Requisites
The Duke Ellington Song Book ~ Monty Alexander | By Eddie Carter
This morning’s selection from the library is by one of my favorite pianists. The Duke Ellington Song Book (MPS Records 821 151-1) by Monty Alexander is a sincere tribute to one of jazz’s legendary composers in a duet setting. Monty was born on June 6, 1944, in Kingston, Jamaica, and he discovered the piano at age four. He could pick out melodies by ear and became interested in jazz piano at fourteen. He attended DeCarteret College in Mandeville, then continued his education at Jamaica College. He later began playing in clubs and recording with Clue J & His Blue Blasters, subbing for his hero, Aubrey Adams, when he was unable to play. Monty Alexander is heard here on a Steinway Concert Grand Piano, and John Clayton is on bass. It was initially released in Germany, and my copy of this album is the 1984 U.S. Stereo release (Verve – MPS Series 821-151-1).
The album opener, I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart by Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Henry Nemo, and John Redmond, is a happy swinger that takes off with the duo’s spirited melody. The pianist continues dazzling on the first interpretation, then John flexes his muscles in a short statement before the theme’s reentry dissolves slowly. Sophisticated Lady by Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, and Mitchell Parish begins with a soft musical conversation with Clayton stating the tender theme, while Alexander’s pensive restraint supports him. Monty’s opening statement is especially moving and perfectly executed, and John responds with a gentle, understated reading, ahead of the melody’s thoughtful reprise and conclusion.
Things Ain’t What They Used To Be by Mercer Ellington and Ted Parsons was one of the Ellington orchestra’s most-played tunes, and the duo begins with a lively prance through the melody. Monty takes the solo and delivers a stimulating performance that builds to a peak before descending into the closing chorus. Up next is Love You Madly by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Here, the duo provides another example of how the right notes delivered with impeccable timing can transform a classic into a fresh conversation between piano and bass. Their interplay is equally elegant and unhurried, allowing each verse to breathe and every nuance to shine into the theme’s restatement and soft ending.
Monty Alexander has always had a remarkable knack for selecting fresh material, steering clear of overplayed standards, and he does just that with Phil Moore’s Eastside, Westside. The duo opens with a thoughtful introduction and melody, with Alexander immediately making a memorable impact in his initial interpretation. Clayton responds with a subtle, tasteful bass line, then Monty brings everything together with a final flourish, leading into a gentle fadeout. The duo starts Side Two with In A Mellow Tone by Duke Ellington and Milt Gabler, and their introduction and jaunty melody are sure to get your body moving and your toes tapping. Monty takes the opening solo, showing off his considerable technical fluency, while John follows with a performance as enjoyable as a morning stroll in the sunshine.
Caravan, by Duke Ellington, Juan Tizol, and Irving Mills, offers Monty Alexander an expansive space for a brilliant solo performance. The pianist approaches the well-known tune with energetic enthusiasm, reimagining it through his own perspective, culminating in its reprise and conclusion. Just Squeeze Me, by Duke Ellington and Lee Gaines, expresses a longing for affection while also declaring unwavering love, even across distances. Clayton’s introduction gets things started, then Alexander joins in to complete the melody. Monty delivers the opening solo with lovely, sentimental melodic lines. John follows with a deep, thoughtful presentation until the duo gently revisits the theme, allowing the song to fade out slowly.
In A Sentimental Mood, by Duke Ellington, Manny Kurtz, and Irving Mills, is one of the most beautiful jazz standards ever written. Monty and John set a serene mood with a theme of refined grace. Alexander’s delicate touch during the sole solo showcases his remarkable talent for interpreting ballads filled with romantic feeling. Clayton adds a cozy, velvety layer under the piano, leading to a tender, heartfelt finale. The album’s cheerful closing note comes with Duke Ellington’s C Jam Blues, featuring Alexander and Clayton’s spirited opening. Alexander takes the spotlight with a lively, medium bounce that naturally swings, while Clayton adds some playful steps during a brief walk, and both musicians bring the song to a joyful end.
Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer was at the helm as producer and recording engineer for The Duke Ellington Song Book. The album’s sound quality is exceptional, creating a vivid listening experience that places the performers right in the sweet spot of your listening room with remarkable precision. Whether you're already familiar with Monty Alexander’s rich body of work or just discovering him, I highly recommend seeking out The Duke Ellington Song Book during your next record-shopping trip. This album delivers an outstanding introduction for new listeners and serves as a brilliant highlight for longtime fans!
~ C Jam Blues, Caravan, I Let A Song Go Out of My Heart, In A Mellow Tone, In A Sentimental Mood, Just Squeeze Me, Sophisticated Lady, Things Ain’t What They Used To Be – Source: JazzStandards.com © 2025 by Edward Thomas Carter
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On The Bookshelf
A Life In Jazz | Danny Barker
Since the 1950s, when Nat Hentoff and Nat Shapiro published Heah Me Talkin’ to Ya, an oral history of jazz which drew heavily on Danny Barker’s reminiscences, jazz buffs have waited impatiently for Barker’s full account of his life in jazz.
Danny Barker was born January 13, 1909 when jazz was still in its infancy, and by the time of his death he was known as both a master of the idiom and a guardian of its history. Storyteller, researcher, songwriter, performer, and mentor, Barker was a true griot – an elder statesman of jazz and an international representative of New Orleans and African American culture.
In more than 60 years as a working musician, he followed the evolution of jazz from its New Orleans roots to mainstream success during the swing era to canonization as America’s first wholly original art form. In his career as a songwriter, which yielded the hit Don’t You Feel My Leg, Barker combined traditional song forms with sly humor about sex and human nature.
More than any other jazz artist, he worked to document the music’s history and to tell the stories of its people. A Life in Jazz, first published in 1986 and edited by British jazz scholar Alyn Shipton, captures the breadth of Barker’s knowledge and the scope of his vision as a storyteller.
His carefully crafted set pieces range from hilarious to harrowing, and he shares memories of jazz greats such as Jelly Roll Morton, Cab Calloway, and Dizzy Gillespie. Barker’s prose reflects the freedom and creativity of jazz while capturing the many injustices, both casual and grand, of life as a Black man in mid-century America.
This illustrated edition of A Life in Jazz brings Barker’s autobiography back into print by the Macmillan Press Ltd., accompanied by more than 100 images that bring his story to life. Gwen Thompkins, host of public radio’s Music Inside Out, reflects on Barker’s legacy in her introduction, and the complete discography and song catalog showcase the breadth of Barker’s work.
Danny Barker died on March 13, 1994. Through his struggles, triumphs, escapades, and musings, A Life in Jazz reflects the freedom, complexity, and beauty of this thoroughly American, Black music tradition.
On The Bookshelf
Jazz Singing | Will Friedwald
The four hundred and fifty five page book is a testament to America’s great voices from Bessie Smith to bebop and beyond. Friedwald has over the past two decades, emerged as the single most recognized authority on jazz singers. His liner notes have enhanced hundreds of vocal reissues, and his books and newspaper columns are equally perceptive.
As the title promises, Friedwald has broadened his scope to 210 singers that are not exclusively jazz but now include pop singers, such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis and Patti Page. For serious jazz vocal fans, he gives us seminal performers Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Louis Armstrong and Sinatra, whose analysis of specific albums is consistently enlightening. There are lesser lights-Jackie Paris, David Allyn, Edythe Wright, Irene Reid and several dozen others. The list also reminds us of Doris Day, Jack Jones, Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gormé, Judy Garland and Martha Raye.
Read at your leisure, dive in for one story or two and discover precious nuggets to add to your understanding of a time when jazz was king..
On The Bookshelf
JAZZ MEMORIES: A Book of Days | Michael Elhers
This book has been designed by Stephen Kruse in the date book format, with blank spaces to record appointments, notes, ideas, etc. or just to enjoy the facts about each artist featured on selected birthdays, festival openings, and other events on both sides of the pond in jazz history. The names are recognizable to adicionados, enthusiasts and for any first year student of jazz who has delved into the history of the genre.
The introduction gives hor and praise to not only the musicians but to everyone connected to the making of this project. This includes radio stations, critics, columnists, poets and writers. All text and notes have been written by Michael Ehlers.
The photographs of the musicians that fill this book are memories taken by Jerry Stoll, unless otherwise noted. His sensitive portraits capture not just the images of the musicians but also the spirit of their music.
The book is dedicated to Tommy Flanagan, a pianist’s pianist, and to the memory of John Henry Hammond (1910~1987), a jazz saint.
Requisites
Bird Songs ~ Sphere | By Eddie Carter
Sphere initially came together to celebrate the music of Thelonious Monk; however, the quartet soon expanded its repertoire to include original albums as well. I first heard “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” on WNOP, Cincinnati’s then-jazz station, and I immediately purchased the album right after work. Listening to it again a few nights ago inspired me to share my thoughts this morning. Bird Songs (Verve Digital 837 032-1), the quartet’s sixth release, is an excellent showcase of the underrated artistry of tenor saxophonist Charlie Rouse. Also on board are Kenny Barron on piano, Buster Williams on bass, and Ben Riley on drums, as the quartet celebrates the legacy of Charlie Parker. My copy of this album is the 1988 U.S. digital stereo release.
Side One opens with the quartet’s introduction and theme to Red Cross. Kenny sparkles with inventive runs and unexpected turns in the opening statement. Charlie follows, paying homage to Bird’s rhythmic playfulness, driven by Buster and Riley’s groundwork into the group’s rousing closing chorus. I Didn’t Know What Time It Was by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart is a beloved jazz standard that was a staple in Parker’s repertoire. Williams and the rhythm section set the scene elegantly. Rouse enters next with a smoky, reflective melody, before taking flight in the first solo. The trio’s brief, tasteful interlude clears the way for Barron’s swinging interpretation. After a second trio interlude nudges the tempo forward, Rouse returns for the reprise, and the song gently fades out with the trio’s subtle touch.
The ensemble moves into Dewey Square next, with the rhythm section’s introduction paving the way for Charlie todeliver the melody. Buster begins the solos with a delightfully spirited walk, then Charlie steps into the second statement with a passionately frisky tone that’s crisp, well-structured and executed vivaciously. Kenny tackles the closing reading with youthful zest that’s right on the beat. Ben adds a concise comment during the theme’s reprise and exit. Moose The Mooche shifts the energy upward to begin Side Two with the quartet’s brisk introduction and theme. Rouse fires off the first solo with an infectiously cheerful solo. Barron leaves a memorable mark in the second reading, then Riley takes the spotlight next with youthful vigor. Barron places a few inserts during the theme’s restatement.
Barbados showcases Parker’s take on the calypso rhythm, infused with a bebop twist. The quartet’s melody is joyous, setting the stage for Charlie’s opening solo, which captures the tune’s Caribbean sunlight. Buster walks with a buoyant swagger next, then Kenny weaves a zesty spell with uplifting confidence. Ben evokes the gentle ebb and flow of island waves, carrying the quartet to the closing chorus. The ensemble’s brisk, buoyant introduction to Ah-Leu-Cha leads to an exuberant melody. Rouse draws on his robust tone and melodic inventiveness in the first solo. Barron opens the following reading with playful fragments derived from the central theme. Williams steps forward last, threading a stream of flawlessly constructed musical thoughts until the quartet reconvenes for the melody’s return and climax.
The album’s closer, Quasimodo, slows the pace one final time, for the group’s medium theme. First up is Kenny, who unfolds his solo gradually, with lines marked by crisp articulation and a deft touch. The baton then passes to Charlie, who enters with a relaxed warmth and expressiveness. He listens and responds to the rhythm section, ahead of the theme’s restatement and finale. Joanne Klein and Sphere produced the album, with Richard Seidel serving as executive producer. Rudy Van Gelder was behind the recording dials, and the album was recorded directly to two-track digital using the Sony 3402 DASH Reel-to-Reel Recorder. The album’s sound quality possesses a superb soundstage that emerges from your speakers as if the musicians are positioned directly in front of your sweet spot.
Bird Songs was the final recording Charlie Rouse made with the quartet, as he sadly passed away from lung cancer eight months later, on November 30, 1988, at the age of 64. The ensemble delivers a tight and cohesive performance throughout, and this is truly one of those thoughtfully crafted sessions that invites listeners to return again and again. For anyone who treasures bebop, I enthusiastically suggest adding Bird Songs by Sphere to your library during your next visit to the record store. The album serves as a stirring homage to Charlie Parker, with four remarkable musicians breathing new life into his legacy, creating an experience rich in pure joy, surprise, and profound artistry!
~ I Didn’t Know What Time It Was – Source: JazzStandards.com
~ Postscript Excerpt: DASH – The Digital Audio Stationary Head standard is a reel-to-reel digital audio tape format introduced by Sony in early 1982 for high-quality multitrack studio recording and mastering, as an alternative to analog recording methods. Source: Wikipedia.org
© 2025 by Edward Thomas Carter
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