Ellington stalwart Gonsalves gets together with some great cats here to play some lovely stuff. Wynton Kelly, Nat Adderly, Sam Jones and Jimmy Cobb supports Gonsalves. Brilliant lineup. An intriguing, unsual date for an ’Ellington musician”, according to the liner notes. With the point being that no other Ellington musicians are on hand here, and no tunes associated with the Duke are played, which apparently was against the norm compared to when other Ellington sidemen led groups.
Gonsalves had a round and hearty tone which I love. It’s a quintessential tenor tone for me. On this album he plays wonderful, both the uptempo stuff and he also has a beautiful approach to playing the ballad. This is another example of a cat I haven’t explored before. I’m sure I will be checking out his other stuff as well. I’ve also acquired an Ellington title recently, on which Gonsalves is present, and I’ll be looking to explore the Duke’s catalogue more in depth. It’s a special quest for me, as my grandfather on my mothers side was a big Ellington and Armstrong fan.
Favorite picks on this album are the moody and steamy ”Yesterdays”, the beautiful ballad ”I Surrender Dear”, the bluesy 8 minute ”Low Gravy” and the last tune on Side B, which is the cooker ”Walkin’”.
Are you into Gonsalves? Cheers!