“The Sidewalks of New York”
(“East Side, West Side”)
Composed by Charles B. Lawlor (music) and James W. Blake (lyric); arranged by Duke Ellington.
Recorded by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra for Victor on December 28, 1940 in Chicago.
Duke Ellington, piano, directing: Wallace Jones, first trumpet; Ray Nance, trumpet; Rex Stewart, cornet; Lawrence Brown and Joseph Nanton, trombones; Juan Tizol, valve trombone; Otto Hardwick, first alto saxophone; Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone; Ben Webster, tenor saxophone; Barney Bigard, tenor saxophone and B-flat clarinet; Harry Carney, baritone saxophone; Fred Guy, guitar; Jimmie Blanton, bass; Sonny Greer, drums.
The story:
Friday December 13, 1940 found Duke Ellington and his band opening a one-week stand at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, 253 West 125th Street. From there, they moved on to the State Theater in Hartford, Connecticut for a three-day stand, December 20-22. They then returned to New York to play a one-night dance date at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem on December 24. They then headed to Cleveland, where on December 25 they played at the Christmas Prom of the Ching Tang Club at Hotel Cleveland in the Terminal Tower complex on Public Square. After that, they traveled to Chicago, where they made some recordings for Victor on December 28. Those recordings were made in Studio A, 445 Lake Shore Drive.(1)
The music:
“The Sidewalks of New York” is a popular song about life in Manhattan during the 1890s. It was composed in 1894 by vaudeville actor and singer Charles B. Lawlor (June 2, 1852 – May 31, 1925) with a lyric by James W. Blake (September 23, 1862 – May 24, 1935). It was an immediate and long-lasting hit and is often considered a theme for New York City. Many artists, including Duke Ellington, Mel Torme’, Larry Groce, Richard Barone and The Grateful Dead have recorded or performed it. Governor Al Smith of New York used it as a theme song for his failed presidential campaigns of 1920, 1924 and 1928. The song is also known as “East Side, West Side” from the first words of the chorus.(2)
The form of this song thirty-two bars with four eight-bar sections A-B-C-D. The Ellington recording performance begins with a sixteen-bar introduction, highlighted by clarinetist Barney Bigard playing jaunty melodic fragments above the muscular Ellington ensemble. The first chorus continues this motif with Bigard adding bright, decorative clarinet bursts over the band, who play the melody in block chords. Notice how bassist Jimmie Blanton, working in perfect unity with drummer Sonny Greer, drives the ensemble with impeccably swinging rhythm. At the end of this first chorus, Duke plays a two-bar piano interlude which sets-up the next chorus. (Above left: Barney Bigard solos with Duke Ellington’s band at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem – 1940. To his left: Joseph Nanton and Johnny Hodges.)
Joseph Nanton solos next, manipulating the plunger in front of the bell of his pixie straight-muted trombone for a full chorus. Rhythmically, he applies broad strokes of sound. Notice how he plays at first without a rasp in his sound (called a throat growl), then with it, then again without it, to add a bit of sonic variety to his solo. The reed quintet provides an especially vigorous rhythmic background for Nanton’s melodic paraphrases. Ellington the arranger, as so often was the case, skillfully employed a perfect musical contrast in this sequence. (At right: Joe “Tricky Sam” Nanton, being tricky.)
Tenor saxophonist Ben Webster then plays a bit of jazz, swathed in muted brass. Then an alto saxophonist plays. For decades, commentators have attributed this solo to Otto Hardwick, however I have serious doubts about that. To my ears, this solo was played by Johnny Hodges. His shimmering sound was unique, as was his swing, and the flurry of eighth notes he plays at the end of his solo was something of a trademark of his. Harry Carney plays a brief but robust solo on his baritone saxophone to end this segment.
Mr. Bigard comes fluttering back into the spotlight before the entire ensemble wraps things up.
The recording presented with this post was digitally remastered by Mike Zirpolo. (NOTE: This recording was made in Victor’s Chicago Studio A, 455 Lake Shore Drive. Many recordings made there during the swing era were substandard for reasons I do not know about. However, on this recording, Victor’s Chicago technicians hit the bull’s-eye.)
Notes and links:
(1) https://tdwaw.ellingtonweb.ca/TDWAW1.html#Yr1940
(2) The summary about the song “The Sidewalks of New York” comes from the Wikipedia post on it.
Here is another recording by the Ellington band from December 28, 1940: https://swingandbeyond.com/2023/01/27/flamingo-1940-duke-ellington-herb-jeffries-billy-strayhorn-1953-duke-ellington-ray-nance-paul-gonsalves-billy-strayhorn/
Here are links to other masterworks by Ellington from 1940, a vintage year for Duke:
https://swingandbeyond.com/2017/03/18/sepia-panorama-1940-duke-ellington/
https://swingandbeyond.com/2018/02/02/cotton-tail-1940-duke-ellington-and-ben-webster/
https://swingandbeyond.com/2018/04/11/harlem-air-shaft-1940-duke-ellington-live-version/
https://swingandbeyond.com/2019/10/25/concerto-for-cootie-1940-duke-ellington-and-cootie-williams/
This was a great choice from today, the Duke is definitely Sir Duke as Stevie Wonder say’s.