Big Sweet N' Blue (1993)

About this title: Since there are not that many alumni of Duke Ellington's orchestra active, it is surprising that altoist Norris Turney (who was with Ellington from 1969-1973 and eventually replaced the unreplaceable Johnny Hodges) has not been recorded all that extensively during the 20 years since. In fact, his Mapleshade debut is the 72-year-old's first session at the head of a quartet and the music's obvious success is even more impressive when one realizes that Turney had never played with the other musicians (pianist Larry Willis, bassist Walter Booker, and drummer Jimmy Cobb) before. Norris Turney is a ... read more

Tracks:

1. Blues for Edward [Turney]
2. Here's That Rainy Day [VanHeusen/Burke]
3. Blues in B [Turney/Willis/Booke]
4. Checkered Hat [Spencer/Turney]
5. I Can't Give You Anything But Love [Fields/McHugh]
6. Streets of Dreams [Young/Lewis]
7. In a Mellow Tone [Ellington/Gabler]
8. Blood Count [Strayhorn]
9. I've Never Been in Love Before [Loesser]
10. Come Sunday [Ellington]

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.