.
