DUKE ELLINGTON AND JOHNNY HODGES

BACK TO BACK (DUKE ELLINGTON AND JOHNNY HODGES PLAY THE BLUES) - LP

AMONG THE HUNDREDS OF ELLINGTON RECORDINGS, BACK TO BACK REMAINS A UNIQUE ALBUM FOR SEVERAL REASONS. FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS RECORDED IN A SMALL GROUP FORMAT A SEXTET WITH JUST TWO HORNS (THE CO-LEADER JOHNNY HODGES AND HARRY SWEETS EDISON) AND A RHYTHM SECTION WITH ELLINGTON ON PIANO, LES SPANN ON GUITAR, SAM JONES ON BASS AND, ODDLY ENOUGH, COUNT BASIE S VETERAN DRUMMER JO JONES. FOR AN ARTIST AS WIDELY RECORDED AS DUKE (WHO BOASTED ONE OF THE MOST EXTENSIVE IF NOT THE MOST EXTENSIVE DISCOGRAPHIES IN JAZZ HISTORY), HIS SMALL GROUP SESSIONS ARE CONSIDERABLY SCARCE. SECONDLY, THIS IS AN ALL BLUES CONCEPTUAL ALBUM. EVEN THOUGH, AS LEONARD FEATHER POINTS OUT IN THE ORIGINAL LINER NOTES, NOT ALL OF THE SONGS ARE TRADITIONALLY STRUCTURED BLUES, ALL OF THEM HAVE A BLUES FEELING, AND USE THE FORM AT LEAST IN PART. ANOTHER INTERESTING ASPECT OF THIS ALBUM IS THAT IT WAS CO-LED BY JOHNNY HODGES. THE FINAL CHARACTERISTIC THAT MARKS THIS AS AN EXCEPTIONAL ALBUM IS THAT, GIVEN THE SMALL GROUP FORMAT, ELLINGTON S OWN PIANO PLAYING GAINS PROMINENCE HERE. AND WHAT A SUPERB BLUES PIANO PLAYER HE WAS!