Thursday Jazz Session: Duke Ellington-"Take The 'A' Train"

Thursday Jazz Session: Duke Ellington-”Take The ‘A’ Train”

This week’s Thursday Jazz Session comes from one of jazz’s true greats, Duke Ellington.

His rendition of “Take The ‘A’ Train,” written and composed by Billy Strayhorn, is one of jazz’s most magical and signature tunes.

The song was written in 1939 after Duke Ellington offered Billy Strayhorn a job in New York, to come work for his organization. Well in the midst of trying to navigate Strayhorn to his pad, he told Strayhorn to hop on the “A Train” and boom there you have it.

A jazz expert would give you a full breakdown of this one, I am sure. Considering its importance to the genre, this deserves gratuitous spotlight; however, our jazz expert is in Kathmandu on a spiritual journey…

Enjoy.

Duke Ellington-”Take The ‘A’ Train”