Sunday with Duke #41: Jam Session

We stay with Duke Ellington in the Victor studio on January 21, at the same session that produced Perdido, for another classic: The "C" Jam Blues.

Let’s spin that recording:

What a blast! The deceptively simple framework gives each soloist room to shine — Ray Nance on violin, Rex Stewart on cornet, Ben Webster on tenor sax, Tricky Sam Nanton on trombone, and Barney Bigard on clarinet. It’s one of those sides where the band’s personality comes through in every chorus.

Interestingly, the tune had already been recorded the previous September as “C” Blues, by a small unit under Barney Bigard’s name.

Let’s spin that Bluebird side:

Same melody, obviously, but a different feel. This lineup — Barney on clarinet, Juan Tizol on valve trombone, Harry Carney on baritone sax, and Ray Nance this time on trumpet — is the only horn section, with Duke on piano, Sonny Greer on drums, and Jimmy Blanton on bass.

Hearing Blanton on this side reminds you just how much was lost when he left the band between this and the Victor recording, and, soon after, passed away. His presence changes the whole texture.

Things take another interesting turn with the Soundie titled Jam Session, in which Duke and the guys play what we now know as The C Jam Blues. The twist? It was filmed in late December 1941 — a few weeks before the Victor session.

Let’s watch:

I love that we have this visual record of Duke and the soloists doing their thing. Watching Tricky Sam work that plunger mute is a treat, and Sonny Greer gets a drum solo that doesn’t appear on the record — he looks like he’s having the time of his life.

A fun little journey to a classic record!

Warehouse Whispers

Just between us, as much fun as the jam session seemed to be, I absolutely don’t blame Duke for slipping away to join those three lovely distractions!

Sundays with Duke #40: Juan Gets Lost

As we step into 1942 with Duke Ellington, we run straight into another classic — Juan Tizol’s Perdido.

Duke arranged the tune, and the band recorded it for Victor that January with solos by Ben Webster, Ray Nance, and Rex Stewart.

Let’s give it a spin:

That three‑note figure just sings “Perdido!” over and over, and the whole thing moves along with that effortless Ellington glide.

A Hit That Stayed Hit

The tune clicked with the public immediately, and Duke kept it in rotation from then on. Other musicians picked up on it quickly too — there have been zillions of versions. Between Perdido and Caravan, Juan Tizol must have been cashing a lot of royalty checks!

At Capitol with Cat

One of the many Ellington recordings of Perdido is this snappy version for the Capitol Transcription Service from 1946:

Cat Anderson was definitely making his presence known in the trumpet section!

Johnny Gets Lost in Paris

While the Ellington band was touring Europe in 1950, Johnny Hodges and several members recorded a small‑group version in Paris for the Vogue label:

French pianist Raymond Fol sits in for Duke — it must have been a dream come true for him to play with a group of Ellingtonians.

Oscar's Outing

Meanwhile, also in 1950, Duke joined bassist/cellist Oscar Pettiford for this take on the Mercer label:

Bassist Lloyd Trotman and legendary drummer Jo Jones complete the quartet for this showcase for Oscar's cello.

Way Uptown

Duke and the band are back in the studio for Columbia in 1952 for this astounding take from the album Ellington Uptown:

The eight-plus minute arrangement takes advantage of the relatively new LP format from Duke's extended piano solo at the beginning to the have-to-hear-it-to-believe-it "chase" sequence featuring trumpeters Clark Terry, Cat Anderson, Ray Nance and Wille Cook and trombonist Britt Woodman!

Harry and the Nonet Detour

Jumping to 1956, we find Juan Tizol playing with Harry James — he worked with Harry both before and after rejoining Duke in the early ’50s — in a small‑band “nonet” setting for a non‑commercial recording of Perdido:

It’s fun to hear Harry introduce the musicians, and even better to hear Juan take a little solo on his own tune!

Ella Arrives with Lyrics

Like many popular instrumentals, Perdido picked up lyrics along the way, but Duke kept it as an instrumental — except, of course, when Ella Fitzgerald stepped into the studio for Verve with the band in 1957:

Another tour de force for everyone involved.

The Space Age Nonet

Duke returned to the studio in 1958 for Columbia with a nonet (I get to use “nonet” twice!) billed as Duke Ellington’s Spacemen for the album The Cosmic Scene:

A reimagined arrangement for the Space Age.

Duke Not Lost in the Background

Another modern take appears on Duke’s 1960 Columbia album Piano in the Background:

Another great version!

Private Perdido

Duke and the band recorded this next version in 1962, but it was unreleased for decades:

So much wonderful material has been uncovered over the years!

Still Popular

And Duke wasn’t done — he included yet another fresh arrangement on his 1966 RCA Victor album The Popular Duke Ellington:

Dig that bass trombone from Chuck Connors!

Never Lost

My Spanish is pretty good, so I know perdido means “lost,” but luckily for us, Juan’s tune has never been lost!

Monday Side-Session: A Pair of Panoramas

Following yesterday’s Duke Ellington classic In a Mellotone, we stay right in 1940 for a Victor 78 that carries two of Duke’s most vivid little city‑scenes. Both sides deserve their moment in the spotlight.

Side A: Sepia Panorama

Billy Strayhorn shaped the evocative arrangement with Duke, and the band paints in alternating strokes: Juan Tizol’s velvet valve‑trombone, Harry Carney’s deep‑toned baritone, Cootie Williams’ growl trumpet and Ben Webster’s unmistakable warm tenor. Underneath it all, Jimmie Blanton threads those typically brilliant bass passages—little bursts of invention that seem to tilt the whole piece forward.

Side B: Harlem Air‑Shaft

Barney Bigard slips in a couple of gracefully gliding clarinet spots, and Tricky Sam Nanton brings his signature plunger trombone murmur. Cootie switches to open trumpet here—no mute, just that bright, ringing tone for his main solo, but he sneaks a little muted trumpet bit in between Barney's solos.

Duke once explained the title: an air shaft in a Harlem apartment building was like a neighborhood radio—carrying the sounds of people cooking, arguing, singing, laughing. Everyday life drifting upward in fragments.

Two Vignettes of 1940 Harlem

Taken together, Sepia Panorama and Harlem Air‑Shaft feel like companion pieces—two quick, vivid sketches of Harlem life in 1940. Duke’s orchestra wasn’t just playing dance music; they were capturing the atmosphere of a place, a moment, a community — all filtered through one of the most inventive orchestras ever assembled. They matter because they’re not just performances; they’re portraits.

Sundays with Duke #25: Six Steps to the Pyramid

As we hang around 1938 with Duke Ellington, we come across another collaboration between Duke and his valve trombonist Juan Tizol - Pyramid.

It never became nearly as popular as Juan’s earlier composition Caravan, but it’s a moody, atmospheric piece, and the recordings it inspired make for a wonderfully twisty little journey.

Step 1: Tom-Toms and Hand Drums

Duke and the band first recorded “Pyramid” for Brunswick in June 1938:

The haunting pulse comes from Sonny Greer on tom‑toms and Duke playing a hand drum fashioned from a tambourine. There’s no piano from Duke on this one, and the instrumentation is unusual in another way: Harry Carney’s baritone sax is the only saxophone on the record!

It’s a sparse, hypnotic sound world, with Juan's valve trombone leading the way.

Step 2: Johnny's Small‑Group Detour

Just a couple of weeks later, at a Johnny Hodges small‑band session for Vocalion - the same date that produced Lost in Meditation - Pyramid took on a completely different character, with Duke back at the piano and Lawrence Brown on trombone rather than Juan Tizol:

Comparing the small‑unit versions with the “official” band takes is always a treat, and this one is no exception.

A Brief Pause for Label Intrigue

As usual, the songwriting credits give us something to chew on...

The Brunswick label lists Irving Mills as co‑writer with Duke and Juan - no surprise there.

But the Vocalion label lists Irving Gordon instead of Mills. Not sure what the story is, but the implication is that the tune has lyrics. If a vocal version was ever recorded, I haven’t come across it.

Step 3: Artie Shaw Picks It Up

Pyramid didn’t seem to get much traction at the time, but it resurfaced in late 1940 when Artie Shaw recorded it for Victor:

Nick Fatool - maybe the most underrated drummer of the era - drives the beat, with strong solos from Artie on clarinet and Billy Butterfield on trumpet. The larger Shaw band with strings gives it a bit of a Frenesi-era vibe to me.

What’s unusual is that this might be the only Ellington‑associated number Artie recorded back in the day. He tended to favor swing arrangements of show tunes and standards rather than jazz pieces by other composers. He did have an arrangement of Pyramid with his earlier band, but never made a studio recording of it.

The little sting to end this record reminds me of the sound of Artie’s Gramercy Five.

The Gramercy Six

Which brings us to the next version - a snappy stereo take by what seems to be an unofficial Artie Shaw spin‑off/tribute group, The Gramercy Six, recorded for Edison International in 1959:

Nick Fatool returns on drums, joined by bassist Jud Denaut and guitarist Al Hendrickson, both veterans of Shaw’s 1940 version, which is pretty cool! Rounding out the sextet are Shorty Sherock on trumpet, Al Sherman on harpsichord, and Eddie Rosa on clarinet.

It’s a lively, modernized spin.

Duke Returns to the Pyramid

Duke himself revisited “Pyramid” in 1962 for his Reprise album Afro‑Bossa:

That's a terrific version and it seems to have rekindled Duke’s interest in he tune, as he began performing it more frequently in concerts afterward.

Johnny Steps into the ’60s

Johnny Hodges picked the tune up again in the 1960s, teaming with with organist Wild Bill Davis for this version on the 1966 Verve album Blue Pyramid:

That one definitely sounds like 1966 - in the best way!

From tom‑toms to harpsichords, the six steps through the life of Pyramid each brings something distinctive to the table.

Do you have a favorite - or does it depend on the mood of the day?