Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song book is a 1957 album by the American jazz singer
Ella FitzgeraldElla Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
, accompanied by the
Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
orchestra, focusing on Ellington's songs.
Part of Fitzgerald's series of 'Songbooks', it is the only one where the composer is also featured as a performer. This was the first time that Fitzgerald had recorded with Ellington. It is also the entry in the
Songbook series that gives her by far most often the opportunity to exhibit her famous
scat singingIn vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
.
The greater part of disc three is devoted to two original compositions by Ellington, inspired by Fitzgerald's life, character and artistry.
Fitzgerald's performance on this album won her the 1959
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for
Best Jazz Performance, IndividualThe Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Solo has been awarded since 1959. Before 1979 the award title did not specify instrumental performances and was presented for instrumental or vocal performances...
.
This album marked the start of a fruitful artistic relationship for Ella and the 'Duke', the 1960s would see them perform on the Côte d'Azur for the 1966 album
Ella and Duke at the Cote D'AzurElla and Duke at the Cote D'Azur is a 1967 live album by Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by the big band of Duke Ellington.It was recorded live in Juan-les-Pins, on the French riviera, between June 26 and July 29, 1966....
, and in
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
for
The Stockholm Concert, 1966The Stockholm Concert, 1966 is a 1966 live album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by the Duke Ellington Orchestra...
. Their only other studio album, 1965's
Ella at Duke's PlaceElla at Duke's Place is a 1965 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by the Duke Ellington Orchestra. It is notable as the second studio album made by Fitzgerald and Ellington.-Track listing:...
, was also extremely well received.
Track listing
For the 1957 Verve 4LP set: Verve MGV 4010-4
Disc One
- "Rockin' in Rhythm" (Harry Carney
Harry Howell Carney was an American swing baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, and bass clarinetist mainly known for his 45-year tenure in Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Carney started off as an alto player with Ellington, but soon switched to the baritone. His strong, steady saxophone often served as...
, Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Irving MillsIrving Mills was a jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose."Mills was born to Jewish parents in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He founded Mills Music with his brother Jack in 1919...
) – 5:17
- "Drop Me Off in Harlem
"Drop Me Off in Harlem" is a 1933 song composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Nick Kenny.A.H. Lawrence writes that the song originated from an off the cuff remark from Ellington. Nick Kenny had hailed a taxi, and offered to share it with Ellington. Kenny asked "Where to, Duke?", and...
" (Nick KennyNicholas Aloysius Kenny was a syndicated newspaper columnist, a song lyricist and a poet who wrote light verse in the Edgar Guest tradition.-Biography:...
) – 3:48
- "Day Dream
"Day Dream" is a 1941 song composed by Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington, with lyrics by John La Touche.Saxophonist Johnny Hodges first recorded this tune with Strayhorn on piano in 1941.-Notable recordings:...
" (John La Touche, Billy StrayhornWilliam Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
) – 3:56
- "Caravan
"Caravan" is a jazz standard composed by Juan Tizol and first performed by Duke Ellington in 1937. Irving Mills wrote the lyrics, but he sometimes is not credited on the many instrumental versions. Its exotic sound interested exotica musicians; Martin Denny and Arthur Lyman both covered it. Woody...
" (Mills, Juan TizolJuan Tizol was a Puerto Rican trombonist and composer.He was born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Music was a large part of his life from an early age. His first instrument was the violin, but he soon switched to valve trombone, the instrument he would play throughout his career...
) – 3:51
- "Take the "A" Train" (Strayhorn) – 6:37
- "I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues
"I Ain't Got Nothin' But the Blues" is a 1937 song composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Don George.-Notable recordings:*Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra Voc.: Al Hibbler - Recorded in New York City on December 1, 1944...
" (Don George) – 4:39
- "Clementine" (Strayhorn) – 2:37
- "I Didn't Know About You
"I Didn't Know About You" is a 1944 song composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Bob Russell.Alec Wilder wrote that it "works well as a song in [the] series of Ellington instrumentals with Russell lyrics...
" (Bob RussellSidney Keith "Bob" Russell, was an American songwriter born in Passaic, New Jersey.In 1968, Russell along with songwriting partner Quincy Jones was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Original Song category...
) – 4:10
- "I'm Beginning to See the Light
"I'm Beginning to See the Light" is a popular song and jazz standard, written by Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, and Harry James, and published in 1944. Ella Fitzgerald and the Ink Spots recorded a version in 1945 that was on the pop song hits list for six weeks in 1945, reaching #5...
" (Don George, Johnny HodgesJohn Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for his solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932–1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair...
, Harry JamesHenry Haag “Harry” James was a trumpeter who led a jazz swing band during the Big Band Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He was especially known among musicians for his astonishing technical proficiency as well as his superior tone.-Biography:He was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a...
) – 3:24
- "Lost in Meditation" (Mills, Lou Singer, Tizol) – 3:24
- "Perdido" (Ervin Drake
Ervin Drake, born Ervin Maurice Druckman is an American songwriter whose works include such American Songbook standards as "It Was a Very Good Year". He has written in a variety of styles and his work has been recorded by musicians from all over the world in a multitude of styles...
, H.J Lengsfelder, Tizol) – 6:10
- "Cotton Tail
"Cotton Tail" is a 1940 composition by Duke Ellington. It is based on the rhythm changes from George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm". The first Ellington recording is notable for the driving tenor saxophone solo by Ben Webster. Originally an instrumental, "Cotton Tail" later had lyrics written for it by...
" (Duke Ellington) – 3:23
- "Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me" (Russell) – 7:38
- "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'
"Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin" is a 1941 song composed by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, with lyrics written by Lee Gaines. It was released on his 1941 album ”Take the ‘A’ Train” .-Trivia:...
" (Lee Gaines, Strayhorn) – 3:30
- "(In My) Solitude
" Solitude" is a 1934 jazz standard, composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Eddie DeLange and Irving Mills.- Notable recordings :* Paul Robeson, bass with orchestra. Recorded in London on October 18, 1937...
" (Eddie DeLangeEddie DeLange was an American bandleader and lyricist. Famous artists who recorded some of DeLange's songs include Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman.-Biography:...
, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) – 2:04
- "Rocks in My Bed
"Rocks in My Bed" is a 1941 song written by Duke Ellington.-Notable recordings:*Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook *Sarah Vaughan - The Duke Ellington Songbook, Vol. 2...
" – 3:56
- "Satin Doll
"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 countless times, by such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, 101 Strings, and Nancy Wilson...
" (Johnny MercerJohn Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American lyricist, songwriter and singer. He is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music. He was also a popular singer who recorded his own songs as well as those written by others...
, Strayhorn) – 3:26
- "Sophisticated Lady
"Sophisticated Lady" is a jazz standard, composed as an instrumental in 1932 by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills, to which words were added by Mitchell Parish. The words met with approval from Ellington, who described them as "wonderful—but not entirely fitted to my original conception".That...
" (Mitchell ParishMitchell Parish was an American lyricist.-Early life:Parish was born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky to a Jewish family in Lithuania. His family emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 3, 1901 on the SS Dresden when he was less than a year old...
) – 5:18
Disc Two
- "Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)
"Just Squeeze Me " is a 1941 popular song composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Lee Gaines. The song has been recorded numerous times by a number of artists in the years since, having become a jazz standard....
" (Gaines) – 4:13
- "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
"It Don't Mean a Thing " is a 1931 composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Irving Mills, now accepted as a jazz standard. The music was written and arranged by Ellington in August 1931 during intermissions at Chicago's Lincoln Tavern and was first recorded by Ellington and his orchestra for...
" (Mills) – 4:12
- "Azure
"Azure" is a 1937 song composed by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Irving Mills. The composition is an example of Ellington's early use of bi- and polytonality, and some parts of it are almost atonal in nature.-Notable recordings:...
" (Mills) – 2:18
- "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart
I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart is a 1938 composition by Duke Ellington, with lyrics added by Irving Mills, Henry Nemo and John Redmond. The song became a number one hit for Ellington in 1938, and vocal versions by Benny Goodman and Mildred Bailey soon followed.Dinah Washington recorded the song...
" (Mills, Henry NemoHenry Nemo was a musician, songwriter and actor in Hollywood films who had a reputation as a hipster and was sometimes referred to as the "creator of jive" talk...
, John RedmondJohn Edward Redmond was an Irish nationalist politician, barrister, MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918...
) – 4:08
- "In a Sentimental Mood
"In a Sentimental Mood" is a jazz composition by Duke Ellington which is also performed as a song. Ellington composed the piece in 1935 and recorded it with his orchestra the same year. Lyrics were later written for the tune by Irving Mills and Manny Kurtz. According to Ellington, the song was...
" (Manny Kurtz, Mills) – 2:44
- "Don't Get Around Much Anymore
"Don't Get Around Much Anymore" is a jazz standard with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Bob Russell. The tune was originally titled "Never No Lament" and was first recorded by Ellington in 1940 as a big band instrumental...
" (Russell) – 4:59
- "Prelude to a Kiss
"Prelude to a Kiss" is a 1938 song composed by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills, with lyrics by Irving Gordon.In 1989, saxophonist Nelson Rangell covered the song from his self-titled album.-Notable Recordings:...
" (Mack GordonMack Gordon was an American composer and lyricist of songs for the stage and film. He was nominated for the best original song Oscar nine times, including six consecutive years between 1940 and 1945, and won the award once, for "You'll Never Know"...
, Mills) – 5:26
- "Mood Indigo
"Mood Indigo" is a jazz composition and song, with music by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard with lyrics by Irving Mills.-Disputed authorship:In a 1987 interview, Mitchell Parish claimed to have written the lyrics:...
" (Barney BigardAlbany Leon Bigard, aka Barney Bigard, was an American jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist, though primarily known for the clarinet....
, Mills) – 3:24
- "In a Mellow Tone
"In a Mellow Tone", also known as "In a Mellotone", is a 1939 jazz standard composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Milt Gabler. The song was based on the 1917 standard "Rose Room" by Art Hickman and Harry Williams...
" (Milt GablerMilton Gabler was an American record producer, responsible for many innovations in the recording industry of the 20th century.-Early life:...
) – 5:07
- "Love You Madly" – 4:37
- "Lush Life
"Lush Life" is a jazz standard with lyrics and music written by Billy Strayhorn from 1933 to 1938. However, the song was only performed privately by Strayhorn until he and vocalist Kay Davis performed it on November 13, 1948 with the Duke Ellington Orchestra at Carnegie Hall...
" (Strayhorn) – 3:37
- "Squatty Roo" (Hodges) – 3:38
- "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So
"I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So" is a 1945 song composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Mack David.-Notable recordings:*Billy Eckstine & Quincy Jones 1959...
" (Mack DavidMack David was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning from the early 1940s through the early 1970s. Mack was credited with writing lyrics and/or music for over one thousand songs...
) – 4:12
- "All Too Soon
"All Too Soon" is a 1940 song composed by Duke Ellington with lyrics written by Carl Sigman.-Notable recordings:*Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook *Peggy Lee, George Shearing - Beauty and the Beat!...
" (Carl SigmanCarl Sigman was an American songwriter.-Biography:Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his Bar exams to practice in the state of New York...
) – 4:22
- "Everything But You
"Everything But You" is a 1945 song composed by Duke Ellington and Harry James with lyrics written by Don George.-Notable recordings:* Duke Ellington & his Orchestra with vocal by Joya Sherrill. Recorded on May 1, 1945 and released on RCA Victor 20-1697.*Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings...
" (George, James) – 2:53
- "I Got it Bad (And That Ain't Good)
"I Got It Bad " is a pop and jazz standard with music by Duke Ellington and lyrics by Paul Francis Webster published in 1941...
" (Paul Francis WebsterPaul Francis Webster was an American lyricist who won three Academy Awards for Best Song and was nominated sixteen times for the award.-Biography:...
) – 6:11
- "Bli-Blip" (Sid Kuller
Sid Kuller was an American comedy writer, producer and lyricist/composer, who concentrated on special musical material, gags and sketches for leading comics...
) – 3:01
Disc Three
- "Chelsea Bridge" (Strayhorn) – 3:20
- "Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
" (Strayhorn) – 16:10:
- First Movement: "Royal Ancestry"
- Second Movement: "All Heart"
- Third Movement: "Beyond Category"
- Fourth Movement: "Total Jazz"
- "The E and D Blues" (E for Ella, D for Duke) (Strayhorn) – 4:48
Bonus Tracks; Issued on the Verve 1999 3CD re-issue, Verve 314 559 248-2
4. to 11. "Chelsea Bridge"
(Rehearsal tracks)
12. "All Heart"
(Rehearsal) - 3:54
13. "All Heart"
(Alternative take I) - 3:33
14. "All Heart"
(Alternative take II) - 3:22
15. "All Heart"
(Alternative take III) - 3:25
All music written by
Duke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, lyricists indicated.
Recorded June 15–October 27, 1957, Hollywood,
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
.
Personnel
- Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
— vocals
- William "Cat" Anderson — trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
- trumpet
- Clark Terry
Clark Terry is an American swing and bop trumpeter, a pioneer of the fluegelhorn in jazz, educator, NEA Jazz Masters inductee, and recipient of the 2010 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award...
- trumpet
- Willie Cook
Willie Cook was an American jazz trumpeter.Cook grew up in Chicago and learned to play violin before settling on trumpet as a teenager. He joined King Perry's band in the late 1930s, then replaced Charlie Parker in Jay McShann's band early in the 1940s...
- trumpet
- Frank Foster
Frank Foster was an American tenor and soprano saxophonist, flautist, arranger, and composer. Foster collaborated frequently with Count Basie and worked as a bandleader from the early 1950s.-Biography:...
— tenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
- Paul Gonsalves
Paul Gonsalves, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"...
- saxophone
- Ben Webster
Benjamin Francis Webster , a.k.a. "The Brute" or "Frog," was an influential American jazz tenor saxophonist. Webster, born in Kansas City, Missouri, was considered one of the three most important "swing tenors" along with Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young...
- saxophone
- Johnny Hodges
John Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for his solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932–1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair...
— alto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
- Russell Procope
Russell Procope , an American clarinettist and alto saxophonist, was known best for his long tenure in the reed section of Duke Ellington's orchestra, where he was one of its two signature clarinet soloists....
— clarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, alto saxophone
- Jimmy Hamilton
Jimmy Hamilton was an American jazz clarinetist, tenor saxophonist, arranger, composer, and music educator, best known for his twenty-five years with Duke Ellington....
— clarinet, tenor saxophone
- Harry Carney
Harry Howell Carney was an American swing baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, and bass clarinetist mainly known for his 45-year tenure in Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Carney started off as an alto player with Ellington, but soon switched to the baritone. His strong, steady saxophone often served as...
— clarinet, bass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
- John Sanders — trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
- Britt Woodman
Britt Woodman was a jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known for his work with Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus....
- trombone
- Quentin Jackson
Quentin "Butter" Jackson was an American jazz trombonist. In the early stage of his career he worked with Cab Calloway and was in the Duke Ellington Orchestra...
- trombone
- Ray Nance
Ray Willis Nance was a jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer.Nance is best known for his long association with Duke Ellington through most of the 1940s and 1950s, after he was hired to replace Cootie Williams in 1940...
— trumpet, violinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
- Stuff Smith
Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith , better known as Stuff Smith, was a jazz violinist. He is known well for the song "If You're a Viper".-Biography:...
— violin
- Oscar Peterson
Oscar Emmanuel Peterson was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career...
— pianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
- Paul Smith
Paul Smith , is a jazz pianist. He has performed in various genres of jazz, most typically bebop. However, he has also performed in cool jazz, swing music, and traditional pop.He was born in San Diego, California...
- piano
- Ray Brown
Raymond Matthews Brown was an American jazz double bassist.-Biography:Ray Brown was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and had piano lessons from the age of eight. After noticing how many pianists attended his high school, he thought of taking up the trombone, but was unable to afford one...
— double bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Joe Mondragon
Joe Mondragon is an American jazz bassist.Mondragon was an autodidact on bass, and began working professionally in Los Angeles. He served in the Army during World War II, and then joined Woody Herman's First Herd in 1946...
- bass
- Jimmy Woode
Jimmy Woode was a jazz bassist. His father, also named Jimmy Woode, was a music teacher and pianist who played with Hot Lips Page...
- bass
- Herb Ellis
Mitchell Herbert "Herb" Ellis was an American jazz guitarist. Perhaps best known for his 1950s membership in the trio of pianist Oscar Peterson, Ellis was also a staple of west-coast studio recording sessions, and was described by critic Scott Yanow as "an excellent bop-based guitarist with a...
— guitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Barney Kessel
Barney Kessel was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA. Generally considered to be one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 20th century, he was noted in particular for his vast knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies...
- guitar
- Sam Woodyard
Sam Woodyard was an American jazz drummer.Woodyard was largely an autodidact on drums, and played locally in the Newark, New Jersey area in the 1940s. He gigged with Paul Gayten in an R&B group, and then played in the early 1950s with Joe Holiday, Roy Eldridge, and Milt Buckner...
— drumsA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Alvin Stoller
Alvin Stoller was an American jazz drummer. Though he seems to have been largely forgotten, he was held in high regard in the 1940s and 1950s...
- drums
- Billy Strayhorn
William Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
— piano, narrator
- Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
— piano, narrator, arranger, conductor.