Johnny Hodges

Jeep’s Blues is one of many blues lines written by Ellington’s star alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges. This one was for an Ellington small group recording under Hodges’ name in the late 1930’s. It’s basically just the first 4 bars of the blues and then Hodges improvises the rest of the 12-bar form. Ellington’s later big band arrangement is a very simple enlargement of that original 4-horn chart. There are 2 ensemble choruses, 2 solo choruses, 2 sax section choruses ending with a stride piano cadence. The opening is a loud and glorious ensemble; the closing is a soft and introspective sax section.