Ellington - Perdido

[MrGlitch1397]

1:10 the saxofone dude in the left is asleep..?

[Mgsoloist]

I have never seen a set grip quite like that...huh.

[goateeguy11221122]

Duke stood right in front of him and didn't say anything xD must've been part of the act

[repooc44]

give the cat a break.... he rejuvenated ellington's career with 27 choruses at newport! a master of tenor sax and music!

[gtralisfr69]

That guy twirling his instrument after playing is a bad ass.

[Neonb88]

@gtralisfr69 I am a trumpet player, and that soloist was certainly impressive, but I liked the first clarinet even better.

[naizret]

@gtralisfr69 Ray Nance, trumpet/violin

[JeremyOwnzAll]

If he were in inception, he'd be fucked

[JeremyOwnzAll]

He was tired...

[terrryc]

Where can I score a bag of THAT?

[saxophile1]

I just read a little more about heroin usage, and it's more likely that he--a well-known junkie--was passed out after shooting up. But since he was both an alcoholic and a heroin addict it's hard to say which substance is to "blame" here. Though, since heroin is known to cause this--to the extent where the user can often not be awakened even when shook--it's most likely the culprit here. Great band!

[azais77]

@saxophile1 Paul Gonsalvez n'avait pas plongé dans son "coma" après Perdido, jusqu'à la fin du 2ème set.

Il s'endormait, mais son voisin, Jimmy Hamilton, prenait toujours soin de le réveiller en douceur en lui tapotant gentiment sur le bras....(pas du tout comme Kenny avec Stan Getz !).

[thereportersclinic]

That drum solo was just deadly. Heavy, heavy, heavy.

[MARIO31359]

Why is the 2nd Tenpr player "dead" sleep on the gig. I guess that's the tenor had to be played by the 1st Tenor player. What a pity. How I wish I would have had the opportunity to play with an outstanding group of instrumental genious.

[TheBrooklynWB]

I though I partied hard!!

[shagman1969]

Sure the cat ain't dead?

[RedRossJr]

Perdido and Take the A Train are not Duke's composition. Perdido is credited to the trombonist Juan Tizol, while "A" Train to Billy Straihorn

[chargerfighter1]

@RedRossJr

And they played with Duke. And that's why they're considered 'Ellington', I guess.

[comprehensiveboy]

Man that must be some deep motherf**ing sleep. That band is loud. May be he was dreamin he was in a band!

[MarkR1957]

Superb drumming by a very under-rated Master Jazz Drummer ~

[hebrewhammershabbat]

Dude, I love the drum solo, its so melodic.

[injunmatt]

narcotics and narcolepsy, though similar, are not the same

[sliderman7]

2.30 Hah!

[SIRONEDRAGON]

great drum solo Sam : )

[sinatrasessions1]

Duke composed over 2000 compositions and I think this is my favorite of all time. Yes I know every musician on the bandstand!

[tgy07]

@sinatrasessions1 Juan Tizol composed this piece,not Duke Ellington.

[charmister]

Oh my ....g...olly. That drummer was cooking!!!!! wow, phenomenal...

[BaltsDAlts]

I believe this was live a Copenhagen, correct?

[baknbits10]

@BaltsDAlts indeed it was. one of the best ellington performances ever

[ToxicOreos120]

omg UNA played this for our "Night Of Jazz". It was amazing! I love this song! I got the musi for it the other day!!!

[l1i1l1y10]

wow

[mzfiesty]

Oh yeah ;)

[dante93196]

Chissà cosa suoni adesso tu e la tua orchestra nel paradiso dei musicisti.

[decus69]

Classic case of over working. LOL

[sdh74]

Paul Gonsalves was known to "tie a few on" before and after a performance, and as a result, he would either a) fall asleep (as seen here), or b) and I hope the video exists) fall off the stage! But Ellington tolerated him because of his marathon solo at Newport in 56. Notice Jimmy Hamilton had to take over Paul's tenor Solo at the end. Brilliant musician, just was a substance abuser.

[bobsand100]

greaqt drum solo---no acrobatics just good music

[jefsaw]

That's remarkable. Drum solo 2 feet away.

[denzelmendoza]

Paul was asleep.

He was a narcoleptic.

[rentatrip1]

@denzelmendoza

God Bless Duke for "GodFathering " Paul this way-

no other Band Leader would give such wide grace to a sax man -

This is remarkable - great video -

[saxophile1]

@denzelmendoza i think this incident was more a sign of his infamous substance abuse than narcolepsy. he died just a few years later from poor health resulting from such abuse at the relatively young age of 53. RIP

[mackmccann]

totally sick drum solo

Paul....totally under the influence

[plithos]

Hahahahahaha!!!

when i realised what you guys were talking about (cause i was listening and not paying attention to the video...) i couldn't stop laughing.. cause this thing with narcolepsia is an "inside joke" with some friends..

and as i was studying the piece i saw Paul 'taking a nap'...

(no offense.. i totally respect him as a musician..)

[Prodigy502]

poor Jimmy.

Two solos on two differnt instruments!!

[ask3625]

You guys do know that Paul Gonsalves was narcoleptic, right?

[yourmanwatson]

...And they just left him there huh. wow.. right through the drum solo.. Right at the end I see the other guy reach over and shake his arm.

Guess he really can play this one in his sleep..

[odysseetheater]

seemed as he smoked too much grass *ggg*

[Gcman928]

how did he not wake up after that drum solo? lol

[musicmanson]

Paul Gonsalves should have been fired. I don't care if he is good at the sax. He is making the band look bad.

[musicmanson]

To those who clicked the thumbs down, I almost got fired for showing up late to a band rehearsal once, so I am just saying, it's something to thing about.

[musictranscription]

I like to transcribe this song

[LLJtbone]

How in the hell is that guy playing sax like that? This is some hot sounding stuff.

[MilkBoyofAH]

Talk about your serious drum solos hah. Very nice recording. Wish there were more like these around

[Jazzyteach65]

aPPARENtly, Mingus was fired from Duke's group in the 50's and Sidney Bechet was the only other player ever fired by Duke.

[Jazzyteach65]

melodic drumming, Wow!!!

[LuiSax84]

Paul Gonsalves .....dorme....minchia sta dormendo per davvero......sembra quasi morto.....hhahahahaha ma come si fa!!!!

[kurtarmbruster]

Let us not forget the man who really took care of business, the superb Jimmy Hamilton, whose road-weary visage speaks volumes and whose magical clarinet says even more. Duke was WAY lucky to have him! K.

[kurtarmbruster]

Paul made the big splash for the Duke at Newport in '56, and the boss loved him for it. He would NEVER have fired him--instead, he considered himself privileged to have him on the band, and so did all who heard him. As PG would say, beautiful cat, man! Kurt.

[stridegum1213]

I don't understand how you can fall asleep?

[MarkR1957]

Paul was frequently drunk or stoned ~

[MarkR1957]

Ths is why Buddy was so tough on his guys.

Look at Paul Gonzalves at 1:01. Stone cold dead asleep, even through Woodyard's drum solo.

Who would tolerate this kind of behavior from an employee?

Duke should have been embarassed by this, and it is far from the first time it happened.

I guarantee you would never see this in Buddy's band.

Ever ~

[anvilsring]

Yep, Paul is down for the count!

[4205lr]

Apparently, he also fell asleep at a Chicago concert. Prodded awake, he stumbled to the solo microphone just as Ray Nance was finishing his solo.Hearing the audience applaud, he thought he had already played his solo, bowed and went back to his seat!

[abba5555]

Drummer was Sam Woodyard, but shortly after this duke replaced him with Louis Bellson for a big show on the jackie gleason show, because duke knew he couldn't compete against count basie's drummer sonny payne, and woodyard was never back again.

[Jazzyteach65]

really?

[SlikkTim]

That drum solo was incredible, master of tension and musicality ! I wish more jazz drummers were like this, makin' 'em drums talk without being flashy with the cymbals so much.

[mrmusichead]

i have this entire video mine says it was performed in copenhagen still admire the patience of guys like lawrence brown and cat anderson they go on and play their parts by the way the trumpet solo is ray nantz who also does the violin on black brown and beige i also think gonsalves and hodges didnt get along he may have been fakeing to tick hodges off

[rdnzl1]

Great perfomance overall. Jimmy Hamilton was a beast, especially since he had to play his parts and cover for Paul. As for the "trumpet swingn" that was a pretty lame solo. Was that a distant relative of Chad Ocho Cinco?

[RogerSquawk]

nice trumpet swingin!

[rdnzl1]

LAME TRUMPET SOLO, Yet he thought it was SO Good!!!!!!!!!!

[clink69]

MAN, that guy can play in his sleep he so good!!

[BlackDrumm3rKid]

omg i just noticed that at 1:00 Damn thats SICK

[michaelklaber]

amasing they let him in on stage...

[FranBBT]

Just for the record.

I have no idea who Berson is.

You really, really did ruin something for some poor old guy because of your "great intelligence". And he respected your privacy, even if he did not like you. He sent me rude answers to my e-mails about you. He, at least, acted like a man.

Are you not proud of yourself, Bruno??!!??

You are such a wonderful guy!!

[carol120956]

Damn, they were good. Great song. Poor Gonsalves. Damn drugs!

[davidpalmquist]

This is the band in all its glory. The video appears to be from "The Duke Ellington Masters"

1965, the second set from the Falcon Theatre, Copenhagen, 31 Jan 1965, issued on Quantum Leap.

[orson15]

Poor Paul Gonsalves. He died of a drug overdose in 1974. He was, by all accounts, a very nice guy. He just wasn't nice to himself.

[ralphino]

boy do i spell bad...sorry!

[ralphino]

wow, amazing, weird it looks like Paul Gonsalves is either asllep or dead or most likey stoned...what a band!!weird to see a Jimmy Hamilton tenor solo, not his forte...

[metBANS]

Paul Gonsalves actually has that solo, but they couldn't wake him up to play it, so Jimmy Hamilton played it. I'm pretty sure that when Woodyard goes into his solo at the end, they were physically shaking Paul, and still weren't able to get him to wake up.

[Mischeaux61]

So did he get fired when the gig was over? I can't imagine Ellington being the type to put up with this kind of thing.

[miphka66]

He didn't get fired. Actually Ellington was willing to put up with this sort of thing, and not just from Gonsalves. Duke so valued the powerful individuality that guys like Gonsalves and so many others brought to his band that he was willing to overlook a lot...a real lot. Stuff like nodding on the bandstand, missing sets or even entire gigs, even being cursed on stage by a sideman. This video aside, Paul joined the band in 1950, and stayed until his death in 1974.

[musicman4real]

no he didn't get fired

even though he had a bad drinking problem he was a great player

so Ellington didn't fire him

[ralphino]

that is why he was such a beautiful cat" I loves me some Duke..stillit is kinda HILARIOUS!!

[curiousproclivity]

Paul Gonsalves was a heroin addict, he is on the nod.