Down Beat (2/00, p.76) - 3.5 out of 5 - "...a live date from Juan-les-Pins, France, and finds Duke chatty as ever in a loose concert that mixes favorites with a few extended pieces..."
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra: Duke Ellington (arranger, piano); Russell Procope (alto saxophone, clarinet); Johnny Hodges (alto saxophone); Jimmy Hamilton (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Paul Gonsalves (tenor saxophone); Harry Carney (baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet); Herbie Jones (trumpet, guiro); Cat Anderson, Mercer Ellington, Cootie Williams (trumpet); Buster Cooper (trombone, claves); Lawrence Brown (trombone); Chuck Connors (bass trombone, maracas);
Producer: Norman Granz.
Reissue producer: Ben Young.
Recorded live in Juan-Les-Pins, France in July 1966. Originally released on Verve (8701). Includes original liner notes by Norman Granz and reissue liner notes by Phil Bailey.
Digitally remastered by Chris Herles (PolyGram Studios).
This is part of Verve's Master Edition series.
This is a spirited live set taken from the same 1966 French concerts that produced ELLA & DUKE AT THE COTE D'AZUR (itself recently reissued as a 4-disc deluxe set). By including up-to-the-minute versions of such Ellington warhorses as "Sophisticated Lady," "Caravan," and, of course, "Take The "A" Train," this newly remastered edition of SOUL CALL expands the original album from a skimpy six tracks to a leisurely fourteen.
The opening "La Plus Belle Africane," a nearly 14-minute composition in the modern one-world spirit of the following year's FAR EAST SUITE, remains SOUL CALL's piece de resistance. Such featured Ellington players as tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves and underrated drummer Sam Woodyard are given plenty of featured solo space on "West Indian Pancake" and "Skin Deep." The latter was a specialty showcase for former drummer Louis Bellson, but the unassuming Woodyard shines throughout.
