DUKE ELLINGTON - IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD

"IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD"

DUKE ELLINGTON'S ORIGINAL

SONGWRITER: DUKE ELLINGTON; MANNY KURTZ & IRVING MILLS GAVE

COUNTRY: U.S.A.

INSTRUMENT: PIANO

ALBUM: “IN A SENTIMENTAL MOOD”

LABEL: THE BRUNSWICK

GENRE: JAZZ

YEAR: 1935

On April 30, 1935, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra introduced “In a Sentimental Mood.” Recorded on the Brunswick label and featuring Otto “Toby” Hardwick on alto saxophone, the composition went onto the pop charts on July 13, rising to number fourteen.

"In a Sentimental Mood" is a jazz composition by Duke Ellington. He composed the piece in 1935 and recorded it with his orchestra during the same year. Lyrics were written by Manny Kurtz; Ellington's manager Irving Mills gave himself a percentage of the publishing, so the song was credited to all three.

According to Ellington, the song was born in Durham, North Carolina. "We had played a big dance in a tobacco warehouse, and afterwards a friend of mine, an executive in the North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company, threw a party for Amy. I was playing piano when another one of our friends had some trouble with two chicks. To pacify them, I composed this there and then, with one chick standing on each side of the piano." The recording featured solos by Otto Hardwicke, Harry Carney, Lawrence Brown, and Rex Stewart.

Ellington recorded a version with John Coltrane which appears on Duke Ellington and John Coltrane(1963) and Coltrane for Lovers(2001). The original was recorded in F major, starting on D minor and with the bridge in Db major. But the version Ellington and Coltrane version was performed in Bb minor or D-flat major, with an interlude in A major.