Willie Smith plays "Sophisticated Lady" with Duke Ellington 1952
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
- This soundie was recorded right after Duke Ellington committed the "Great James Robbery" in 1952. Willie Smith, Louis Bellson and Juan Tizol left Harry James and joined Duke Ellington. Willie shows how much different the Duke's sax section sounded with Willie instead of Johnny Hodges in the lead chair. However, Ellington's band, as great as the musicians were, was very undisciplined musically. Willie soon missed the comfort and musical discipline of the Harrry James band and within 18 months was back with Harry.
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In my opinion "sophisticated lady" was Duke's greatest composition by far, and to consider he wrote it in 1933 demonstrates how far ahead of his time this true genius was. I was privileged and honored to have seen Duke in concert at MSG in 1971 when i was just 14 and just getting started in my life of music. Duke certainly inspired me and without a doubt every other jazz musician who studies his music. He was also an example of how a band leader should lead his band and how a leader should interact with his band. Duke featured his soloists and supported their artistry and treated the guys pretty well with money and respect as well. Who wouldn't stay with a guy like that for 30, 40 or even 50 years as many of the musicians did. There was only one Duke and he didn't come along once in a lifetime, he only came along once, period. Thank you Duke!
Strayhorn wrote not Duke I believe. Duke took credit for lots of Billy's work.
@@davidcox8961 Although Duke and Billy collaborated on tunes like 'satin doll' and 'A train' Duke Ellington is the composer of 'sophisticated lady'
Wow! Willie Smith has it all - technique, taste, phrasing.
The unmistakable and incomparable Willie Smith!
Stupendous !!!
Thank you for sharing this gem.
Willie Smith and Jimmy Philips two kings of the alto sax.
Fabulous alto sound of the great Willie Smith
Thank you for this gift of music. The world just seems to stand still.
Hodges and Smith were very similar in many ways,and I mean that as a compliment.
Was a favorite of Bird. Wonderful player.
Now I know, I have to find records of Willie Smith, he an awesome player.
Willie Smith was an alto sax and clarinet player and singer in the Jimmie Lunceford band from 1930 ? to 1942
The discipline of the Lunceford band!.
beautiful .
Willie Smith is unchallenged as my absolute favorite alto saxophonist ever. This recording doesn't begin to show his incredible ability. Not to take from Hodges, but Smith's tone and ideas are unrivalled.
And shamefully forgotten today by sax players who know nothing about their own instrument history...
From an interview with Art Blakey:
“There was a guy in Fletcher Henderson's band who said, "Man, you ought to hear this guy Charlie Parker." "Man, he can't outplay Willie Smith?" "He can." I got mad at this guy. A little while later we met Parker.
Although I was,and still am, a grat fan of Willie Smiths alto.For those of you who really love to hear this instrument played with crisp technique,perfectly in tune and faultless glissandi,try a listen to 'Mad About The Boy' played by Lesley Gilbert, lead alto of Heath.
Oh my...Harry Carney plays bass clarinet,baritone sax and occasionally alto sax. Jimmy Hamilton plays tenor and clarinet. Russel Procope plays alto sax and clarinet (albert system). Williw Smith substituted Johnny Hodges in the early fifties when he tried to form his own band. But he came back shortly after. Smith was the star of Lunceford band and later of Harry James'
What I meant was that Willie was a serious section player and a great reader. Many of Ellington's musicians could barely read music. Will Friedwald wrote in his book "Sinatra, the Singers Art" that when Billy May wrote charts for Ellington's album with Sinatra in 1967, the band read Billy's charts SO poorly, that Billy had to hire "ringers" such as Al Porcino to pull off the recording. Plus, James's band paid a WHOLE lot more than Ellington.
From 1952…Duke Ellington was one of the best of the Big Bands that had a serious bent towards jazz.
@olbrneyes That's understandable when someone other than Ellington or Strayhorn was writing for the band. As I understand the majority of the band's parts for new compositions were simply sketched out and they nailed them more through experience than anything else. The writer and the band had a 'way' of developing new tunes that transcended perfectly written charts
In 1939, when Harry asked Frank Sinatra to get him a job on Tommy Dorsey's band, he was serious. By 1952, those comments were a joke. Harry was far too immersed in horse breeding/racing to work for anyone else. For guys like Willie and Louis, working on Ellington's band looked good on a resume, not something they wanted to do for a long period of time.
Now Basie might have been a different story.
My wife was on Harry's band for 11 years. Harry paid much more than Ellington or even Basie.
Who's that dude leading on bass clarinet?
Not baritonist Harry?
I do really love altoist Willie Smith - comparatively unsung hero.
+Chuck Par-Due
Thank you as always, my friend. Am glad to know him.
+RoSkaters3000
The bass clarinetist is ...???
Hamilton or Carney?
However, Hamilton can play a tenor saxophone; can he not?
@@ChuckParDue1953 That's undoubtedly the great Harry Carney,
@@ChuckParDue1953 It's Carney. See his face and stature.
Also: Jimmy playing lead clarinet, lonesome baritone in the stand on the left... More hints?
Carney in later years proceeded to play Sophisticated Lady on his Baritone
@@erforderlich5274 Also you can see the empty chair next to the bari sax at 0:50
According to Clark Terry when Willie Smith was with Duke nobody in the band even remembered Johnny Hodges.
The sound changed but I heard Willie only lasted 18 months with the Duke.
fine baritone clarinet...!
bass :)
2:28 Bird. 2:37 Also Bird.
Listen to Willie Smith and you'll hear where Charlie Parker came from...
If this should suggest Willie Smith was Parkers main influence, your thesis seems a bit daring. - Willie Smith was one of the "Fathers of Alto-Sax" and naturally had tremendous impact on the scene of the 30ies. But Bird in his earliest years was certainly more occupied studying Lester Youngs tenor sax. And btw every musician and piece of music he happened to hear, was devoured. Also the other "Alto Sax Father" Jimmy Dorsey was a big influence he mentioned. Like Dorsey, Bird was a lot into classical music too - shown by numerous quotes of etudes and famous motifs in his solos. Smith in contrary used french vibrato as a frequent device - Parker very rarely did.
Willie Smith sure was a stunning player with great imagination and Hawk-like competence of harmony. Parker certainly picked up on and enhanced Smith's expedition to further, even greater heights.
Willie Smith (b.1910) didn't begin to get noticed until 1940's after college and the army. Parker(b.1920) cut his first album in 1938 with the Jay McShann band. Parker was also recognized by Downbeat before Willie for his virtuosity. So that's why Benny (b.1907) introduced Parker, who introduced Willie....in order of popularity.
even though Willie Smith has his accolades, he would’ve never been able to fill the shoes of Johnny Hodges when Hodges left to lead his own band - Willie’s sound is almost jagged in comparison with Rabbit’s sound
Smith was indeed an obvious influence - but I think that to say Charlie Parker came from Willie Smith is overstating it.
bass clarinet must indeed be Harold Carney . Ellington/s longest lasting band member ? (usually baritine saxophone ,of course
That's Jimmy Hamilton
@@purkasz It is definitely Harry Carney playing the bass clarinet solo at the beginning. You can see Jimmy Hamilton sat in the section playing clarinet.
@@i_am_jazzevene without knowing his face it is a well known fact that Carney played bass clarinet :)