Aaron Bell – Bass

A simple tune from my favourite Duke Ellington 1969 album, ‘And His Mother Called Him Bill’, recorded shortly after the death of Ellington’s right arm, pianist/composer/arranger Billy Strayhorn. Some of Ellington’s greatest tune were Strayhorn’s, if you see what I mean, and many of them are included on this album. If you want to know what it was that made Strayhorn such an important composer, you could do far worse than cop a listen to this recording.

The tune ‘Blood Count’ was written whilst Strayhorn was undergoing treatment for the oesophageal cancer that killed him (other tunes from this period include ‘Upper Manhattan Medical Group’) and is understood to be his last composition. The bass part is simple. I think it is accurate but these old recording are not as clear as we would like, especially big band records so apologies if you disagree with the odd detail. Transcribing is not always an exact science and out transcriptions are sometimes best guesses!

Aaron Bell is the bass player. You didn’t need to be a virtuoso to play with Duke; it was all about the time and the feel. This tune is all about Johnny Hodges!