Paul Gonsalves, the tenor saxophone star of Duke Ellington’s band for nearly a quarter of a century, was a wonderfully warm man who had, as the jazz magazines used to euphemistically write, “personal problems.” His most obvious personal problem was alcohol. When he had overindulged, it was often Ellington’s practice to good naturedly punish him by requiring him to play extra solo choruses, sometimes dozens. In clubs, Ellington sometimes attempted to elevate Paul’s metabolism and hasten the sobering-up process by sending him into the audience like a strolling violinist to serenade the patrons at their tables.
Julius LaRosa (yes, that Julius LaRosa) just brought to my attention a 1965 video of an Ellington performance of “Perdido” in which it is clear that Paul would be playing no solo, let alone extra choruses. And there was going to be no strolling this night. So, Duke and the band worked around the problem. In the eight-minute clip, you will hear an introductory solo in which Ellington interpolates “C-Jam Blues,” then solos by Jimmy Hamilton on clarinet, Ray Nance on trumpet, Hamilton subbing on tenor sax for the indisposed Gonsalves, and a marvelously melodic drum solo by Sam Woodyard. You may observe subtle reactions to Paul’s situation from some of the band members, including Johnny Hodges. To see the performance, go here. This band was nothing if not cool.
Far from letting incidents like this sour him on Gonsalves, Ellington remained fond of him personally and musically. He once surprised Gonsalves by scheduling a recording session and informing him that he would be the only soloist on every tune. The result was the marvelous Duke Ellington and His Orchestra featuring Paul Gonsalves. Gonsalves remained with the Ellington band until the end of his career. He, of course, is the one who played the galvanizing marathon tenor solo on the interval in “Diminuendo in Blue” and “Crescendo in Blue” at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival. Paul Gonsalves died in 1974.