Nothing but the Blues (Herb Ellis album)

Nothing But the Blues
Nothing But the Blues
Studio album by Herb Ellis
Released	1958
Recorded	October 11, 1957
Studio	Hollywood, California
Genre	Jazz
Length	57:47
Label	Verve
Herb Ellis chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
DownBeat	^[2]

Nothing but the Blues is the second album by jazz guitarist Herb Ellis. In the liner notes, Nat Hentoff calls it Ellis's "best album yet and one of the most directly fulfilling sessions" of 1958. In his glowing review for DownBeat, John Tynan says, "Gather 'round, children, and listen to the message of the blues. The whole story is right here in eight, eloquent preachments by as fine a quintet of wailers as can be assembled." He ends his review by calling it "One of the very best jazz albums of this year.”^[2]

"The point at which blues becomes jazz is an elusive one," says Gregory Isola. "Those of you up for exploring this crucial crossroads ... can start right here."^[3]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Papa's Blues" (Ray Brown)	7:06
2.	"Big Red's Boogie Woogie" (Ellis)	5:39
3.	"Tin Roof Blues" (Pollack, Brunies, Roppolo, Stitzel, Mares, Walter Melrose)	3:00
4.	"Soft Winds" (Benny Goodman)	4:45
5.	"Royal Garden Blues" (Clarence Williams, Spencer Williams)	4:46
6.	"Patti Cake" (Ellis)	6:02
7.	"Blues for Janet" (Ellis, Brown)	7:13
8.	"Blues for Junior" (Ray Brown)	4:51

1994 CD reissue bonus tracks

The following tracks were recorded May 1, 1958, in Paris

No.	Title	Length
9.	"Les Tricheurs" (Roy Eldridge, Stan Getz)	3:12
10.	"Clo's Blues" (Coleman Hawkins)	3:20
11.	"Phil's Tune" (Roy Eldridge)	4:20
12.	"Mic's Jump" (Dizzy Gillespie)	2:16

Personnel

Herb Ellis – guitar
Roy Eldridge – trumpet, tracks 1–9, 11
Dizzy Gillespie – trumpet, track 12
Stan Getz – tenor saxophone, tracks 1–9
Coleman Hawkins – tenor saxophone, track 10
Ray Brown – double bass
Stan Levey – drums, tracks 1–8
Gus Johnson – drums, tracks 9–12
Oscar Peterson – piano, tracks 9–12

References

^ Yanow, Scott. "Nothing but the Blues". AllMusic. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Tynan, John (October 16, 1958). "Review of Nothing But the Blues" (PDF). DownBeat. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ Isola, Gregory. "Two Classics Revisited." Bass Player, Nov. 1997, vol. 8, issue 11, pg. 70

[Yanow-1] Yanow, Scott. "Nothing but the Blues". AllMusic. Retrieved March 11, 2023.

[Tynan-2] Tynan, John (October 16, 1958). "Review of Nothing But the Blues" (PDF). DownBeat. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[3] Isola, Gregory. "Two Classics Revisited." Bass Player, Nov. 1997, vol. 8, issue 11, pg. 70

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