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About Sam Woodyard

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Musician

Sam Woodyard gained his recognition and popularity behind the drum throne of the Duke Ellington Orchestra from 1955 to 1966. Woodyard born on Jan. 7, 1925, hailed from Newark, was self taught, and by the '40s, he was playing with local bands . He played R&B in Paul Gayten's band around 1950.By the early '50s, Woodyard had played with tenor saxophonist Joe Holiday, trumpeter Roy Eldridge, and pianist Milt Buckner. His most productive and defining period of course were the ’55-’66 years with the Duke. After his time with Ellington, Woodyard played drums for Ella Fitzgerald, and then moved to Los Angeles, after which he settled in Paris

Album

Ella Fitzgerald Live at Falkoner Theatre Copnhagen 1966

By Ella Fitzgerald

Label: Gearbox Records
Released: 2026
Track listing: Satin Doll; Hey Little Girl; Something To Live For; Let’s Do It; Sweet Georgia Brown; How High The Moon; Lover Man; Só Danço Samba; I’m Just A lucky So And So; Mack The Knife.

Album

Copenhagen 1964

By Duke Ellington

Label: Storyville Records
Released: 2026
Track listing: Take the 'A' Train; Medley: Black and Tan Fantasy, The Mooche, Creole Love Call: Harlem; Happy Reunion; Amad; Agra; Bluebird of Delhi; Depk; Isfahan; Things Ain't What They Used to Be; Banquet Scene (from Timon of Athens); Skillipoop; Kinda Dukish and Rockin' in Rhythm; Jones.

Article: Album Review

Duke Ellington: Copenhagen 1964

Read "Copenhagen 1964" reviewed by Jack Kenny

by Jack Kenny
March 3, 2026

All Duke Ellington concerts offered music of substance. Audiences listened patiently through the medleys and Tony Watkins' vocals. Some performances, however, stood apart because they contained material that was fresh--music not yet worn thin by repetition, where both the thinking and playing could still surprise. Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, and the orchestra toured Asia (the ...

Album

The Lost Session, Paris 1979

By Dave Burrell

Label: NoBusiness Records
Released: 2025
Track listing: On a Saturday Night; A.M. Rag; Lush Life (Strayhorn); Punaluu Peter; Sarah's Lament; Stepping Out (or, Monday Night Death Rehearsal); Embraceable (Gershwin / Gershwin); Black Robert; My Dog Has Fleas / Menehune Messages; Sophisticated Lady (Ellington).

Article: Album Review

Dave Burrell / Sam Woodyard: The Lost Session, Paris 1979

Read "The Lost Session, Paris 1979" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
June 25, 2025

Listeners would be hard-pressed to name another artist besides Dave Burrell who commands such mastery across jazz's entire timeline, from its ragtime origins to its most adventurous avant-garde territories. The pianist, born in 1940, brings equal authenticity to Jelly Roll Morton's classic compositions and completely free improvisation. His discography spans the works of Thelonious Monk, Billy ...

Article: Radio & Podcasts

Fabian Dudek, Dan Weiss, Jasper Hoiby & Mazam

by Maurice Hogue
June 17, 2025

German alto player Fabian Dudek's new This Every Place is an indication that Dudek's forming his own improvisational language, and his album is graced with the presence of Ingrid Laubrock. A definite must listen. There's a similar path followed by the Portuguese quartet, Mazam, on their new Pilgrimage Vol. 2. Drummer Dan Weiss' latest features a ...

Article: Extended Analysis

Duke Ellington's Concert of Sacred Music

by Chuck Lenatti
June 1, 2025

In 1964, Dean D.J. Bartlett and the Reverend John S. Yaryan invited Duke Ellington and his orchestra to present a concert to consecrate the renovated Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill in San Francisco during a year-long festival of Grace. At first, Duke demurred. In his autobiography, Music Is My Mistress (Da Capo, 1976), Ellington ...

Article: Interview

Jack Chambers: Rethinking Duke Ellington

by Jack Kenny
May 20, 2025

Jack Chambers is professor at the University of Toronto and teacher of music and language. His jazz writings include the prize winning biography Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis (Da Capo Press, 1998) and Bouncin' with Bartok: The Incomplete Works of Richard Twardzik (Mercury PR, 2008). Sweet Thunder: Duke Ellington's Music In Nine Themes ...

Album

Copenhagen 1958

By Duke Ellington

Label: Storyville Records
Released: 2024
Track listing: Take the A Train (Theme); Newport Up; My Funny Valentine; Perdido; Sophisticated Lady; Sonnet to Hank Cinq; What Else Can You Do With a Drum; Rockin' in Rhythm; Prelude to a Kiss; Things Ain't What They Used to Be; El Gato; Hi Fi Fo Fum; Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue; I Can't Get Started; Body and Soul; A Little Blues; Sophisticated Lady; Mood Indigo.