Ellington Alone at the Keys
Duke Ellington proves he could have made a career as just a pianist.
The Duke Plays Ellington, recorded for Capitol in 1953 and later reissued on CD with extra tracks under the title Piano Reflections, got a warm but not thunderous welcome. AllMusic's Scott Yanow wrote that Ellington sounds modern, especially in his rhythmic feel and chord voicings, and suggested he could have built a viable career on piano alone. That is a fair read. This was never a headline release, and it didn't become a cult object either; it sits quietly in the catalog as a record that rewards attention.
What you hear is Ellington playing trio with bassist Wendell Marshall and drummer Butch Ballard, and the trio format suits him. Without a big band to arrange around, his left hand and his sense of space are fully exposed. The reharmonizations are sly, the swing is loose but never sloppy, and the playing never feels like a formality. Pianist Pat Thomas made the point that Ellington could blend into whatever was happening in the moment because he was already so far ahead of it.
If you want Ellington the bandleader, start with Ellington at Newport (1956) or his earlier Victor sides. This one is for listeners who already like him and want to hear the composer-pianist working at close range.
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