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".
Plays Duke Ellington is an album by the jazz group the World Saxophone Quartet, released in 1986.
Toshiko Plays Billy Strayhorn is a jazz album recorded by two different configurations of the Toshiko Akiyoshi Trio in 1978. It was released on the Discomate record label in Japan and on the JAM Record label in the USA.
Dave Burrell Plays Ellington & Monk is a studio album released by jazz pianist Dave Burrell. It was first released by Denon Records on April 2, 1978. All of the songs on the album were originally written by Duke Ellington, Ellington's partner Billy Strayhorn, or Thelonious Monk.
Margy Pargy is a studio album released by jazz pianist Dave Burrell. It was released on March 9, 2005, by Splasc Records. It is a solo album and, in contrast, a week later the album After Love was released, which featured collaborations with such jazz greats as Roscoe Mitchell, Don Moye and Ron Miller. The Penguin Guide to Jazz described it as "A quality solo set [...] The best things are standards, including a long, troublous 'Lush Life'."
Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn is an album by 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.
"Chelsea Bridge" (1941) is an impressionistic jazz standard composed by Billy Strayhorn. Strayhorn biographer David Hajdu notes that "[u]nlike conventional tune-based pop and jazz numbers of the day, 'Chelsea Bridge' is 'classical' in its integration of melody and harmony as an organic whole." He also observes that it "vividly evokes the water below" the bridge rather than the bridge itself and that the piece is indebted to the work of Claude Debussy. Hajdu also quotes noted jazz arranger and composer Gil Evans as saying, "From the moment I first heard 'Chelsea Bridge,' I set out to try to do that. That's all I did ... tried to do what Billy Strayhorn did." In an analysis of the piece's haunting melody, Gunther Schuller writes: "What Strayhorn exploited in the theme of 'Chelsea Bridge' is the duality of its chromatic harmonies. The theme is set in its first three bars in minor sixth chords with an added major seventh. However, Strayhorn causes us to hear these harmonies as if they were whole-tone chords. He achieves this effect by two means: 1) through orchestrational and dynamic stressing of the three upper notes [and] 2) by setting these sixth chords in their third inversions. This latter device takes away the rootedness of the harmonies, letting them float, so to speak, more towards the top of their structure."
University of Akron Concert is a live album by jazz guitarist Joe Pass that was released in 1986.
Montreux One is a live album by jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1975 and released on the Arista Freedom label.
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.
Ellington Showcase is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded for the Capitol label at various sessions in 1953–55. The album has not been released on CD but the tracks have appeared on The Complete Capitol Recordings of Duke Ellington released by Mosaic Records in 1995.
Ellington Is Forever is an album by guitarist Kenny Burrell featuring compositions associated with Duke Ellington recorded in 1975 and released on the Fantasy Records label. Originally released as a double album set in 1975 it was rereleased on CD in 1993 as Ellington Is Forever Volume 1.
Ellington Is Forever Volume Two is an album by guitarist Kenny Burrell featuring compositions associated with Duke Ellington recorded in 1975 and released on the Fantasy Records label. Originally released as a double album set in 1977 it was rereleased on CD in 1994.
In a Sentimental Mood: Mathis Sings Ellington is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on October 9, 1990, by Columbia Records and continues the studio album pattern that began with The Hollywood Musicals and In the Still of the Night in which the song selections adhere to a specific theme or focus.
Essence of Ellington is a double live album by bassist and composer William Parker's Orchestra, which was recorded in Italy in 2012 and released on the Centering label. The album features new arrangements of songs written by or associated with Duke Ellington in addition to new songs by Parker.
One Flight Down is an album by pianist Cedar Walton which was recorded in 2006 and released on the Highnote label.
Something to Live For: A Billy Strayhorn Songbook is an album by pianist John Hicks which was recorded in 1997 and released on the HighNote label. The album features ten compositions by Billy Strayhorn along with two by Hicks.
Cue for Saxophone is an album by pianist and composer Billy Strayhorn's Septet comprising members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra recorded in 1959 and originally released on the Felsted label in 1959, then reissued by Vocalion in 1962.
Heritage is an album by guitarist Kenny Burrell recorded in 1980 and originally released on the AudioSource label.
Generation is a live album by guitarist Kenny Burrell and the Jazz Guitar Band recorded at the Village Vanguard in New York in 1986 and released on the relaunched Blue Note label.
