Johnny Hodges with Leon Thomas & Oliver Nelson – 3 Shades of Blue (Flying Dutchman, 1970)

Johnny Hodges (as); Leon Thomas (vo, tracks 2, 4 & 6 only); Oliver Nelson (arr, cond); Randy Brecker (tr); Ernie Royal (tr); Marvin Stamm (tr); Snooky Young (tr); Al Grey (tb); Quentin Jackson (tb); Garnett Brown (tb); Thomas Mitchell (tb); Bob Ashton (reeds); Danny Bank (reeds); Jerry Dodgion (reeds); Joe Farrell (reeds); Jerome Richardson (reeds); Frank Wess (reeds); David Spinozza (g); Earl Hines (p); Hank Jones (p); Ron Carter (b); Grady Tate (d)

Recorded on March 17 & 19, 1970

Johnny Hodges joined the Duke Ellington Orchestra in November 1928.  Except for a handful of years at the beginning of the 1950s, he was a member of Ellington’s band for the rest of his life.  It’s impossible to imagine Ellington’s legacy without hearing the suave, vibrato-laden sound of Hodges’ alto.  Along with Harry Carney’s baritone sax, no other instrumentalist had a greater impact in determining the sound of Duke’s band.  In The World of Duke Ellington (DaCapo, 2000), the Duke succinctly explains the altoist’s enduring appeal:

“Johnny Hodges has complete independence of expression.  He says what he wants to say on the horn, and that is it.  He says it in his language, which is specific, and you could say that his is pure artistry” (p. 91).

Hodges is inescapably linked with the sound of Ellington, and that’s one of things that makes this LP so interesting.  Even though most of the tracks are Ellington compositions—and Johnny Hodges is the featured soloist—this band sounds so different than Ellington’s.  Of course, the presence of Leon Thomas on a few cuts makes the music sound unlike Ellington’s.  Duke preferred smooth-toned, crooning vocalists, especially when it came to male singers.  Thomas’ careening and unusual vocalizing is practically the opposite of what Duke looked for.

But even more than Thomas’ singing, this studio aggregation sounds different than Duke’s band because of Oliver Nelson’s distinctive and distinctly un-Ellingtonian arrangements.  The Ellington band was renowned for its looseness and flexibility.  But this studio group—and the arrangements—are crisp and sharp-edged.  Hearing Hodges in this new context is shocking, the contrast is extreme.

But I don’t mean this as a criticism.  Not at all.  In fact, I think Oliver Nelson is one of the great under-appreciated talents in jazz.  He was a unique and fascinating saxophonist, and his talents as an arranger were constantly in demand.  Here's a sampling of his credits as an arranger:

• Cannonball Adderley - Domination (Capitol, 1965)
• Gene Ammons - Late Hour Special (Prestige, 1961)
• Gato Barbieri - Last Tango in Paris (United Artists, 1972)
• Count Basie - Afrique (Flying Dutchman, 1970)
• James Brown - Soul on Top (King, 1969)
• Betty Carter - 'Round Midnight (Atco, 1963)
• Ray Charles - A Portrait of Ray (ABC/Tangerine, 1968)
• Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Trane Whistle (Prestige, 1960)
• Lou Donaldson - Rough House Blues (Cadet, 1964)
• Art Farmer - Listen to Art Farmer and the Orchestra (Mercury, 1962)
• Jimmy Forrest - Soul Street (New Jazz, 1962)
• Carmen McRae - Portrait of Carmen (Atlantic, 1967)
• Lee Morgan - Delightfulee (Blue Note, 1966)
• Sonny Rollins - Alfie (Impulse, 1966)
• Jimmy Rushing - Every Day I Have the Blues (BluesWay, 1967)
• Shirley Scott - Roll 'Em: Shirley Scott Plays the Big Bands (Impulse, 1966)
• Jimmy Smith - Bashin': The Unpredictable Jimmy Smith (Verve, 1962)
• Billy Taylor - Right Here, Right Now! (Capitol, 1963)
• Cal Tjader - Soul Burst (Verve, 1966)
• Stanley Turrentine - Joyride (Blue Note, 1965)
• Nancy Wilson - Lush Life (Capitol, 1967)

And this list doesn’t even include the arranging that Nelson did for his own albums!

More from Johnny Hodges

Sadly, Hodges died less than two months after making 3 Shades of Blue.  However, he did return to the studio one more time to participate in the recording of Ellington’s New Orleans Suite (Atlantic, 1970).  As always, Hodges plays masterfully, appearing on five of the album’s nine tracks.  It’s a fitting farewell.

More from Oliver Nelson

If you want to hear more from Oliver Nelson, be sure to listen to Black, Brown and Beautiful (Flying Dutchman, 1970).  Since it was recorded in October 1969, I haven’t included it in this survey; nevertheless, it’s one of the high points of Nelson’s large discography.  (I should note that Nelson revisits the album’s title composition, “Black, Brown and Beautiful” on 3 Shades of Blue.  I think it’s the most transcendent music on the album.  Absolutely gorgeous.)

Berlin Dialogue for Orchestra (Flying Dutchman, 1971) is another excellent Nelson LP.  Recorded with a pick-up orchestra full of American and European jazz stars, Nelson made the recording at the 1971 Berliner Jazztage music festival.