William Thomas Strayhorn was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take the 'A' Train", "Chelsea Bridge", "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing", and "Lush Life".
"Take the 'A' Train" is a jazz standard by Billy Strayhorn that was the signature tune of the Duke Ellington orchestra.
"In a Sentimental Mood" is a jazz composition by Duke Ellington. He composed the piece in 1935 and recorded it with his orchestra during the same year. Lyrics were written by Manny Kurtz; Ellington's manager Irving Mills gave himself a percentage of the publishing, so the song was credited to all three. Other popular versions in 1935/36 were by Benny Goodman and by Mills Blue Rhythm Band. The opening notes of the song's melody resemble Gershwin's 1926 "Someone To Watch Over Me".
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book is a 1957 studio album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by Duke Ellington and his orchestra, focusing on Ellington's songs.
"Satin Doll" is a jazz standard written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Written in 1953, the song has been recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae, Billy Eckstine, Nancy Wilson, Bobby Short, and many other vocalists. As an instrumental, it has been recorded by hundreds of jazz artists. Its chord progression is well known for its unusual use of chords and opening with a ii-V-I turnaround.
"My One and Only Love" is a 1953 popular song with music written by Guy Wood and lyrics by Robert Mellin. Notable renditions by Frank Sinatra (1953), and later by John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman (1963), have made the song part of the jazz standard musical repertoire.
"I'm Beginning to See the Light" is a popular song and jazz standard, with music written by Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges, and Harry James and lyrics by Don George and published in 1944.
John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman is a studio album by John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman which was released by Impulse! Records in July or August 1963. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2013.
"Day Dream" is a jazz standard composed by Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by John Latouche and written in 1939. It was first recorded by saxophonist Johnny Hodges and his ensemble on November 2, 1940. Duke Ellington was credited as co-composer on the label of the original 78 RPM release, though he is not generally considered to be one of the song's creators.
Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn is an album by the jazz saxophonist Joe Henderson. Composed of songs written by Billy Strayhorn, the album was a critical and commercial success, leading to the first of three Grammy Awards Henderson would receive while under contract with Verve Records. The album had sold nearly 90,000 copies at the time of Henderson's death in 2001 and has been re-released by Verve, Polygram, and in hybrid SACD format by Universal. Musicians on the album are trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, pianist Stephen Scott, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Gregory Hutchinson.
"Chelsea Bridge" (1941) is an impressionistic jazz standard composed by Billy Strayhorn.
Masterpieces by Ellington is the first LP album by American pianist, composer, and bandleader Duke Ellington, recorded for the Columbia label in 1950. It was one of the earliest 12-inch LPs to take advantage of the extended time available and consisted of four tracks, three of them "concert arrangements" of Ellington standards and one, "The Tattooed Bride," a recent tone poem.
Dedicated to You: Kurt Elling Sings the Music of Coltrane and Hartman is a 2009 live album by Kurt Elling, recorded at the Lincoln Center's American Songbook series.
"I Hear a Rhapsody" is a 1941 pop song that became a jazz standard, composed by George Fragos, Jack Baker, and Dick Gasparre. Written in 1940, in 1941 it was a top 10 hit for three separate artists, Charlie Barnet, Jimmy Dorsey and Dinah Shore. “I Hear a Rhapsody” was at the top of "Your Hit Parade" in 1941. It was featured in the 1952 film noir Clash by Night, in which it was sung by Tony Martin. The soundtrack featured jazz notables such as pianist Gerald Wiggins, alto saxophonist Benny Carter, and tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins. The film, directed by Fritz Lang, involved a love triangle in a small fishing village and starred Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, and Paul Douglas.
"Come Sunday" is a piece by Duke Ellington, which became a jazz standard. It was written as a part of the first movement of a suite entitled Black, Brown and Beige. Ellington was engaged for a performance at Carnegie Hall on January 23, 1943, for which he wrote the entire composition. In 1958 he revised the suite and recorded it in its entirety for that year's album titled after the suite. "Come Sunday" was originally a centerpiece for alto saxophone player Johnny Hodges; the 1958 album, which contained a vocal version of the piece with new lyrics by Ellington featuring gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, greatly increased its popularity.
"Isfahan" is a jazz piece credited to Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington and released on Ellington's 1967 album The Far East Suite; Isfahan is a city in Iran. It features long-time Ellington soloist Johnny Hodges on alto saxophone. It was originally called "Elf" when Strayhorn composed it, months before the 1963 Ellington orchestra world tour during which the group traveled to Iran.
Duke's in Bed is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonist Johnny Hodges with members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra featuring performances recorded in 1956 and released on the Verve label. All arrangements were done by Billy Strayhorn.
Thank You for Everything is a studio album by American jazz vocalist Johnny Hartman, released in 1998 by Audiophile Records. The material was originally recorded in mid-1976 for two episodes of Alec Wilder's National Public Radio series entitled American Popular Song. Each episode focused on one composer, and Hartman chose works by Billy Strayhorn and Cole Porter. Most of the songs from the two episodes are included on Thank You for Everything and marked the first time they had been commercially released.
