Strike Up The Band

This compilation focuses on the Quincy Jones' Orchestra as one of the quintessential post-modern big bands, comfortable in any musical setting, location, or format, and including a retinue of excellent players with no regard for race, gender or nationality. Culling most of its tracks from Jones' solid yet still long out of print albums for Mercury of the early '60s, the collection hits many highpoints with dozens of top-flight guests. Several of the best include a 1964 version of "The Pink Panther"; "Baby Elephant Walk" (from the same session); "After Hours" from 1963 with Terry, Burrell, and Roland Kirk; and last but not least "Dear Old Stockholm" from 1961 with a truly killer lineup: Benny Bailey, Curtis Fuller, Phil Woods, Sahib Shihab, Tito Puente, and Patato Valdez. In all, Strike Up the Band compiles some of the most elegantly swinging selections of Quincy Jones' entire career.


Tracklisting:
01. Baby Elephant Walk (Mancini-David) 2:52
02. Pink Panther Theme (Henry Mancini) 3:21
03. Dreamsville (Henry Mancini) 4:06
04. Soldier in the Rain (Mancini-Bregman) 3:09
05. Blues in the Night (Allen-Mercer) 3:57
06. Take Five (Paul Desmond) 3:27
07. After Hours (Parrish-Feyne-Bruce-Franklin-Jones) 3:33
08. Desafinado (Jobim-Mendonça) 2:54
09. Cast Your Fate to the Wind (Vince Guaraldi) 2:44
10. Jive Samba (Nat Adderley) 2:38
11. Strike up the Band (G. & I. Gershwin) 2:26
12. Dear Old Stockholm (Adapt. Quincy Jones) 3:59
13. The Gentle Rain (Bonfa-Dubey) 2:16
14. Bossa Nova U.S.A. (Dave Brubeck) 3:09

Total time: 44:54 min.

Quincy Jones, arranges, conducts, trumpet & vocals

Collective personnel includes: Joe Newman, Clark Terry (trumpets), Zoot Sims, Roland Kirk, Phil Woods, James Moody (reeds), Lalo Schifrin (organ, piano), Kenny Burrell, Jim Hall (guitar), Milt Hinton (bass), Osie Johnson (drums).
All tracks recorded at A&R Studios in New York City, between 1961 & 1964
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