Sundays with Duke #39: Billy’s Bridge

We stay in 1941 with Duke Ellington for one more session — this one giving us another classic from Billy Strayhorn: Chelsea Bridge.

The First Crossing

Let’s spin the Victor disc recorded in December 1941:

A lovely record, with Ben Webster’s tenor and Juan Tizol’s valve trombone floating through the mist.

In addition to composing and arranging the number, Billy plays piano and directs the band — a clear sign of how much trust Duke already placed in him.

The Lost Bass Line

Interestingly, the band had recorded an earlier version for the Standard Transcription service the previous January, with Duke at the piano:

What really jumps out here are the delightful bass passages from Jimmie Blanton.

It’s not clear why Duke waited almost a year to make a commercial recording — a rejected version was attempted in September — but by the time he did, Blanton had contracted tuberculosis and left the band shortly before the December session. Jimmie passed away the next July at just 23 years old — a heartbreaking loss for the music world.

Billy’s revised arrangement for the Victor recording has him playing piano in place of the bass solos, rather than giving them to new bassist Junior Raglin.

A Tune Ahead of Its Time

Chelsea Bridge was something of a slow burner — not a big splash at first, perhaps because listeners didn’t quite know what to make of its dreamy harmonic world. But it eventually became a standard and has been frequently recorded.

Bothwell's Signature Sound

The earliest cover seems to be alto saxist Johnny Bothwell’s 1945 recording for Signature:

Bothwell played a lovely alto — clearly influenced by Johnny Hodges — and his “Swingtet” for this session includes Harry Carney and Ray Nance!

LP Era Bloom — 1950s

Like so many slow‑burning standards we've visited, Chelsea Bridge blossomed in the LP era. Let's cross the bridge a few times with some highlights...

Big Ben Brings It

Ben Webster revisited it with this string-laden take from his 1954 Norgran album Music with Feeling:

Lots of feeling indeed — Ben’s tenor sound is pure velvet.

Marian's Magical Mood

Then in 1956, pianist Marian McPartland included it on her Capitol album After Dark:

Betty Glamann’s harp gives this one a celestial shimmer.

Pre-Peanuts Piano

Also from 1956 is this track from pianist Vince Guaraldi’s debut Fantasy album:

Vince is best remembered for his brilliant scores for the Peanuts TV specials, so it’s fun catching him with his trio a decade earlier.

Ella Strolls Across with Ben

Things always get intriguing when Ella Fitzgerald visits the Ellington songbook. She offers some lovely vocalese on this 1957 cut from her Verve sessions, with Billy sitting in on piano and Duke’s band behind her:

Nice to have Ben Webster back in the house for this one!

The Freshmen Go Latin

The vocal angle gets even more interesting in 1958, when The Four Freshmen recorded Chelsea Bridge with lyrics for their Capitol album Voices in Latin:

Apparently the lyrics were written by future Freshman Bill Comstock, who was a friend of current Freshman Ken Albers, specifically for this album. But since the lyrics weren't authorized by Billy Strayhorn or his publisher, only Billy got songwriter credit on the label.

I’m not sure why they went through all that trouble to include the non-Latin Chelsea Bridge on this album alongside Latin standards like Brazil and Frenesi, but, hey, it works!

Cat's Crossing

Back to instrumentals, Cat Anderson cut this very intriguing version for his 1959 album Ellingtonia on the Wynne label:

Ray Nance's violin lines adds a nice texture to the arrangement and Cat shows he didn't have to hit those stratospheric trumpet notes all the time!

A Peaceful Return

Billy brings the song back to its roots on his 1963 United Artists album The Peaceful Side:

I think I say this every time we visit that album, but it really is peaceful!

Duke's Island Crossing

We close in 1965 with Duke returning to the tune for his Reprise album Concert in the Virgin Islands:

Lovely as ever with Paul Gonsalves' gorgeous tenor sax!

That’s about 25 years of crossing Billy’s bridge — and it never gets old. Thanks for walking along with me!

Warehouse Whispers

There are a couple of different stories about where Billy Strayhorn found the title Chelsea Bridge. It seems certain that he was inspired by James McNeill Whistler’s painting Nocturne: Blue and Gold – Old Battersea Bridge.

One story says he mistakenly thought it depicted Chelsea Bridge.

Another says he knew it was Battersea Bridge but felt Chelsea Bridge simply sounded better for a song.

Billy was pretty smart — I vote for story number two.

Whistler's mother was unavailable for comment!

Sundays with Duke #34: The Flamingo Takes Flight

We stay parked in 1940 for one more Ellington jewel — Flamingo.

This tune didn’t come from Duke or anyone in the band. It was written by Ted Grouya (music) and Edmund Anderson (lyrics), two writers Duke had just signed to Tempo Music, his new non‑Irving Mills publishing company. He needed fresh material fast: beginning January 1, 1941, radio stations were set to ban all ASCAP‑controlled songs. Duke — and most major composers — were ASCAP members. Suddenly he needed non‑ASCAP songs in the book, and he needed them yesterday. Enter Grouya, Anderson and Billy Strayhorn.

Duke handed Flamingo to Strayhorn to arrange, and the band recorded it for Victor in November 1940, with Billy at the piano and Herb Jeffries floating that dreamy vocal over the top.

Let’s spin it:

That’s a tremendous record. It doesn’t sound like anything else — not in 1940, not in any decade. Herb’s voice doesn’t just sing the melody; it threads itself through the arrangement.

Herb was also a singing cowboy!

And Herb himself was an interesting character: Duke’s first regularly featured male vocalist, he lived to be 100.

I first heard Flamingo on a Reader’s Digest big‑band compilation ages ago, and it jumped out immediately. Johnny Hodges’ alto solo especially — nobody else sounded like that.

The record became a major hit in 1941 and even found its way into a Soundie:

Always fun to see the band!

After Duke's original version hit, plenty of covers appeared, but let’s stay close to the Ellington universe for now.

1944 — The Trio (Signature Records)

Now let’s jump ahead — clean needle drop — to 1944. Here’s an instrumental version credited to The Trio: Eddie Heywood (piano), a young Shelley Manne (drums), and — crucially — Johnny Hodges on alto.

A very cool take. Johnny gets room to stretch out compared to his brief but unforgettable 1940 solo. It’s Flamingo with the spotlight tilted just a little differently.

Herb Keeps His Signature Tune

Flamingo suited Herb Jeffries perfectly, so he kept it in his repertoire after leaving Duke in 1942. He recorded it several times, each one a little postcard from wherever he was musically at the moment.

1950 — Exclusive Records

This 1950 version is from Heb's Magenta Moods album for the Exclusive label:

Nice backing from Buddy Baker — lush, late‑night stuff.

1952 — Coral Records (with Les Brown)

Then Herb teamed with Les Brown and his Band of Renown for this 1952 Coral release:

A lovely version — Les’s band earns its “Renown.” Herb sounds relaxed, confident, like he knows exactly how this tune fits him.

1951 — The Billy Strayhorn Trio

We slide back a year for an instrumental version by The Billy Strayhorn Trio — Billy and Duke sharing piano duties, with Wendell Marshall on bass. Same Mercer release that included their Cotton Tail duet.

Always fascinating to hear Billy and Duke trading piano lines. It’s like watching two master painters sketch the same subject from opposite corners of the room.

1953 — Duke Ellington (Capitol Records)

And now we jump forward again — new label, new decade, same bird — to Duke’s full‑band instrumental version for his 1953 Capitol album Premiered by Ellington:

That’s (of course) Ray Nance on violin and Paul Gonsalves on tenor. Johnny Hodges was leading his own band at the time, between Ellington stints.

That's an interesting early concept album — songs that Duke introduced and/or popularized, but didn't compose.

1954 — Al Hibbler (Norgran Records)

We close with Al Hibbler, who sang Flamingo many times with Duke after replacing Herb Jeffries as the band’s male vocalist. His 1954 version comes from Sings Duke Ellington on Norgran:

Al sings it straight, clearly drawing from Herb’s original phrasing — and he sounds terrific. It’s a respectful, confident reading, like he’s stepping into a suit tailored by someone else but wearing it well.

The Flamingo’s Flight Path

So there’s our little aerial tour of Flamingo — from Herb’s original glide to Hodges stretching out, to Strayhorn and Duke at the piano, to Hibbler’s elegant tribute. A tune that kept finding new thermals to ride.

Tomorrow, we’ll catch even more versions and let this bird keep flying!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

In keeping with the situation, let's Let’s listen to Johnny Long’s version of "Easter Parade," recorded for Signature Records in 1947:

Have a great day!

Bonus 78 - Baseball Bloch!

                                              

As mentioned, the New York Giants baseball team looms over 1953's "Big Leaguer" from MGM.

So, let's go back a few years to 1947, for this tribute to the team by Ray Bloch on Signature Records:

A couple of things to note include the misplaced apostrophe on the label. It sounds like it's a song about one giant marching!

Another is that is that it's credited to Ray Bloch and his Military Band, although it's presumably the same bunch of musicians who cut the their songs on that session. Fun, though!

Such a song from when the Giants were still in New York playing at the Polo Grounds brings an instant feeling of nostalgia!

We heard the flipside of Ray Bloch's record back here when talking about The Chickering Four, but let's hear it again:

William Bendix's character in "Kill the Umpire" would totally agree!

Ray Bloch doesn't get talked about too much these days, but it's worth a mention that he was the musical director for the Ed Sullivan TV show for its entire run from 1948-1973.

He must have had some stories!