Cue for Saxophone is an album by pianist and composer Billy Strayhorn's Septet comprising members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra recorded in 1959 and originally released on the Felsted label in 1959, then reissued by Vocalion in 1962.[1][2]
Strayhorn biographer David Hajdu has written that Cue for Saxophone was conceived by producer Stanley Dance as a Johnny Hodges small-group jazz album, much like the Hodges LPs that were being released by Verve Records at the time. It was released under Strayhorn's name (and Hodges was only listed under the pseudonym "Cue Porter") because Hodges was contractually prohibited from releasing albums on other record labels: "Since Hodges was under contract with Norman Granz to record exclusively for Verve Records, Dance found himself prohibited from releasing the album under Hodge's name. As an out, he titled it Cue for Saxophone, a hint at the featured player's identity, and issued the record in the name of Billy Strayhorn's Septet. 'Billy didn't care,' said Dance. Indeed, as [drummer Oliver] Jackson explained, Strayhorn seemed to exert a minimum of creative effort on the project. 'He showed up late, and he didn't have anything planned....He knocked off whatever arrangements we used off the top of his head. He didn't seem to give much of a damn, and the thing had his name on it....I said, 'Hey Strays, isn't this something, man? All those things you did for Duke, and all the people think Duke did 'em? And here there's finally a record with your own name on it, and it's really Rabs!'" For the same reason, a 1958 recording of the Duke Ellington Orchestra live at the Blue Note club in Chicago was originally released on Roulette Records under Strayhorn's name as Billy Strayhorn Live!!!"[3]
The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow stated: "Composer/arranger/pianist Billy Strayhorn led surprisingly few sessions throughout his career, and this was only his second full-length album. Actually, the main star is altoist Johnny Hodges (who goes here under the pseudonym of "Cue Porter"), while Strayhorn (who plays piano on the seven songs) only co-wrote two basic tunes... The results are a fine mainstream session".[4]
Track listingEdit
"Cue's Blue Now" (Billy Strayhorn, Johnny Hodges) - 10:07
^ abYanow, Scott. Cue for Saxophone – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
October 17, 2023
saxophone, album, pianist, composer, billy, strayhorn, septet, comprising, members, duke, ellington, orchestra, recorded, 1959, originally, released, felsted, label, 1959, then, reissued, vocalion, 1962, studio, album, billy, strayhornreleased1959recordedapril. Cue for Saxophone is an album by pianist and composer Billy Strayhorn s Septet comprising members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra recorded in 1959 and originally released on the Felsted label in 1959 then reissued by Vocalion in 1962 1 2 Cue for SaxophoneStudio album by Billy StrayhornReleased1959RecordedApril 14 1959 in New York CityGenreJazzLength39 54LabelFelsted FAJ 7008ProducerStanley DanceBilly Strayhorn chronologyGreat Times 1950 Cue for Saxophone 1959 The Peaceful Side 1961 Strayhorn biographer David Hajdu has written that Cue for Saxophone was conceived by producer Stanley Dance as a Johnny Hodges small group jazz album much like the Hodges LPs that were being released by Verve Records at the time It was released under Strayhorn s name and Hodges was only listed under the pseudonym Cue Porter because Hodges was contractually prohibited from releasing albums on other record labels Since Hodges was under contract with Norman Granz to record exclusively for Verve Records Dance found himself prohibited from releasing the album under Hodge s name As an out he titled it Cue for Saxophone a hint at the featured player s identity and issued the record in the name of Billy Strayhorn s Septet Billy didn t care said Dance Indeed as drummer Oliver Jackson explained Strayhorn seemed to exert a minimum of creative effort on the project He showed up late and he didn t have anything planned He knocked off whatever arrangements we used off the top of his head He didn t seem to give much of a damn and the thing had his name on it I said Hey Strays isn t this something man All those things you did for Duke and all the people think Duke did em And here there s finally a record with your own name on it and it s really Rabs For the same reason a 1958 recording of the Duke Ellington Orchestra live at the Blue Note club in Chicago was originally released on Roulette Records under Strayhorn s name as Billy Strayhorn Live 3 Contents 1 Reception 2 Track listing 3 Personnel 4 ReferencesReception EditProfessional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllmusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 4 The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow stated Composer arranger pianist Billy Strayhorn led surprisingly few sessions throughout his career and this was only his second full length album Actually the main star is altoist Johnny Hodges who goes here under the pseudonym of Cue Porter while Strayhorn who plays piano on the seven songs only co wrote two basic tunes The results are a fine mainstream session 4 Track listing Edit Cue s Blue Now Billy Strayhorn Johnny Hodges 10 07 Gone with the Wind Allie Wrubel Herb Magidson 4 18 Cherry Don Redman Ray Gilbert 5 54 Watch Your Cue Strayhorn Hodges 3 10 You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me Irving Kahal Pierre Norman Sammy Fain 7 23 When I Dream Of You Charlie Carpenter Earl Hines 3 33 Rose Room Art Hickman Harry Williams 6 02Personnel EditBilly Strayhorn piano Cue Porter Johnny Hodges alto saxophone Harold Shorty Baker trumpet Quentin Jackson trombone Russell Procope clarinet Al Hall bass Oliver Jackson drumsReferences Edit Billy Strayhorn discography accessed April 14 2015 Felsted Records discography accessed April 14 2015 David Hajdu Lush Life A Biography of Billy Strayhorn Farrar Straus and Giroux 1996 ISBN 0 86547 512 1 page 198 a b Yanow Scott Cue for Saxophone Review at AllMusic Retrieved April 14 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cue for Saxophone amp oldid 1081956828, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
