Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins
Encyclopedia
Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington
recorded in 1964 and released on the Reprise
label in 1965. The album features recordings of tunes from the 1964 musical film
Mary Poppins
arranged by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
.
awarded the album 3½ stars and stated "This disc is a surprising success. Duke Ellington was somehow persuaded into revising and recording a dozen songs from the score of Walt Disney
's Mary Poppins, and the results are actually quite memorable".
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
recorded in 1964 and released on the Reprise
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
label in 1965. The album features recordings of tunes from the 1964 musical film
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins (film)
Mary Poppins is a 1964 musical film starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, produced by Walt Disney, and based on the Mary Poppins books series by P. L. Travers with illustrations by Mary Shepard. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi, with songs by...
arranged by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn
Billy Strayhorn
William Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Scott YanowScott Yanow
Scott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...
awarded the album 3½ stars and stated "This disc is a surprising success. Duke Ellington was somehow persuaded into revising and recording a dozen songs from the score of Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
's Mary Poppins, and the results are actually quite memorable".
Track listing
- All compositions by Richard M. ShermanRichard M. ShermanRichard Morton Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical film with his brother Robert Bernard Sherman....
and Robert B. ShermanRobert B. ShermanRobert Bernard Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical films with his brother Richard Morton Sherman...
- "A Spoonful of SugarA Spoonful of Sugar"A Spoonful Of Sugar" is a song from Walt Disney's 1964 film and the musical versions of Mary Poppins, composed by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman....
" - 3:13 - "Chim Chim Cher-eeChim Chim Cher-ee"Chim Chim Cher-ee" is a song from Mary Poppins, the 1964 musical motion picture. It was originally sung by Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews. "Chim Chim Cher-ee" is also featured prominently in the award winning Cameron Mackintosh/Disney stage musical of the same name which premiered in London at...
" - 2:52 - "Feed the Birds" - 3:42
- "Let's Go Fly a KiteLet's Go Fly a Kite"Let's Go Fly A Kite" is a song from Walt Disney's film Mary Poppins, composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. This song is heard at the end of the film when the story's protagonist, George Banks , realizes that his family is more important than his job. He mends his son's kite and...
" - 2:31 - "Stay AwakeStay Awake"Stay Awake" is a song from Walt Disney's film Mary Poppins composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.It is a lullaby sung by Mary Poppins to the children Jane and Michael...
" - 2:28 - "I Love to LaughI Love to Laugh"I Love to Laugh", also called "We Love to Laugh", is a song from Walt Disney's film Mary Poppins. It was composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The song is sung in the film by "Uncle Albert" , and "Bert" as they levitate uncontrollably toward the ceiling, eventually joined by...
" - 2:29 - "Jolly HolidayJolly Holiday"Jolly Holiday" is a song from Walt Disney's film Mary Poppins. It was composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The song is sung in the film by Bert and Mary in the pastel fantasy sequence before reaching the carousel...
" - 3:04 - "Sister SuffragetteSister Suffragette"Sister Suffragette" is the pro-suffrage protest song pastiche sung by Mrs. Winifred Banks in the 1964 Walt Disney film Mary Poppins. The melody of the song was originally used for a scrapped piece called "Practically Perfect". It was written and composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B...
" - 3:05 - "The Perfect NannyThe Perfect Nanny"The Perfect Nanny" is a song from Walt Disney's film Mary Poppins, and it is composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. This song is heard at the beginning of the film, and its theme is heard through the film as a leitmotif for the children. It is sung by the characters of Jane Banks ...
" - 4:09 - "Step in TimeStep in Time"Step in Time" is a song and dance number from Walt Disney's 1964 film Mary Poppins, and it is composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The choreography for this song was provided by Marc Breaux and Dee Dee Wood. It is sung by Bert, the chimney sweep and the other chimney sweeps on...
" - 2:46 - "The Life I LeadThe Life I Lead"The Life I Lead" is a song from the 1964 Walt Disney film Mary Poppins, composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. Academy Award winning music arranger, Irwin Kostal used the theme from this song as the leit motif of the protagonist, "George Banks" as it most expresses the way he...
" - 3:43 - "SupercalifragilisticexpialidociousSupercalifragilisticexpialidociousSupercalifragilisticexpialidocious is an English word, with 34 letters, that was in the song with the same title in the 1964 Disney musical film Mary Poppins. The song was written by the Sherman Brothers, and sung by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke...
" - 2:27- Recorded at Universal Studios, Chicago on September 6, 8 & 9, 1964.
- "A Spoonful of Sugar
Personnel
- Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Cat Anderson, Herb Jones, Cootie WilliamsCootie WilliamsCharles Melvin "Cootie" Williams was an American jazz, jump blues, and rhythm and blues trumpeter.-Biography:...
, Nat Woodard - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Lawrence Brown, Buster CooperBuster CooperGeorge "Buster" Cooper is an American jazz trombonist.Cooper was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. He played in a territory band with Nat Towles in Texas in the late 1940s, and gigged with Lionel Hampton in 1953. He played in the house band at the Apollo Theater in New York City in the mid-1950s,...
- tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Chuck Connors - bass trombone
- Jimmy HamiltonJimmy HamiltonJimmy Hamilton was an American jazz clarinetist, tenor saxophonist, arranger, composer, and music educator, best known for his twenty-five years with Duke Ellington....
- clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Johnny HodgesJohnny HodgesJohn Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for his solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932–1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair...
- alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions... - Russell ProcopeRussell ProcopeRussell Procope , an American clarinettist and alto saxophonist, was known best for his long tenure in the reed section of Duke Ellington's orchestra, where he was one of its two signature clarinet soloists....
- alto saxophone, clarinet - Paul GonsalvesPaul GonsalvesPaul Gonsalves, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"...
, Eddie JohnsonEddie Johnson (musician)Edwin Lawrence "Eddie" Johnson was an American jazz and blues tenor saxophonist. He was born in Napoleonville, Louisiana, United States....
- tenor saxophone - Harry CarneyHarry CarneyHarry Howell Carney was an American swing baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, and bass clarinetist mainly known for his 45-year tenure in Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Carney started off as an alto player with Ellington, but soon switched to the baritone. His strong, steady saxophone often served as...
- baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece... - John Lamb - bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Sam WoodyardSam WoodyardSam Woodyard was an American jazz drummer.Woodyard was largely an autodidact on drums, and played locally in the Newark, New Jersey area in the 1940s. He gigged with Paul Gayten in an R&B group, and then played in the early 1950s with Joe Holiday, Roy Eldridge, and Milt Buckner...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....