(Post-Bop, Trombone, New Orleans Jazz) Wycliffe Gordon (with Adrian Cunningham, Aaron Diehl, Zach Brock, Yasushi Nakamura, Alvin Atkinson) - The Intimate Ellington / Ballads and Blues - 2013 [Criss Cross], WEB, FLAC (tracks), lossless

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On his eighth Criss Cross leader date, Wycliffe Gordon (awarded 2012 Trombonist of the Year by both the DownBeat Critics Poll and the Jazz Journalists' Asssociation) distills his exhaustive knowledge of the oeuvre of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn on a wellcrafted, ten-piece program spanning a timeline from 1927 (Creole Love Call) to 1967 (The Intimacy Of The Blues).
Hardly the "intimate Ellington" you might guess from the cover – and instead something even better overall! The album's not just laidback readings of tunes from Duke – as most numbers have this lowdown and gritty sort of vibe – more blues than ballads – played by the Wycliffe Gordon group with a really soulful sense of rhythm – almost more 60s soul jazz than the usual Ellington groove – and a bit like the sort of a record that an Ellington sideman might have made for Prestige. There's a sweet snapping groove on most of the numbers – and a few more mellow numbers round out the set nicely. Dee Daniels sings a bit on those mellow cuts, but most numbers are instrumentals – played by Gordon on trombone and trumpet, spurred by a killer rhythm section of pianist Aaron Diehl, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, and drummer Alvin Atkinson -- plays with characteristic effervescence and tonal creativity, matched by Adrian Cunningham on saxophones and woodwinds and, on several selections, the soulful violin virtuoso Zach Brock and vocalist Dee Daniels.

Wycliffe Gordon trombone, soprano trombone, trumpet, vocals
Adrian Cunningham clarinet, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone
Aaron Diehl piano
Zach Brock violin
Yasushi Nakamura bass
Alvin Atkinson drums
Dee Daniels vocals (3, 4)