July 3, 1958

 LINER NOTES

So, in keeping with his lucky year, the NewPort Jazz Festival devoted the night of July 3, 1958, to a salute to Duke Ellington, in which Dave Brubeck's Quartet, Marian McPartland's Trio, and a group of Ellington alumni played the most famous of all Ellington compositions. There seemed to be little left of Ellington for Ellington to play when, at the close of the memorable evening, Duke and his band came on. Some of us who were there knew what to expect from Duke on such an occasion. The rest of the more than ten thousand in the audience soon found out, for after a grateful acknowledgement to the musicians who had saluted him, Duke presented a long and flawlessly played programme of entirely new music, written for the most part while he and the band were settled at Chicago's Blue Note during the month of June.

Much of the audience at Freebody Park this Thursday night remembered well Duke's triumph at the 1956 Festival, a performance that helped more than any other to spread the excitement of the Newport Festival around the world (Philips B07182 L). They were ready to swing again, and Duke obliged. "We'll start," he announced, "by Just scratchin' the surface". This opener does just what it was intended to do. It begins with Duke swinging with the rhythm section, and it proceeds to present the full-band sound so inimitably Ellington's.

Then, section by section, the band comes on while Sam Woodyard shouts "All night long" in the right places. And as a final closing of the gap between 1956 and 1958, Paul Gonsalves solos in the easy tempo best for his swinging sound. The Ellington part of the evening was off and flying.

El gato, introduced in Newport, is Cat Anderson's salute to the Ellington trumpet section. Cat, Ray Nance, Clark Terry, and Shorty Baker each take a bow in the introduction. Then Cat takes over for a brilliant first chorus, after which the four men share the long solo stanza, each taking four measures in turn, with Ray Nance playing in a hat, the others open. It's a vivid example of the individual styles of the four stars showing as it does the bright, brashness of Cat's horn, the delicate modern figures Clark plays, the smoother texture of Shorty's solos, and the lyric quality of Ray's blowing. The piece closes with the four again together in a final chorus.

Happy reunion - "Paul likes to play pretty", as Duke says, so here is his chance in a new piece that allows him room to play a chorus and a half of a pretty melody. With Gonsalves are Duke and Sam and Jimmy Wood. The rest of the band sits this one out.

Multicolored blue - Written by Billy Strayhorn, this is the new ballad of the evening. It becomes a long and eloquent solo by Johnny Hodges, interspersed with two short vocals by Ozzie Baily which fit perfectly the mood Hodges creates. In fact, if colour can be heard, you'll hear it in the contrasting solos by Hodges, some intense, others of pastel shading.

Princess blue -- This is the piece written by Duke while he was appearing at Chicago's Blue Note to acknowledge the Stratford Festival's invitation to play for the Princess during her Canadian visit. On the front pages of the Toronto newspapers a few weeks later was this Ellingtonian explanation of the music. Asked if it was blues, Duke shook his head. "It's not a blues", he said. "It's a hint of a tint". After which he provided his own poetic expansion of this clue to the music's meaning:

Almost as blue as the blue in the sky,
Almost as blue as the hue of bye-bye,
Almost can hear it beating the drum of her ear,
So gentle, whispering, so almost a sigh.

Duke presented Princess blue for the first time of Newport during the early radio broadcast from the park. Many of his audience who had not yet arrived missed it at Newport. And it's too good to miss. So we've moved it into the main body of the concert for your enjoyment.

Mr. Gentle and Mr. Cool - Another surprise hit of the Ellington concert at Newport was this delightful piece written by Shorty Baker and Duke. Ellington does not identify Mr. Gentle or Mr. Cool, but merely notes in his introduction that among other things, this tune is a fine example of the infallible taste of Shorty Baker and Ray Nance, two of the more subtle members of the band. Shorty on muted trumpet and Ray on violin keep Mr. Gentle and Mr. Cool going, and ever since Newport in July, this number has been one of the most popular of Duke's new compositions.

Juniflip - This is a number the band has been playing this year, ever since Clark Terry decided to learn to play the Flugelhorn, an instrument resembling a large trumpet with a tone closer to a French horn in quality. This, then, is Juniflip on the Fluqelhorn in F major, a Terry solo most of the way and a fine example of Clark's style, which combines the rapid playing of many notes of the cooler jazz style with a gentleness of phrasing and tone all his own.

Prima bara dubla - Duke, who had been complimented so effectively all evening, paid his own compliment to Gerry Mulligan by writing a duet for Mulligan and Harry Carney, the two premier baritone saxophonists of jazz. Gerry, who made several appearances at this year's festival, including one with Marian McPartland paying tribute to Ellington earlier in the evening, came back on stage in his red jacket at this point in the programme and he and Harry took their places at the front of the stage to play Prima bara dubla, which is probably limp Spanish for a couple of first-class baritone sax men. It became a highlight of the concert and an honour both to Gerry and to Duke.

Hi fi fo fum - The Newport album closes with a high-flying solo by drummer Sam Woodyard, using sticks, fingers, and elbows to demonstrate his own melodic notions, set off in spectacular fashion by the band.

As many of you know, the 1958 Newport Ellington Night did not end here. At this Point, Duke introduced the Come Sunday theme from Black, brown and beige, featuring Mahalia Jackson. This great moment of Ellington music is already released in Duke's album (Philips B 07337 L) and so is not repeated here. But the triumph that was Duke's at Newport is best appreciated by hearing it all again and again, for it was a concert that included nearly a dozen premier performances in a single evening, and it all went by so fast! The honour that was paid to Duke Ellington by Newport musicians that night was amply repaid by the only man in American music who could repay it so bountifully. In our opinion it was the way to acknowledge the tribute to Ellington's past glories. It is certainly Duke's way of ensuring another lucky year to come.

IRVING TOWNSEND

The 45

The Newport Jazz Festival devoted the night of July 3, 1958, to a salute to Duke Ellington, in which the Dave Brubeck Quartet, 'the Marian McPartland Trio, and a group of Ellington alumni played the most famous of all Ellington compositions. There seemed to be little left of Ellington for Ellington to play when, at the close of the memorable evening, Duke and his band went on gtage. But, after a grateful acknowledgement to the many musicians who had saluted him, Duke presented along and flawlessly played programme of entirely new music, written for the most part while he and the band were settled at Chicago's "Blue Note" during the month of June. Of the numbers he played, three have been selected for this record.

Juniflip is a number which the band have. been playing ever since Clark Terry decidbck to learn to play the flugelhorn, an instrument resembling a large trumpet with a tone closer to a French horn in quality. The piece is a Terry solo for most of the way, and a fine example of that admirAle musician's style, which combines the rapid playing of many notes of the cooler jazz style with a gentleness of phrasing and a tone all his own. Concerning Happy Reunion, Duke has said "Paul likes to' play pretty: And so the Gonsalves saxophone gets its chance in- a new piece that allows this performer plenty of room to play a chorus and a half of pretty melody. With him are Duke and Sam and Jimmy Wood. The rest of the band sit this one out.

Duke, who had been complimented so effectively all evening, paid his own compliment to Gerry Mulligan by writing a duet for Mulligan and Harry Carney, two leading baritone saxophonists of jazz. Gerry, who made several appearances at the 1958 Festival, including one with Marion McPartland paying tribute to Duke earlier in the evening, came back on stage in his red jacket at this point in the prpgramme grid he and Harry took their places at the front of the stage to play Prima Sara Dubla, which is probably limp Spanish for a couple of firstclass baritone-sax men.

All-Star White House Tribute To Duke Ellington

1. Take The A Train
2. I Got It Bad
3. Chelsea Bridge
4. Satin Doll
5. *Sophisticated Lady
6. Just Squeeze Me
7. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
8. Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me
9. Don't Get Around Much AnyMore
10. *In A Mellotone
11. In A Sentimental Mood
12. *Prelude To A Kiss
13. *Ring Dem Bells
14. Drop Me Off In Harlem
15. All Too Soon
16. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
17. *Things Ain't What They Used To Be
18. Perdido
19. *Warm Valley
20. Caravan
21. *Mood Indigo
22. Prelude To A Kiss
23. I Didn't Know About You
24. Praise God And Dance
25. Come Sunday
26. Heritage
27. Jump For Joy
28. Pat

* = GERRY MULLIGAN SOLOS

1. Bill Barry
2. Louis Bellson
3. Dave Brubeck
4. Paul Desmond
5. Duke Ellington
6. Urbie Green
7. Jim Hall
8. Earl Hines
9. Milt Hinton
10. J.J. Johnson
11. Hank Jones
12. Mary Mayo
13. Gerry Mulligan
14. Billy Taylor
15. Clark Terry
16. Joe Williams

April 19, 1969

 LINER NOTES

Two days earlier, in an appreciation published in The Washington Star, the novelist Ralph Ellison wrote, "Place Ellington with Hemingway, they are both masters of that which is most enduring in the human enterprise: the power of man to define himself against the ravages of time through artistic style:' At dinner for eighty (coquille of seafood neptune and roast sirloin of beef Bordelaise). Ellington responded to the toast in his honor with this heartfelt note: "There is no place I would rather be tonight except in my mother's arms."

After dessert, Ellington and his host greeted a hundred more guests. who milled around sipping champagne and listening to a trio from the Navy Band. Among the friends and admirers celebrating the maestro was Willie "the Lion" Smith in his customary uniform of derby, cigar, and black-framed glasses. Forty-five years earlier, when Ellington arrived in New York from Washington, the Lion showed him deep secrets of stride piano. Harry Carney, the baritone saxophonist whose career with Ellington began in the 1920s, was there, as was Ellington's physician, Arthur Logan, and Benny Goodman, Earl Hines, Billy Eckstine, Cab Calloway, Marian McPartland, Dizzy Gillespie, Mahalia Jackson, and Dave Brubeck. Catherine Basie represented her husband; the Count was touring in Europe.

The guest list also included Vice President Spiro Agnew Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson; jazz festival impresario George Wein; Otto Preminger. for whom Ellington scored the film Anatomy of a Murder; composer-conductor Gunther Schuller, head of the New England Conservatory of Music; Attorney General John Mitchell; civil rights leader Bayard Rustin; composers Richard Rodgers and Harold Arlen; Labor Secretary George Shultz; Presidential Assistant Daniel Patrick Moynihan; White House advisers Leonard Garment and Charles McWhorter. who had important roles in arranging the evening; and Willis Conover, the jazz broadcaster of the Voice of America. Conover suggested the celebration to Garment and McWhorter. He assembled the all-star tribute band and produced the evening's performance.

Agnew borrowed the Marines' piano and, to the surprise of bystanders, played his favorite Ellington songs, "In A Sentimental Mood" and "Sophisticated Lady." The jazz writers Dan Morgenstern and Leonard Feather chatted nearby. As guests went through the receiving line, Gerry Mulligan listened to the Navy's strolling trio of accordion, tenor saxophone, and bass play "Honeysuckle Rose." It was intended to be background music. "Hold that thought;' Mulligan said as he dashed off. He quickly reappeared with his baritone saxophone. Soon, trumpeter Clark Terry and trombonist Urbie Green joined him. The ad hoc sextet created an instant jam session on Charlie Parker's "Scrapple From The Apple." The accordionist, seaman Frank Carrusso, looked as if he had suddenly found himself in heaven.

When we were all assembled in the East Room, Mr. Nixon presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Ellington; he said, "In the royalty of American music, no man swings more or stands higher than the Duke." Ellington showed his gratitude - and startled the President - by kissing him twice on each cheek. Harry Carney told me later that when Duke went through the kissing routine, he usually said, "There's one for each cheek:" Ellington quoted the four freedoms by which his composing colleague Billy Strayhorn had lived: "Freedom from hate, unconditionally; freedom from self-pity; freedom from the fear of doing something that would help someone else more than it does me; freedom from the kind of pride that makes me feel I am better than my brother:' Then the crowd sang a lusty "Happy Birthday."

Willis Conover emceed the concert that followed, introducing a band composed of Bill Berry (trumpet), Clark Terry (trumpet and flugelhorn), Urbie Green and J.J. Johnson (trombones), Paul Desmond (alto saxophone), Gerry Mulligan (baritone saxophone), Hank Jones (piano), Jim Hall (guitar), Milt Hinton (bass), and Louie Bellson (drums). The singers were Mary Mayo and Joe Williams. Guest pianists were Dave Brubeck, Earl Hines, and Billy Taylor.

Sitting behind Ellington, I heard him remark to Cab Calloway as Hinton appeared, "Look, there's your bass player." Hinton hadn't been in Calloway's band for twenty years. When Desmond did a perfect Johnny Hodges impression during "Things Ain't What They Used To Be," Ellington sat bolt upright and looked astonished, a reaction that pleased Desmond when I described it. Jones, Taylor, and Brubeck played beautifully, but the hands-down winner in the piano category was the 65-year-old Hines, who in two daring minutes of "Perdido" tapped the essence of jazz. Ellington stood up and blew him kisses. Later, Billy Eckstine, who sang with Hines's band before he had his own, walked up to his old boss and gave him an accolade: "You dirty old man" The concert lasted an hour and a half, and the room was swinging. I looked around at heads bobbing and shoulders swaying and found Preminger beaming and snapping his fingers Teutonically, one snap at the bottom of each downward stroke of his forearm.

Urged onto the platform, Ellington improvised an instant composition inspired, he said, by "a name, something very gentle and graceful - something like 'Pat."' The piece was full of serenity and the wizardry of Ellington's harmonies. Mrs. Nixon, who looked distracted through much of the evening, paid close attention. The host and his wife turned in, but he invited us to stay for dancing and a jam session. After the floor was cleared of chairs, Geoffrey Holder, in a suit of black velvet and satin and his wife Carmen de Lavallade in a sweeping flamenco gown, led the dancing. Ellington danced with his sister and several other women. He played a duet with Willie the Lion, asked Dr. Logan to check his pulse, danced again, and stayed for much of the jam session, which lasted until 2:45 a.m. Duke charmed everyone in the room, especially the women, whom he melted with compliments like, "Thank you for making my party so lovely;' and "Are you this beautiful every night?"

During the session. all of the pianists from the concert reappeared. Marian McPartland, Leonard Feather, and George Wein also played the East Room Steinway. McPartland joined The Lion in a duet. Eckstine, Joe Williams, and Lou Rawls traded blues choruses. Leonard Garment, once a tenor saxophonist with Woody Herman, found himself jamming on clarinet with Mulligan, J J. Johnson, Urbie Green, and Dizzy Gillespie. In his book Crazy Rhythm, he wrote, "Years would pass before Benny Goodman forgave me for not instructing him to bring his clarinet; but if he played, how could I?" Most of the all-stars sat in, and so did the Navy musicians. At one point, the rhythm section was made up of Marines, looking in their scarlet tunics like a contingent of Canadian Mounties.

There has been nothing like it at the White House- or anywhere else-since,

Among my memories of the evening:

♦ The power of Berry and Terry's two-man trumpet section.

♦ Terry's exhilaration on "Squeeze Me:'

♦ Billy Taylor agreeing to pose for a photograph with Brubeck and saying, "Sure, some thing might rub off'."

♦ Desmond maintaining his composure and the melody line when the chords of the middle section of "Chelsea Bridge" momentarily slipped Milt Hinton's mind.

♦ J.J. Johnson's booting solo on "Satin Doll."

♦ The grins on the faces of Hinton and Bellson when Earl Hnres was in full flight.

♦ Ellington's surprise, then amusement, at Mulligan's piquant arrangement of the usually placid "Prelude To A Kiss."

♦ The scarcity of dry eyes when Joe Williams finished singing "Heritage."

♦ Desmond and Urbie Green, having taken full advantage of the open bar, solicitously helping one another out the White House entrance and into a taxi as 3:00 a.m. approached.

The United States Information Agency showed people overseas a short film of the evening's highlights. The Voice of America taped the music and broadcast it around the world, but not in the U.S. Until now, few Americans have heard this tribute to one of their greatest artists.

As he left, Ellington said, "It was lovely.' At 8:00 a.m., he and his band were off to an engagement in Oklahoma City. For Duke, it was back to business as usual, but, as Whitney Balliett wrote in The New Yorker, the maestro "was finally given his due by his country."

- Doug Ramsey