It is advisable to book any event listed here in advance when possible and check with the promoter/ organiser to ensure any performance is going ahead as planned before travelling.
Sunday, 6 July 2025 13:00 (BST)
The Duke Ellington Songbook
Echoes of Ellington, directed by Pete Long
Pizza Express, 10, Dean Street, Soho, W1D 3RW
From the website:
Following their sold-out inaugural Dean Street 2023 concert and a follow up successful return last year, we had no hesitation in arranging this further 2025 Summertime return for Pete Long and his Echoes of Ellington Big Band presenting the Duke Ellington Song Book, featuring the sensational voice of Sara Oschlag, echoing the style of the great Ella Fitzgerald.
Ellington Effect Workshop #53 with David Berger: Warm Valley
Sunday, July 20th 15:00 (EDT)
Join David Berger for the 53rd Zoom webinar in David Berger's Ellington Effect workshop series, which will focus on Ellington's iconic composition Warm Valley. The Ellington Effect workshops are monthly Zoom meetings where David dives into a single composition each time, analyzing it musically line by line, as well as relating pertinent stories about Duke and the band, and answering questions from attendees. This one will take place on Sunday, July 20th at 3:00pm EDT.
About Warm Valley
One of Ellington’s more erogenous titles slyly referring a part the female anatomy, this recording for RCA was originally released on the flipside of Flaming Sword in case there was any question as to Ellington’s meaning.
Although Ellington had written and recorded many ballads before, some of which became hits and eventually standards, like Solitude, In A Sentimental Mood and Sophisticated Lady, it was Warm Valley that captured Billy Strayhorn’s attention and imagination becoming the prototype of all the ballads he wrote for Johnny Hodges. Strayhorn said that both he and Ellington wrote a pile of material for Warm Valley, but Duke didn’t use any of Billy’s music in the final product.
Unlike those other ballads, Warm Valley never became a hit nor were Bob Russell’s geographical lyrics recorded by Ellington. Many years later Johnny Hartman, Alice Babs, Abbey Lincoln, and others did record the lyrics.
In a perfect use of opposites, Ellington combines a chromatic melody and harmony with a more diatonic accompaniment from the muted brass. Johnny Hodges’ romantic tone and approach is contrasted with Rex Stewart’s more jocular approach.
Due to the slow tempo, the full 72 measures would not fit on a 78-rpm phonograph record. The band recorded three takes on October 17, 1940 experimenting with deleting different sections of ensemble playing from the complete written chart. David Berger reproduced the entire chart as written and planned and transcribed the solo and rhythm section parts from the released recording where possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment