Some readers may recall that, back in October of 2022, saxophonist Owen Broder launched a project that would serve as a tribute to another saxophonist, Johnny Hodges, through a series of albums of tunes that Hodges performed either as the lead alto saxophonist in Duke Ellington’s big band or on his own. The second album was released this past April 19, and it is available through an Amazon.com Web page for MP3 download and the purchase of a vinyl album. Once again, Broder alternates between alto and baritone saxophones, leading a quintet whose other members are Riley Mulherkar on trumpet, pianist Carmen Staaf, Barry Stephenson III on bass, and drummer Bryan Carter.
The new release has eight tracks, only two of which are familiar to me. One of them is, as its Wikipedia page puts it, “a fundamental part of jazz musicians' repertoire,” W. C. Handy’s “Saint Louis Blues.” The other is one of Ellington’s most lyrical creations, “The Star-Crossed Lovers,” which he composed in 1957. (This was given poignant choreography by Talley Beatty in his “The Road of the Phoebe Snow.”) The remaining six tracks are “Used To Be Duke,” “Wabash Blues,” “Back Beat,” “Big Smack,” “Shady Side,” and “Stompy Jones.”
All of this makes for thoroughly engaging listening. My only quibble is that the advance material I received included some very informative liner notes by Willard Jenkins. Sadly, these are not available through the download site; and I have no idea whether they are included with the vinyl release. Those that take their listening seriously deserve the benefits of “background knowledge.” There is no question that Hodges is worthy of this tribute project, but such a tribute decidedly deserves context as well as content!
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