Monday Side-Session: The Sidemen Shine in '39

Following yesterday’s look at Something to Live For, which introduced us to composer/arranger/pianist Billy Strayhorn and vocalist Jean Eldridge, today’s side-session keeps both of them in the spotlight. We’re dipping into a handful of 1939 small‑unit sides recorded for the Vocalion label — little pockets of Ellingtonia where the sidemen stretch out and the textures get wonderfully intimate.

Johnny & Jean

We start with a Johnny Hodges–led date from February, featuring Jean on vocal. Here’s Like a Ship in the Night:

Flip the disc and you get the instrumental Swingin’ on the Campus:

Jean returns for Mississippi Dream Boat:

And here’s that record’s instrumental flipside, Dooji Wooji:

You can really hear Ivie Anderson’s influence in Jean's phrasing, which makes sense given that her main role was as a relief vocalist when Ivie’s asthma kept her off the bandstand.

It’s nice that Jean got a couple of studio moments with members of the band; she’s a small but distinctive part of the Ellington story, and these sides give her a little corner of the warehouse shelf.

Session details:

Billy Sits In

The next few numbers feature Billy Strayhorn sitting in on piano and contributing arrangements — early glimpses of the voice that would soon become inseparable from Duke’s.

From June, here’s the Cootie Williams–led “Blues A Poppin’”:

Billy’s piano solo is a gem, and Cootie on trumpet with Johnny on alto is always a guaranteed good time.

Cootie and Billy return for September’s Johnny Hodges–led The Rabbit’s Jump:

“The Rabbit” was one of Johnny’s nicknames — and yes, he could jump!

Next up is October’s Tired Socks, also from the Hodges unit:

I’ve always wondered about that title. Is it just a bit of whimsical nonsense, or was someone in the band making a sly comment about life on the road?

November: A New Sound Arrives

We hit November as Barney Bigard leads his unit — with Strayhorn at the piano — on Minuet in Blues:

It’s a lovely showcase for Barney’s clarinet, with Rex Stewart adding his unmistakable cornet color.

And here’s the historical kicker: Duke’s new bassist, Jimmy Blanton, had joined the band by this point and plays on this side. Duke recognized immediately that Blanton was something extraordinary, and at the same session he recorded a pair of duets with him for Columbia.

Here’s the simply titled Blues:

And the flipside, Plucked Again:

With Billy Strayhorn and Jimmy Blanton arriving in 1939 — and Ben Webster soon to join in January 1940 — the Ellington orchestra was on the brink of one of its most astonishing periods. You can feel the ground shifting under these small‑group sides.

Warehouse Whispers

Back-room bulletin from the label files

1939 wasn’t just a musical turning point — it was a business one. Duke severed his long-running relationship with Irving Mills that year, reshaping the machinery behind the band just as the music itself was evolving. A pivotal year on every front!