Piano in the Background

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Piano in the Background
Piano in the Background.jpg
Studio album by
Duke Ellington
Released1960
RecordedMay 31 – June 30, 1960
Genre Jazz
Label Columbia
Duke Ellington chronology
The Nutcracker Suite
(1960)		Piano in the Background
(1960)		 Swinging Suites by Edward E. and Edward G.
(1960)

Piano in the Background is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded and released on the Columbia label in 1960. [1]

Contents

Reception

The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 4 stars and stated: "designed to showcase a series of new arrangements for the Ellington Orchestra, it also offers the composer and bandleader as a pianist leading the band... In all, this and the two discs that were reissued as companions to this one, Piano in the Foreground and Blues in Orbit , mark a highly creative and productive time in Ellington's long career." [2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]

Track listing

All compositions by Duke Ellington except as indicated

  1. "Happy Go Lucky Local" – 3:02
  2. "What Am I Here For" (Duke Ellington, Frankie Laine) – 4:08
  3. "Medley: Kinda Dukish/Rockin' in Rhythm" (Ellington, Harry Carney, Irving Mills) – 5:52
  4. "Perdido" (Juan Tizol) – 6:49
  5. "I'm Beginning to See the Light" (Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, Harry James) – 2:06
  6. "Midriff" (Billy Strayhorn) – 4:29
  7. "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" (Ellington, Mills) – 4:33
  8. "Main Stem" – 4:15
  9. "Take the 'A' Train" (Strayhorn) – 5:33
  10. "Lullaby of Birdland" (George Shearing) – 5:23 Bonus track on CD reissue
  11. "The Wailer" (Gerald Wilson) – 4:25 Bonus track on CD reissue
  12. "Dreamy Sort of Thing" (Strayhorn) – 3:56 Bonus track on CD reissue
  13. "Lullaby of Birdland" [alternate take] (Shearing) – 5:27 Bonus track on CD reissue
  14. "Harlem Air Shaft" – 4:03 Bonus track on CD reissue

Recorded at Radio Recorders, Los Angeles, on May 31, 1960 (tracks 4 & 5), June 2, 1960 (track 7), June 20, 1960 (tracks 3, 10, 12 & 13), June 22 (track 8), June 28, 1960 (tracks 6 & 9), June 29, 1960 (track 2) & June 30, 1960 (tracks 1 & 11) and March 3, 1961 (track 14)

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ A Duke Ellington Panorama Archived 2017-09-09 at the Wayback Machine accessed May 14, 2010
  2. 1 2 Jurek, T. Allmusic Review accessed May 14, 2010
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