The Blanton–Webster Band

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The Blanton–Webster Band
Album by Duke Ellington
Released	1990
Recorded	1939–1942
Genre	Jazz
Length	204:07
Label	Bluebird
Producer	various
Professional reviews
All Music Guide [1]
Duke Ellingon chronology
1939 (Smithsonian) (1939)	The Blanton–Webster Band (1939–1942)	The Indispensable Duke Ellington, Vols 5-6 (1940)

The Blanton–Webster Band is a three-CD album containing the master takes of all sixty-six recordings by Duke Ellington's Orchestra between 1939 and 1942, involving bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. (This material has been collected by other record companies, most notably by Definitive Records in a four-CD set that offers the complete master takes of recordings between 1935 and 1942, including those of the "Ellington Unit" small group.)

The recordings were originally made for Columbia and RCA Victor during what many critics regard as the Ellington orchestra's golden period. The three CDs contain many numbers which were to become classics, and the arrangements (by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn were frequently inventive and innovative.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 CD 1 1.2 CD 2 1.3 CD 3 2 Personnel

[edit] Track listing

[edit] CD 1

1. "You, You Darlin'" (Jerome–Scholl) –3:19
2. "Jack the Bear" (Ellington) –3:15
3. "Ko Ko" (Ellington) –2:39
4. "Morning Glory" (Ellington–Stewart) –3:15
5. "So Far, So Good" (Lawrence–Mundy–White) –2:50
6. "Conga Brava" (Ellington–Tizol) –2:54
7. "Concerto for Cootie" (Ellington) –3:19
8. "Me and You" (Ellington) –2:54
9. "Cotton Tail" (Ellington) –3:08
10. "Never No Lament" (Ellington–Russell) –3:15
11. "Dusk" (Ellington) –3:19
12. "Bojangles" (Ellington) –2:50
13. "A Portrait of Bert Williams" (Ellington) –3:09
14. "Blue Goose" (Ellington) –3:21
15. "Harlem Air Shaft" (Ellington) –2:57
16. "At a Dixie Roadside Diner" (Burke–Leslie) –2:45
17. "All Too Soon" (Ellington–Sigman) –3:28
18. "Rumpus in Richmond" (Ellington) –2:46
19. "My Greatest Mistake" (Fulton–O'Brien) –3:27
20. "Sepia Panorama" (Ellington) –3:20
21. "There Shall Be No Night" (Shelley–Silver) –3:05
22. "In a Mellow Tone" (Ellington–Gabler) –3:19

[edit] CD 2

1. "Five o'Clock Whistle" (Gannon–Irwin–Myrow) –3:18
2. "Warm Valley" (Ellington) –3:20
3. "The Flaming Sword" (Ellington) –3:06
4. "Across the Track Blues" (Ellington) –2:58
5. "Chloe" (Kahn–Moret) –3:24
6. "I Never Felt This Way Before" (Dubin–Ellington) –3:23
7. "The Sidewalks of New York" (Blake–Lawlor) –3:14
8. "Flamingo" (Anderson–Grouya) –3:22
9. "The Girl in My Dreams Tries to Look Like You" (Ellington) –3:19
10. "Take the "A" Train" (Strayhorn) –2:54
11. "Jumpin' Punkins" (Ellington) –3:33
12. "John Hardy's Wife" (Ellington) –3:28
13. "Blue Serge" (Ellington) –3:20
14. "After All" (Strayhorn) –3:19
15. "Bakiff" (Tizol) –3:23
16. "Are You Sticking?" (Ellington) –3:02
17. "Just a-Sittin' and a-Rockin'" (Ellington–Gaines–Strayhorn) –3:33
18. "The Giddybug Gallop" (Ellington) –3:29
19. "Chocolate Shake" (Ellington–Webster) –2:50
20. "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" (Ellington–Webster) –3:17
21. "Clementine" (Strayhorn) –2:53
22. "Brown-Skin Gal (in the Calico Gown)" (Ellington–Webster) –3:06

[edit] CD 3

1. "Jump for Joy" (Ellington–Kuller–Webster) –2:50
2. "Moon Over Cuba" (Ellington–Tizol) –3:09
3. "Five O'Clock Drag" (Ellington) –2:49
4. "Rocks in My Bed" (Ellington) –3:06
5. "Bli-Blip" (Ellington–Kuller) –3:03
6. "Chelsea Bridge" (Strayhorn) –2:52
7. "Rain Check" (Strayhorn) –2:28
8. "What Good Would It Do?" (James–Pepper) –2:44
9. "I Don't Know What Kind of Blues I Got" (Ellington) –3:13
10. "Perdido" (Drake–Lengsfelder–Tizol) –3:08
11. "C Jam Blues" (Bigard–Ellington) –2:37
12. "Moon Mist" (Ellington) –2:58
13. "What Am I Here For?" (Ellington–Laine) –3:28
14. "I Don't Mind" (Ellington–Strayhorn) –2:49
15. "Someone" (Ellington) –3:09
16. "My Little Brown Book" (Strayhorn) –3:13
17. "Main Stem" (Ellington) –2:47
18. "Johnny Come Lately" (Strayhorn) –2:39
19. "Hayfoot, Strawfoot" (Drake–Lengsfelder–McGrane) –2:30
20. "Sentimental Lady" (Ellington) –2:58
21. "A Slip of the Lip (Can Sink a Ship)" (Ellington–Henderson) –2:54
22. "Sherman Shuffle" (Ellington) –2:38

[edit] Personnel

• Ivie Anderson — vocals
• Barney Bigard — clarinet
• Jimmy Blanton — bass
• Lawrence Brown — trombone
• Harry Carney — clarinet, alto sax, baritone sax
• Duke Ellington — piano
• Sonny Greer — drums
• Fred Guy — guitar
• Otto Hardwick — alto sax, baritone sax
• Johnny Hodges — clarinet, alto sax, soprano sax
• Herb Jeffries — vocals
• Wallace Jones — trumpet
• Ray Nance — trumpet, violin, vocals
• Joe Nanton — trombone
• Alvin Raglin — bass
• Junior Raglin — bass
• Rex Stewart — cornet
• Billy Strayhorn — piano
• Juan Tizol — valve trombone
• Ben Webster — tenor sax
• Cootie Williams — trumpet