Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Gene Ludwig: Love Notes of Cole Porter

Gene Ludwig: Love Notes of Cole Porter

By Dan McClenaghan
March 12, 2011
View read count

The Hammond B3 organ combo has always seemed like a working man's jazz group. Drums/guitar/organ groups, often with a saxophone, was a brand of music brought to popularity in the mid-fifties by

Jimmy Smith

organ, Hammond B3
1925 - 2005

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Smith, with interest in the B3 soul jazz sound exploding in the sixties with the work of

Jimmy McGriff

organ, Hammond B3
1936 - 2008

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy McGriff and

" data-original-title="" title="">Jack McDuff, and the establishment of organ rooms in centers of working class cities like Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Newark, and Gene Ludwig's home turf, Pittsburgh.

Ludwig, who passed away in July, 2010, enjoyed a fifty-year career as an organist, switching from piano to the Hammond B3 in 1957 after hearing Jimmy Smith. Ludwig went on to record albums for Atlantic, Prestige, Muse and Blue Leaf Records, and spent a formative year working and recording with saxophonist

Sonny Stitt

saxophone
1924 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Sonny Stitt.

Love Notes of Cole Porter is Ludwig's swan song.

Cole Porter

composer / conductor
1891 - 1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Cole Porter, with his urbane songwriting, classy show tunes and huge contribution to The Great American Songbook, seems an unlikely subject for an organ combo group—a sound known more for its down-home soulfulness than its uptown sophistication—but Ludwig and crew dispel any doubts as to their ability to pull it off on the opener, one of Porter's most-covered songs: "What is This Thing Called Love?" Ludwig's organ breathes a frosty breeze—a cold mist wafting from an open freezer—while saxophonist Lou Stellute sizzles like bacon on a hot iron pan. p>The group covers some of Porter's best-known tunes: "I Love You," "Begin the Beguine," "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To," with a smooth-flowing organ combo cool. The group also goes after a couple of lesser-known but equally fine songs like "Rosalie" and "Why Can't You Behave," the latter a trio effort featuring particularly tasty guitar from

Mark Strickland

guitar

" data-original-title="" title="">Mark Strickland.

Love Notes of Cole Porter proves itself an outstanding bookend to Gene Ludwig's half-century career.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

What Is This Thing Called Love; Everything I Love; I Love You; Begin The Beguine; You'd Be So Nice To COme Home To; Every Time We Say Goodbye; Rosalie; Why Can't You Behave?; Night And Day; Dream Dancing.

Personnel

Gene Ludwig

organ, Hammond B3

Gene Ludwig: organ; Mark Strickland: guitar; Lou Stellute: tenor saxophone (1-3, 5, 8); Thomas Wendt: drums (1, 3, 5, 7, 9); Billy Kuhn: drums (2, 4, 6, 8, 10).

Album information

Title: Love Notes Of Cole Porter | Year Released: 2011 | Record Label: Big O Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Blue Chunks and Friends: Oceanside, ...
< Previous

February Forays
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.