The Stanley Dance Sessions

The Stanley Dance Sessions Artist: Billy Strayhorn , and Johnny Hodges
Label: Lone Hill Jazz
Category: Music



Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 8436019581919
ASIN: B0009RS5ZG


Release Date: 2005-05-12

Related Categories:

General General
Related | Jazz | Styles | Music
Swing General Swing General
Related | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
Jazz Jazz
Related | Imports | Stores | Music

Tracks:

  1. Cue's Blue Now
  2. Gone with the Wind
  3. Cherry
  4. Watch Your Cue
  5. You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me
  6. When I Dream of You
  7. Rose Room
  8. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
  9. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
  10. Gal from Joe's
  11. Your Love Has Faded
  12. I'm Just a Lucky So-And-So
  13. Jeep's Blues
  14. Day Dream
  15. Juice A-Plenty
  16. Azure
  17. Tailor Made
  18. Star Dust

Similar Items:

  1. A Proper Introduction to Billy Strayhorn: Passion Flower
  2. Johnny Hodges with Billy Strayhorn and the Orchestra
  3. The Stanley Dance Sessions
  4. Complete 1949-1950 Vogue Master Takes
  5. Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Stanley Danc Sessions - Strayhorn.......2007-03-10

Greatest 'Golden Age of Jazz' icon's works, well done. Thx./D.

4 out of 5 stars Re-issue of "Cue for Saxophone" + "Johnny Hodges with Billy Strayhorn and THE Orchestra".......2006-12-08

The Amazon product description for this item is a little misleading in that it says this is part of a reissue series "established for the sole purpose of recovering lost jazz treasures previously unavailable on any other edition worldwide." Well, I've got both of these jazz treasures on CD (through not on the same CD), and they are great, if somewhat opposite albums. Tracks 1-7, released originally as by Billy Strayhorn because Hodges was signed to Verve records, are really a Johnny Hodges small group session with Strayhorn on piano and in charge of the minimal arrangements. On CD, this came out in 1988 on the London label, still under Strayhorn's name, though the liner notes come clean about the previously incognito Hodges (as if anyone would have trouble identifying that tone!). Butter Jackson (trombone), Russell Procope (clarinet), and Shorty Baker (trumpet) join Hodges here (interesting lineup, because Hodges was so often featured alongside Lawrence Brown, Harry Carney, and Ray Nance / Cootie Williams in small-group settings). It's a set of straight-ahead swing, standards and blues. No novelties or bids for radio airplay; just classic medium tempo to mellow swing. According to Strayhorn's biographer, Hodges didn't think that much of this album, but I think it's great because it's aims are modest while the level of talent and group cohesion is very high.

"Cue for Saxophone" is definitely not the setting that showcases Strayhorn's genius as a composer or arranger, despite being released under his name. The second album is just such a showcase of Strayhorn's genius--it's a Verve date with the full Ellington orchestra minus Ellington (Jimmy Jones sits in on piano) from around 1960 (hence the capitalization--"THE Orchestra"--in the title). The elegant Verve CD release is only a few years old and is still available. The charts are short but packed with details, and Hodges is showcased on ballads, blues, and Ellington standards. The version of Azure here is one of Strayhorn's most beautiful charts (it features a gentle ostinato in the bass reminescent of Claude Thornhill's "Snowfall"). Day Dream is always a home run for Hodges when he's fronting the Ellington band. Almost all of the material is top shelf (one song towards the end is a bit on the cutesy side, but it's the lone fugitive from good taste). The only problem with this album is that it's over too quickly.

Not having heard or seen in person this release, I can't comment on the mastering quality or the packaging. But the music is prime-time Hodges and Strayhorn, and features lots of other great Ellington veterans in high fidelity.

Music CD:

  1. The Best of Hank Crawford and Jimmy McGriff ~ Hank Crawford, Jimmy McGriff
  2. The Solo Sessions, Vol. 1 ~ Bill Evans
  3. It's About Time ~ Othello Molineaux
  4. Live at the Blue Note ~ Oscar Peterson
  5. The OKeh Ellington ~ Duke Ellington
  6. Drum Suite [SONY XCP CONTENT/COPY-PROTECTED CD] ~ Art Blakey
  7. Dream Band, Vol. 4: Main Stem ~ Terry Gibbs
  8. Lost Recordings (RCA) ~ Glenn Miller
  9. Soul Temptation ~ Bryan Savage
  10. Stridemonster! ~ Dick Hyman, Dick Wellstood

Music CD

Music CD

Music CD

All Too Critical ~ ATC

Dad Loves His Work ~ James Taylor

Let's Go Spiders! ~ The Spiders

97.1 Eagle Local Show

...And Your Point? ~ Shooter

A Blur in Time ~ Vanderhoof

In Tennessee ~ Alvin Lee

The Edge ~ Eternity X

Git Up, Git Out ~ OutKast

Sick & Tired ~ Nappy Roots