Duke At The Roadhouse (IPO Recordings)
Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway
Released June 11, 2013
Grand Prix de l’Académie du Jazz 2013
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=5mX-0OG70Rw&list=OLAK5uy_l2tFeCycwn0lTGYScL8PElT5Z8-4jjvmo
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/album/54MC87Qr65JogF2aR9gZLK?si=f9B6FIobRCOzHaxY__ERjg
About:
1966 was a big year for me. I was asked to join the Thad Jones- Mel Lewis orchestra and was thrust onto the American Jazz scene playing at the Village Vanguard every Monday night. There I was, playing with some of my own idols… Pepper Adams, Hank Jones, Bob Brookmeyer, Snooky Young, Roland Hanna, Jerome Richardson… it totally changed my world!
Towards the spring of that year I was asked to play at a jam session with Duke Ellington. It was a small restaurant-bar in Greenwich Village. I walked in and there was Duke at the piano and people saying to me “Get up there and play Eddie”. There was no rhythm section… just the 2 of us… wow! and some other musicians in the wings waiting to get a chance. It was such fun to see Duke turn his head towards me and give me that big smile while I was playing. What an experience… indelible marks that last forever.
Fast forward 56 years to last October 2012 in Santa Fe New Mexico, those indelible marks having helped carve a career for me that I always will be thankful for, I was asked to perform at a benefit concert by a group called “New Mexico Center for Therapeutic Riding”, which helps young people with disabilities while working with horses. The concert was to be held at the Lensic Theater. I immediately decided that the music should be Duke’s and chose Roger Kellaway as my collaborator! Since Roger and I had already recorded 2 albums as a duo for IPO records… “A Duet of One” and “Live at the Library of Congress”… and given the idea of Duke’s music, I thought that adding a cello to our duo would add a richness to the music. Roger, being a “Cellophile”, known for his “Cello Quartets” albums, jumped on it!
I then suggested to Roger that we each write an original tune dedicated to Duke… Roger’s is called “Duke in Ojai” and mine being “Duke at the Roadhouse”, the latter being named after Harry’s Roadhouse in Santa Fe, which bustles with Duke’s musical energy and greatly reminds me of that place in the Village where I had my indelible “Duke” experience. Also part of our benefit concert was a painting donated by the legendary Native American artist Doug Coffin. The cover of this album “Duke At The Roadhouse” was done by Doug as he listened to the final mixes of this live concert. He truly is part of the band.
My special thanks to Roger, who is so much fun to play with, Morrie Backun, who made my clarinet, the Lensic Theater, The New Mexico Center for Therapeutic Riding, Doug Coffin for being part of the interplay, cellist James Holland, and IPO’s Bill Sorin, who records music that he loves and is passionate about. Enjoy!!!
Eddie Daniels
Partnering with one of the world’s great clarinetists is challenging. But, after more than 25 years, it’s also musically quite rewarding ! For this Santa Fe CD, Eddie suggested adding Cello And, because of my passion for the Cello ( beginning with the A&M recording of “The Roger Kelllaway Cello Quartet” 42 years ago), I was delighted.
As with all of my Cello writing, everything is written out — even the Jazz solos. Therefore it becomes necessary for the Cellist to have some knowledge of Jazz phrasing in order to have the Jazz solos sound like improvisations. James Holland said, “yes” to this challenge. Once again, I’m delighted.
Roger Kellaway
Track Listing:
1. I’m Beginning to See the Light (Duke Ellington / Johnny Hodges) 7:07
2. Creole Love Call (Duke Ellington) 4:33
3. Perdido (Hans Lengsfelder / Juan Tizol) 7:35
4. Duke at the Roadhouse (Eddie Daniels) 3:24
5. In a Mellow Tone (Duke Ellington) 6:22
6. In a Sentimental Mood (Duke Ellington / Irving Mills) 9:11
7. Sophisticated Lady (Duke Ellington / Irving Mills) 5:29
8. Duke in Ojai (Roger Kellaway) 4:49
9. Mood Indigo (Barney Bigard / Duke Ellington / Irving Mills) 2:41
10. It Don’t Mean a Thing (Duke Ellington / Irving Mills) 5:19
Personnel:
Eddie Daniels: clarinet, tenor saxophone
Roger Kellaway: piano
James Holland: cello
Recorded as a benefit concert for the New Mexico Center for Therapeutic Riding, October 12 & 13, 2012, at Lensic Theater, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Produced by Eddie Daniels & Roger Kellaway
Sound Engineering and Mastering by Andrew Click
Photography by Steohen Hassay
Cover Painting: Doug Coffin
Review:
For
a powerful adrenaline rush, it’s hard to beat a full house (sixteen or
seventeen single-minded musicians wailing in unison and swinging like there’s
no tomorrow), although there’s a lot to be said for a pair of aces, too. That’s
the hand that’s dealt on Duke at the Roadhouse: Live in Santa Fe,
the aces in question being clarinetist / tenor saxophonist Eddie Daniels and
pianist Roger Kellaway (with
cellist James Holland raising the ante as a wild card on four numbers).
As the title denotes, this is music for the most
part associated with Duke Ellington,
amplified by one original apiece by Daniels (“Duke at the Roadhouse”)
and Kellaway (“Duke in Ojai”). Ellington wrote (or co-wrote) seven
numbers, the odd song out being Juan Tizol’s “Perdido.” Daniels penned “Roadhouse” to honor a
time in 1966 when, as a new member of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra, he was invited to play in a jam session with Ellington
at a nightclub in Greenwich Village, an experience he has never forgotten.
While Kellaway doesn’t say what led him to write “Duke in Ojai,”
there must be a story there too.
Daniels,
who has become almost a full-time clarinetist since his tenure with the Jones /
Lewis Orchestra, shows on “In a Mellow Tone” and “Sophisticated
Lady” that he can still wield a mean tenor sax. He has “Lady” to
himself (with Kellaway comping trimly), and his unaccompanied intro, lasting a
minute and a half, is a gem among gems. Also worth noting is how easily
Kellaway, who can swing with the best of them, slips into Ellington’s more
high-toned dinner jacket to produce subtle motifs that blend erudition with
elegance. The duo cut loose only on the closing theme, “It Don’t Mean a
Thing,” and even here the customary exuberance is held somewhat in check,
perhaps in deference to the session’s sobriety quotient.
In every respect, the temper is unmistakably
Ellingtonian, from “I’m Beginning to See the Light” through
“Creole Love Call,” “Perdido,” “In a Sentimental
Mood,” “Mood Indigo,” Daniels’ tenor showpieces and the two
originals. The addition of a cello, suggested by Daniels, was enthusiastically
endorsed by Kellaway, who wrote Holland’s solos (he takes a couple) in advance.
The album was (superbly) recorded in October 2012 at Santa Fe’s Lensic Theatre
as a benefit for the city’s Center for Therapeutic Riding, which uses horses to
help young people with disabilities recuperate. Whatever the cause, Daniels and
Kellaway have dealt themselves a winning hand, one that is well worth betting
on.
Jack Bowers (All About Jazz)
