“Meanwhile, I was looking around for musicians who were sympathetic to my musical ideas and would fit my plans. I now wanted to incorporate Duke Ellington’s harmonic approach and tone colors with Count Basie’s rhythmic drive.”
Charlie Barnet, Those Swinging Years – The Autobiography of Charlie Barnet
“Barnet’s religion is well known to his friends. Converted at the age of 16, he has been a devout Ellingtonian ever since. From 1939 until the late 40’s, when his own bandleading career was in its days of wine and grosses, much of his success was due to the musical homage he paid to the Ducal sounds.”
Leonard Feather, Down Beat, 1964
New York Amsterdam Star-News, 13 December 1941
Detroit Free Press, 14 January 1943
Esquire, September 1943
Los Angeles Sentinel, 30 June 1949
The recordings heard on this podcast episode:
(CD: “Charlie Barnet, 1913-1991” Classic Jazz Archive 222011-306)
Echoes of Harlem, Recorded 5 April 1939, New York City
Charlie Barnet – alto sax; Bob Burnet, John Mendel, John Owens, Charlie Shavers – trumpet; Ben Hall, Don Ruppersberg, Bill Robertson – trombone; Gene Kinsey, Donald McCook – alto sax; Kurt Bloom – tenor sax; James Lamore – tenor and baritone sax; Bill Miller – piano; Bus Etri – guitar; Phil Stephens – bass; Wesley Dean – drums.
Lament for a Lost Love (Solace), Recorded 26 June 1939, New York City
Charlie Barnet – tenor sax; Bob Burnet, John Mendel, John Owens – trumpet; Ben Hall, Don Ruppersberg, Bill Robertson – trombone; Gene Kinsey, Donald McCook – alto sax; Kurt Bloom – tenor sax; James Lamore – tenor and baritone sax; Bill Miller – piano; Bus Etri – guitar; Phil Stephens – bass; Ray Michaels – drums.
Drop Me Off in Harlem, Recorded 24 February 1944, New York City
Charlie Barnet – tenor sax; Roy Eldridge, Art House, Jimmy Pupa, Lyman Vunk, Chuck Zimmerman – trumpet; Porky Cohen, Ed Fromm, Tommy Pederson, Ben Pickering – trombone; Buddy DeFranco, Ray DeGeer, Kurt Bloom, Andy Pino, Danny Bank – reeds; Dodo Marmarosa – piano; Turk Van Lake – guitar; Andy Ricardi – bass; Harold Hahn – drums.
Cherokee (CD: “Recollections of the Big Band Era” Warner Bros. 7411628)
Recorded 4 January 1963, New York City
Cat Anderson, Ray Nance, Cootie Williams, Roy Burrowes – trumpet; Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Chuck Connors – trombone; Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope; Jimmy Hamilton, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney – reeds; Duke Ellington – piano; Ernie Shepard – bass; Sam Woodyard – drums.
(CD: ” The Charlie Barnet Collection 1935-47″ Fabulous FADCD2039)
Cherokee, Recorded 17 July 1939, New York City
Charlie Barnet – tenor sax; Bob Burnet, John Mendel, John Owens – trumpet; Ben Hall, Don Ruppersberg, Bill Robertson – trombone; Gene Kinsey, Donald McCook – alto sax; Kurt Bloom – tenor sax; James Lamore – tenor and baritone sax; Bill Miller – piano; Bus Etri – guitar; Phil Stephens – bass; Ray Michaels – drums.
Caravan, Recorded 6/7 December 1947, Town Hall, New York City
Charlie Barnet – alto sax; Jimmy Campbell, Joe Graves, Clark Terry, James Nottingham, Doc Severinson – trumpet; Porky Cohen, Fred Zito, Red Benson – trombone; Walt Weider, Bud Shank – alto sax; Kurt Bloom, Wolfgang Weidler – tenor sax; Bob Dawes – baritone sax; Claude Williamson – piano; Don Tosti – bass; Dick Shanahan – drums.
Juice Head Baby (CD: “Cootie Williams and his Orchestra 1945-1946” Classics 981)
Recorded 29 May 1945, New York City
Cootie Williams, Ermit V. Perry, George Treadwell, Billy Ford, Clarence “Gene” Redd – trumpet; Ed Burke, Robert Horton, Dan Logan – trombone; Rupert Cole, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson – alto sax; Lee Pope, Sam Taylor – tenor sax; George Favors – baritone sax; Arnold Jarvis – piano; Leroy Kirkland – guitar; Carl Pruitt – bass; Sylvester “Vess” Payne – drums, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson – vocal.
(CD: ” The Charlie Barnet Collection 1946-50″ Fabulous AADCD3345)
Juice Head Blues, Recorded 18 October 1946, Los Angeles
Shorty Rogers – trumpet; Burt Johnson -trombone; Charlie Barnet – alto sax; Bob Dawes – baritone sax; Bill Miller – piano; Arnold Fishkin – bass; Max Albright – drums; Art Robey – vocal.
Portrait of Edward Kennedy Ellington, Parts 1 & 2, Recorded 16 March 1949, New York City
Rolf Ericson, Maynard Ferguson, John Howell, Lammar Wright, Jr., Doc Severinson – trumpet; Obie Massingill, Dick Kenney, Ken Martlock – trombone; Charlie Barnet, Vinnie Dean, Art Raboy, Kurt Bloom, Dick Hafer, Danny Bank – reeds; Claude Williamson – piano; Eddie Safranski – bass; Cliff Leeman – drums.
Jeep’s Blues/Cottontail/U.M.M.G. (CD: “Charlie Barnet Live at Basin Street East ’66” Hep Records HEP CD 2005)
Recorded 24 & 31 December 1966, New York City
Clark Terry, Clyde Reasinger, Snooky Young, George Triffon, Randy Brecker – trumpet; Jimmy Cleveland, Herb Wise, Jack Jeffers, Billy Tole – trombone; Charlie Barnet, Willie Smith, Dick Meldonian, Richie Kamuca, Stan Edson, Danny Bank – reeds; Nat Pierce – piano; Steve Little – drums.
— Our closing music —-
It’s Something You Ought To Know (Paul Gonsalves – “Ellingtonia Moods and Blues,” RCA Victor / RCA63562)
Recorded 29 February 1960, New York City
Paul Gonsalves- tenor sax; Johnny Hodges – alto sax; Ray Nance – cornet; Mitchell “Booty” Wood – trombone; Jimmy Jones – piano; Al Hall – bass; Oliver Jackson – drums.
Ellington Reflections 