A combination of sessions previously issued
PH-50-NC | Southeast USA | 07/31/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I haven't bought this CD, but it apparently takes the full contents of Strayhorn's 1961 Lp "The Peaceful Side" (along with the great cover photo from the United Artists Lp), adds in the eight Ellington-Strayhorn dual piano tunes found on "Great Times! Piano Duets with Billy Strayhorn" (OJC/Riverside put this title out on CD), and finishes off the program with two more takes on Tonk and a version of Drawing Room Blues (are these the RCA Victor versions from 1946 or so?).
Anyway, assuming the transfers are decent (I don't think either "The Peaceful Side" or the eight Ellington-Strayhorn duets were recorded as well as they could have been, even given the technology of the day), this would be a good bargain. The liner notes you'd be missing from the CD issue of "The Peaceful Side" are taken straight from David Hadju's 1996 Strayhorn biography, which is essential reading for anyone checking out Strayhorn.
BTW, Strayhorn basically recorded two studio albums of his own music. Only the first of these, "The Peaceful Side" (tracks 1-10 on this CD), was released during his lifetime. (Other records were released under Strayhorn's name during his lifetime because either Ellington or Johnny Hodges were contractually bound to labels other than the ones the records came out on.) Strayhorn's second studio album is the music found on tracks 3-20 of the 1992 Red Baron CD "Lush Life", featuring recordings of a band put together by Strayhorn in the summer of 1965 for a special New York concert of his music sponsored by an Ellington fan club/society. Strayhorn's cancer had been diagnosed and the fans wanted to celebrate him while he was still living. That album (ironically, considering Strayhorn's health) is a much happier and swinging affair than the moody "The Peaceful Side."
Of course, the greater part of Strayhorn's legacy--the real 5-star stuff written for and played by the Ellington orchestra--is to be found in bits and pieces spread out across 28 years worth of Ellington 78s and Lps.
To get the big picture on Strayhorn's body of compositions and arrangements for Ellington and for various theatrical projects, the book "Something to Live For: The Music of Billy Strayhorn" by Walter van de Leur is the place to start. It complements the Hadju biography nicely."
Complexity of Strayhorn
D. Dulicai | Virginia | 08/29/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Strayhorn was not a simple arranger or composer so to present his talent in a format that does him justice is not an easy task. The music chosen was broad based showing his depth but it was interspersed with cuts that showed his ability to accompany without over-riding other artists. For a newcomer to this talent, this is a good pick."
Track Listings (21) - Disc #1