Duke Ellington & Ray Brown – This One’s For Blanton (LP, Analogue Productions)

Duke Ellington teams up here with bassist Ray Brown in a set reminiscent of Duke’s work with Jimmy Blanton three decades before. In addition to the four-part ‘Fragmented Suite for Piano and Bass, ‘ the duo plays five standards (including ‘Pitter Panther Patter’ from the Blanton days and three other Ellington-associated tunes).When he died in 1942, 21-year-old Blanton had liberated the string bass from it’s traditional role as an accompanist. Brown, and another Blanton disciple, Oscar Pettiford, carried forward Blanton’s work of developing the bass into a solo instrument.Their contributions had a great deal to do with bebop’s becoming a mature music. More than 30 years after Blanton’s death, Brown went into a studio with Ellington to pay homage to his idol. Their duets echo the famous ones of Ellington and Blanton and demonstrate Brown’s creativity and virtuosity on the Blanton model.Delightful and often playful music. Recommended.Cut from existing metal parts mastered by Doug Sax from the original analog master tape. Pressed at Quality Record Pressings for superior sound quality, and housed in a handsome Stoughton Printing tip-on gatefold jacket.180-gram vinylCut from metal parts mastered by Doug Sax from the original analog master tapePressed at Quality Record PressingsHoused in Stoughton Printing tip-on gatefold jacketTracklist:Side 11. Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me (5:30)2. Pitter Panther Patter (3:00)3. Things Ain’t What They Used To Be (3:56)4. Sophisticated Lady (5:22)5. See See Rider (3:04)Side 21. First Movement (4:47)2. Second Movement (5:07)3. Third Movement (3:35)4. Fourth Movement (4:55).