Blue Notes (album)

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Blue Notes
Blue Notes (album).jpg
Studio album by Johnny Hodges
Released 1967
Recorded August 15 and 19, 1966 and October 24, 1966
Studio NYC
Genre Jazz
Label Verve V/V6 8680
Producer Creed Taylor
Johnny Hodges chronology
Wild Bill Davis & Johnny Hodges in Atlantic City
(1966)		Blue Notes
(1967)		 Triple Play
(1967)

Blue Notes is an album by American jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges and orchestra featuring performances recorded in 1966 and released on the Verve label. [1] [2]

Johnny Hodges American alto saxophonist

John Cornelius Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932 and 1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair. Hodges was also featured on soprano saxophone, but refused to play soprano after 1946, when he was given the lead chair. He is considered one of the definitive alto saxophone players of the big band era.

Verve Records American record label

Verve Records, also known as The Verve Music Group, founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue and includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Stan Getz and Billie Holiday, among others. It absorbed the catalogues of Granz's earlier labels, Clef Records, founded in 1946, Norgran Records, founded in 1953, and material previously licensed to Mercury Records.

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]

AllMusic awarded the album 3 stars with its review by Ken Dryden stating, "the veteran alto saxophonist is backed by an all-star group with arrangements by conductor Jimmy Jones. Hodges' gorgeous tone and effortless ability to swing are the cornerstones of the album, especially in a stunning, very slow performance of "I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me" and the jaunty original by the leader, "L.B. Blues"". [3]

AllMusic online music database

AllMusic is an online music database. It catalogs more than 3 million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musical artists and bands. It launched in 1991, predating the World Wide Web.

Track listing

All compositions by Johnny Hodges except where noted.

  1. "Blue Notes" – 2:50
  2. "I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me" (Jimmy McHugh, Clarence Gaskill) – 3:20
  3. "Rent City" (V. Speddy) – 3:45
  4. "Sometimes I'm Happy" (Vincent Youmans, Irving Caesar) – 2:40
  5. "Broad Walk" – 3:30
  6. "L. B. Blues" – 4:00
  7. "The Midnight Sun Will Never Set" (Quincy Jones) – 3:30
  8. "Say It Again" – 3:27
  9. "Sneakin' Up on You" (Ted Daryll, Carl Taylor) – 5:30

Personnel

Alto saxophone type of saxophone

The alto saxophone, also referred to as the alto sax, is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s, and patented in 1846. It is pitched in E♭, and is smaller than the tenor, but larger than the soprano. The alto sax is the most common saxophone and is commonly used in concert bands, chamber music, solo repertoire, military bands, marching bands, and jazz. The fingerings of the different saxophones are all the same so a saxophone player can play any type of saxophone.

Ernest Andrew "Ernie" Royal was a jazz trumpeter. His older brother was clarinetist and alto saxophonist Marshal Royal, with whom he appears on the classic Ray Charles big band recording The Genius of Ray Charles (1959).

Snooky Young American musician

Eugene Edward "Snooky" Young was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known for his mastery of the plunger mute, with which he was able to create a wide range of sounds.

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References

  1. ↑ Verve Records Catalog: 8600 series accessed July 27, 2017
  2. ↑ Discography of the Verve, Clef and Norgran labels accessed July 27, 2017
  3. 1 2 Dryden, Ken. Blue Notes – Review at AllMusic . Retrieved July 27, 2017.
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