Jazz Workshop: Listening Guide to Ellington's Black, Brown and Beige - Part 1, "Black" - Page 4

(17:23)
Unaccompanied bass plays turnaround section of "Work Song" coda, with very soft response by horns at 17:27, 17:33, and 17:40.

(17:44)
Reeds begin punctuating, then softly pick up the turnaround theme at 17:55. (Horns respond with phrase based on main "Work Song" theme at 18:13)

(18:20-18:30)
Transitional phrase from reeds.

(18:32)
Quiet reed passage (with trombone (Lawrence Brown) underscoring), based on "Come Sunday" theme; Brown escapes from under the horns at 18:41 and plays languid solo with echoes of both "Come Sunday" and "Work Song" coda.

(19:00-19:06)
Transitional phrase from horns.

(19:07)
Trombone (Tizol?) plays "Come Sunday" A-theme with reeds accompanying; at 19:25, a response from the full reed section; at 19:33, a reprise of the main "Work Song" theme by the trumpets, with the trombones simultaneously playing "Come Sunday" underneath.

(19:43)
Unaccompanied, trumpets move into slower, less swinging rendition of "Work Song"'s B section, with reed accompaniment returning at 19:48.

(20:02)
Reeds interpolate variation on "Come Sunday" theme; horns punctuate at 20:09, and take over the melody statement, leading it back to "Work Song"'s B section (with reeds responding at 20:17 with a phrase that echoes Baker's cadenza from the D section). Ellington plays piano glissando at 20:23, and reeds resolve the melody.

(20:37)
Heavily syncopated reprise of main "Work Song" theme on trombone, with reeds on counterpoint; trumpets and clarinets play quick turnaround. At 20:49, the reeds reprise the secondary "Work Song" theme, this time with trumpets riffing underneath; reeds move to ostinato rhythm, playing passing phrases based on secondary "Work Song" theme.

(21:17)
Coda. Reeds, now at a full-on swing, transition out of "Work Song" and into upbeat riffs, horns accompanying; baritone (Carney) plays quick quote from secondary "Work Song," and horns quote main "Work Song" at 21:40. Ends on ascending two-note and stop.

Article Author: Michael J. West

Michael J. West is a writer, editor, and dilettante jazz critic in Washington, D.C. In addition to BlogCritics, he writes for JazzTimes, Washington City Paper, and AllAboutJazz.com. He occasionally writes at Pop Musicology, too. He's very cute. …

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