Duke Ellington & Ray Brown This One's For Blanton (Pablo Series) 180g LP

Analog Planet Rated 10/10 Music, 9/10 Sound!

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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 its 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.

Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab 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.

This One's for Blanton is a Pablo Records release you don't see around much at all these days, truth be told. I suspect this new Analogue Productions reissue is the one audiophiles will want anyway, especially for its impeccably quiet noise floor. As an audiophile release, well, just listen for the decay of Duke's piano at the end of 'Second Movement' (Side 2, Track 2), and you'll know original mastering engineer Doug Sax captured some special lightning in this bottle! As an Ellington fan, I find This One's for Blanton to be an essential listen — and you should too.