Re Getz and Blood Count: I love the way Getz plays that tune; I can't think of anything that Getz did that I didn't like.
****As much as I love Johnny Hodges, it's Getz who embodies the song****
Interesting choice of words about a song written by a man who is about to leave his body. I agree that Getz's versions are great and there is no point debating who plays the song better. However, to my way of thinking, "Blood Count" is about the composition, orchestration and all, and not just the "song". It was the last statement by a brilliant composer/orchestrator intended to be played by a group of musicians that he knew exactly how each would sound on each individual part; they were his musical palette. No piano/bass/drums rhythm section can capture the dark and funereal (literally) sonorities of Ellington's brass and reeds; his chord voicings are amazing. The orchestration as a whole is a dialogue between the soloist (Hodges) and the band. Great stuff.
****As much as I love Johnny Hodges, it's Getz who embodies the song****
Interesting choice of words about a song written by a man who is about to leave his body. I agree that Getz's versions are great and there is no point debating who plays the song better. However, to my way of thinking, "Blood Count" is about the composition, orchestration and all, and not just the "song". It was the last statement by a brilliant composer/orchestrator intended to be played by a group of musicians that he knew exactly how each would sound on each individual part; they were his musical palette. No piano/bass/drums rhythm section can capture the dark and funereal (literally) sonorities of Ellington's brass and reeds; his chord voicings are amazing. The orchestration as a whole is a dialogue between the soloist (Hodges) and the band. Great stuff.