http://www.mosaicrecords.com/prodinfo.asp?number=200-MD-CD
"The focus of this set is the small group sessions he made for Verve upon his return to the Ellington fold in late 1955. The 13 sessions include gems like Duke's In Bed , Not So Dukish, Blues A Plenty , the posthumously issued The Smooth One and portions of Ellingtonia '56, The Big Sound and Side By Side . (Note: Back To Back collaboration with Ellington is not included.)
Throughout the set, Hodges, Webster, Roy Eldridge, Nance, Brown and Billy Strayhorn are the principal voices. With men of this caliber, there are no wasted notes. Be it a chorus on a jump tune, interpreting the melody of a ballad or taking six choruses on a sparkling blues, the ideas are ever-flowing. And Hodges and his men always seem to find the right tempo for the perfect groove and keep it there. It doesn't hurt to have Sam Woodyard, Jo Jones, Gus Johnson or Sonny Greer on drums for such occasions.
Four previously unissued sessions include a 1960 collaboration with Ben Webster backed by Ella Fitzgerald's rhythm section, a ballad album from the same year with Lawrence Brown, Jimmy Jones, Aaron Bell and Sonny Greer and two 1961 Los Angeles octet sessions with Ray Nance, Brown, Ben Webster and the arrangements of Mercer Ellington and Jimmy Hamilton.
The compositions are largely his, Billy Strayhorn's, and Ellington's. But even the most familiar Ducal pieces are given a fresh approach. "Take The A Train", for example, takes on a whole new feeling and rhythmic thrust in a wonderful eight-minute version with composer Strayhorn at the piano.
Listening to these recordings reminds us that fine artistry doesn't change with the times. Which may be why our appreciation of Johnny Hodges is just as constant"
