__NOTOC__ ''Johnny Hodges with Billy Strayhorn and the Orchestra'' is a 1962

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

Johnny Hodges Johnny Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophone, alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on sop ...

accompanied by an orchestra arranged by

Billy Strayhorn William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take the ...

. The album features many members of

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

's orchestra. The album was reissued on CD by Verve in 1999, and on LP by Speakers Corner and Analogue Productions in 2013.

Reception

Ken Dryden on

Allmusic.com AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the data ...

gave the album four stars out of five, commenting: "Hodges is never less than superb throughout this reissue...Strayhorn's exotic chart of 'Azure' and emotional scoring of 'Your Love Has Faded' are especially striking. Recommended." Dryden also singled out the performances of trombonist Lawrence Brown, saxophonist

Harry Carney Harry Howell Carney (April 1, 1910 – October 8, 1974) was a jazz saxophonist and clarinettist who spent over four decades as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He played a variety of instruments, but primarily used the baritone saxophon ...

, trumpeter

Howard McGhee Howard McGhee (March 6, 1918 – July 17, 1987) was one of the first American bebop jazz trumpeters, with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for his fast fingering and high notes. He had an influence on younger bebo ...

, and pianist Jimmy Jones for praise. ''Johnny Hodges with Billy Strayhorn and the Orchestra'' was reviewed by Don DeMichael in the June 7, 1962 edition of ''

Downbeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

''. The March 12, 1962 edition of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' highlighted the album as having 'Strong Sales Potential', rating it with four stars. ''Billboard'' said it was a "strong set, bound to please Hodges many fans".

References

{{authority control 1962 albums Albums arranged by Billy Strayhorn Albums produced by Creed Taylor Albums recorded at Van Gelder Studio Johnny Hodges albums Verve Records albums