Reflections on Duke - Jean-Yves Thibaudet plays the Music of Duke Ellington

Reflections on Duke

Jean-Yves Thibaudet plays the Music of 

Duke Ellington

1-Jubilee Stomp

2-In a Sentimental Mood

3-I got it bad

4-Prelude to a Kiss

5-Sophisticated Lady

6-(The) Clothed Woman

7-Day Dream

8-Tonk

9-Beggar's Holiday Suite

10-Lush Life

11-Fantasy on Caravan

12-Come Sunday

13-(A) Single Petal of a Rose

14-Solitude

Duke Ellington Composer

Jean-Yves Thibaudet (pf)

One of the fascinating things about Ellington is the way that tunes he wrote for his band – sometimes on the spot – were turned into songs which added to their popularity, establishing them as some of the greatest melodies of the American golden age. They’ve always been available as jazz standards or just tunes attracting performers and arrangers. These two releases illustrate both approaches as centenary tributes. Jean-Yves Thibaudet needs no introduction beyond his acclaimed Decca recordings of the complete Ravel (11/92), Debussy (8/96) and – more recently – his ‘Conversations with Bill Evans’ (3/95). For this Ellington collection he has used a group of transcribers and arrangers so there are various approaches represented, all designed for his particular pianism. This is not like Nelson Riddle arranging uniquely for Ella Fitzgerald but a group of five men mostly from the world of films and Broadway – Dick Hyman, Larry Hochman, Roger Kellaway, Jed Distler (who collaborated on the Evans album) and Joel Silberman, also the producer of this album. Their contributions range from transcription to free arrangement. Hyman has transcribed Jubilee Stomp; taken the remarkably crazy solo, The Clothed Woman, from Ellington’s own 1947 recording; and arranged Come Sunday from the concert suite, Black, Brown and Beige. All these are authentic Duke and beautifully played too. The two-piano Tonk has been transcribed by Jed Distler, based on the two recordings made by Ellington and Strayhorn, and Thibaudet plays both pianos through double tracking – with impeccable ensemble. Distler has also taken the delicate A Single Petal of a Rose from The Queen’s Suite, which Ellington recorded for the Queen in 1959, sending her the single pressing specially made.

Of the arrangements, I prefer those that take Ellington’s utterly instinctive harmonies at least as a basis – jazz players understand this. From this point of view Silberman’s setting of Prelude to a Kiss with its neat Satie-like accompaniment and dynamic contrasts works well and Hochman’s Solitude is exactly the right mood at the very end. Most of these indestructible melodies are imbued with their own magical, late-night nostalgia whatever the setting. Above all this collection justifies transcriptions and arrangements of Ellington, carrying his music forward into modern performances whether jazz or straight. But how good to have those classic 1950s Verve recordings by one of the great jazz pianists available on improved CD transfers. There are two Peterson trios here – the 1952 team with guitar (Barney Kessel, shortly to be replaced by Herb Ellis) and bass (Ray Brown) and the 1959 team with bass (Brown again) and now drums (Ed Thigpen). Dropping the guitar gave Peterson more freedom when he didn’t have to fit in with another chordal instrument, although he always did this sensitively and the balancers did the rest. It also provided more scope for the bass player. It is interesting that Peterson recorded exactly the same tunes for the second set of releases, but they were rethought and often in different keys. In Do nothin’ ’till you hear from me Peterson takes the introductory phrase unaccompanied both times, like Cootie Williams in Concerto for Cootie, but the second time adds more of his Tatum-inspired flourishes. Cotton Tail is a magnificent demonstration of Peterson’s liquid finger-technique in both versions and the soulful numbers are always atmospheric. An excellent reissue even if the 1952 sound still remains disappointing.'