Jazz Party
Beginning as a cozy studio date where Duke Ellington was to merely commit a couple of recent compositions to tape, this session exploded into an uptempo Ellington appreciation party. The Duke's band was just returning from a Florida stint, and the ensuing, impromptu "Welcome Home" bash broke out at Columbia's studios in New York.Jimmy Rushingstopped in, as didDizzy Gillespieand a couple dozen other admirers. Musically, the Ellington unit is in prime form, taking up the recent percussion-heavy "Malletoba Spank" and "Tymperturbably Blue" with polyrhythmic gusto and ripping through "Ready, Go!" in tight, swaggering form. Dizzy's trumpet chimes in on "U.M.M.G." and "Hello Little Girl," playing muted solos that fit like a hand in the band's welcoming glove. This recording has the earmarks of a party, per its title, and the shindig was hopping.--Andrew Bartlett