David Matthews & Manhattan Jazz Orchestra - Hey Duke (2002) FLAC

Tracks

01 - It Don't Mean a Think If You Ain't Got That Swing
02 - Prelude to a Kiss
03 - Mood Indigo
04 - Come Sunday
05 - Satin Doll
06 - Song For Edward
07 - Cotton Tail
08 - In A Sentimental Mood

Personnel

Alto Saxophone – Chris Hunter
Art Direction – Jamie Putnam
Bass – Chip Jackson
Bass Clarinet – Roger Rosenberg
Bass Trombone – David Taylor
Drums – Terry Silverlight
Engineer – Chaz Clifton
Engineer [Assistant] – Billy Eric
Executive-Producer – Hisao Ebine, Yukihiro Hattori
French Horn – Chris Comer (2) (pistas: 1, 2, 8), Fred Griffen*, John Clark (2) (pistas: 3 to 7)
Mastered By – Kazuhiro Yamagata
Photography By – Takehiko Tokiwa
Piano, Arranged By, Conductor – David Matthews
Producer – David Matthews*, Shigeyuki Kawashima
Soprano Saxophone, Clarinet – Aaron Heick (pistas: 1, 2, 5, 7, 8), Lawrence Feldman (pistas: 3, 4, 6)
Trombone – Birch Johnson, Jim Pugh, Larry Farrell
Trumpet – Joe Shepley, Lew Soloff, Ryan Kisor, Scott Wendholt
Tuba – Tony Price (2)
Vocals – Christine Sperry (pistas: 4)


Pianist/arranger David Matthews turns his pen to the classic music of Duke Ellington on Hey Duke!, the latest release featuring the adroit talents of the Manhattan Jazz Orchestra. Matthews came up during the 1970s, when straight-ahead jazz was about as cool and mainstream as a buzz cut and pegged pants. College jazz programs were barely in their infancy but, despite the general cultural malaise regarding the music, there was still a sense that more could be done with what Bird, Monk, and Coltrane had given the world. Creativity could flow unimpeded by draconian notions of the "tradition." Granted, this didn't always produce the most lasting and desirable music, but for every Spyro Gyra there is a Weather Report. Matthews keeps this vision alive on Hey Duke! Influenced by the progressive, angular, and modern work of Stan Kenton and Chick Corea, Matthews reworks some of Ellington's songs in a respectful, albeit liberal manner. "It Don't Mean a Thing" screams itself to life, eventually laying into a speedy swing featuring the immense post-bop lines of soprano saxophonist Aaron Heick and Manhattan man about town trumpeter Ryan Kisor. One of the most compelling departures from traditional style is the police drama funk of "Mood Indigo," featuring bright horn hits and a dirty, wah-wah plunger trumpet over a driving hi-hat. Conversely, "Come Sunday" is given a pastoral, West Coast gospel feel à la Gerald Wilson, and features the operatic soprano of vocalist Christine Sperry. Matthews also pays tribute to Duke with his original "Song for Edward," a mid-tempo ballad featuring the soul-inflected alto sax of Chris Hunter. These are thoroughly invigorating and unconventional interpretations of Ellington's work.
Matt Collar