Blues A-Plenty

Blues A-Plenty
Studio album by Johnny Hodges and His Orchestra
Released	1958
Recorded	April 5, 1958 ; New York City
Genre	Jazz
Length	42:30
Label	Verve MGV 8358
Producer	Norman Granz
Johnny Hodges chronology

Last updated March 15, 2019

Blues A-Plenty is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges featuring performances recorded in 1958 and released on the Verve label.^[1]

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, 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.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]

The Allmusic site awarded the album 3 stars.^[2]

Track listing

All compositions by Johnny Hodges except as indicated

"I Didn't Know About You" (Duke Ellington, Bob Russell) - 3:35
"Cool Your Motor" - 3:39
"Gone With the Wind" (Allie Wrubel, Herb Magidson) - 3:21
"Honey Hill" - 4:05
"Blues-a-Plenty" - 3:26
"Don't Take Your Love from Me" (Henry Nemo) - 3:43
"Saturday Afternoon Blues" - 6:02
"Satin Doll" (Ellington) - 5:04
"Reeling and Rocking" - 9:35

Personnel

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.

David Roy Eldridge, nicknamed "Little Jazz", was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos exhibiting a departure from the dominant style of jazz trumpet innovator Louis Armstrong, and his strong impact on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most influential musicians of the swing era and a precursor of bebop.

A trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group contains the instruments with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpet-like instruments have historically been used as signaling devices in battle or hunting, with examples dating back to at least 1500 BC; they began to be used as musical instruments only in the late 14th or early 15th century. Trumpets are used in art music styles, for instance in orchestras, concert bands, and jazz ensembles, as well as in popular music. They are played by blowing air through nearly-closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound that starts a standing wave vibration in the air column inside the instrument. Since the late 15th century they have primarily been constructed of brass tubing, usually bent twice into a rounded rectangular shape.

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References

↑
- Verve Records Catalog: 8400 series accessed February 11, 2016
- Discography of the Verve, Clef and Norgran labels accessed February 11, 2016
1 2 Blues A-Plenty – Listing at AllMusic . Retrieved February 12, 2016.

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[1] 
Verve Records Catalog: 8400 series accessed February 11, 2016
Discography of the Verve, Clef and Norgran labels accessed February 11, 2016

[mwPA] Verve Records Catalog: 8400 series accessed February 11, 2016

[mwPg] Discography of the Verve, Clef and Norgran labels accessed February 11, 2016

[Allmusic-2] 1 2 Blues A-Plenty – Listing at AllMusic . Retrieved February 12, 2016.

v t e Johnny Hodges
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release.
As leader or co-leader	Castle Rock (1951–52) In a Tender Mood (1951–52) The Blues (1952–54) Used to Be Duke (1954) Creamy (1955) Duke's in Bed (1956) Ellingtonia '56 (1956) The Big Sound (1957) Blues A-Plenty (1958) Johnny Hodges and His Strings Play the Prettiest Gershwin (1958) Not So Dukish (1958) Side by Side (and Duke Ellington, 1958–59) Back to Back (and Duke Ellington, 1959) Gerry Mulligan Meets Johnny Hodges (1959) Blue Hodge (1961) Johnny Hodges with Billy Strayhorn and the Orchestra (1961) Blue Rabbit (and Wild Bill Davis, 1963–64) Sandy's Gone (1963) Mess of Blues (and Wild Bill Davis, 1963) Everybody Knows Johnny Hodges (1964–65) Blue Pyramid (and Wild Bill Davis, 1965–66) Con-Soul & Sax (1965–66) Inspired Abandon (and Lawrence Brown, 1965) Joe's Blues (and Wild Bill Davis, 1965) Wings & Things (nd Wild Bill Davis, 1965) Blue Notes (1966) Stride Right (and Earl Hines, 1966) Wild Bill Davis & Johnny Hodges in Atlantic City (1966) Don't Sleep in the Subway (1967) Swing's Our Thing (and Earl Hines, 1967) Triple Play (1967) Rippin' & Runnin' (1968) 3 Shades of Blue (1970)
With others	Hawkins! Eldridge! Hodges! Alive! At the Village Gate! (with Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge, 1962) Joya Sherrill Sings Duke (with Joya Sherrill, 1965) Cue for Saxophone (with Billy Strayhorn, 1959) Taylor Made Jazz (with Billy Taylor, 1959) Duke with a Difference )with Clark Terry, 1957)
Duke Ellington discography