In a Mellow Tone

"In a Mellow Tone", also known as "In a Mellotone", is a 1939 jazz standard composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Milt Gabler.^[1] The song was based on the 1917 standard "Rose Room" by Art Hickman and Harry Williams,^[2] which Ellington himself had recorded in 1932.^[3] Howard Stern used a recording of this song (from Ellington's Blues in Orbit album) as the opening theme to The Howard Stern Show from 1987 to 1994.

Notable recordings[]

Red Norvo (1943)
Erroll Garner - Contrasts (1954)
Clark Terry - Duke with a Difference (1957)
Chico Hamilton with Eric Dolphy - The Original Ellington Suite (1958)
Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook (1958)
Ben Webster (with Coleman Hawkins and Roy Eldridge) - Ben Webster and Associates (1959)
Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross - The Hottest New Group in Jazz (1960)
Billy May - Cha Cha! Billy May (1960)
Coleman Hawkins with Eddie Lockjaw Davis - Night Hawk (1960)
Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington - The Great Summit (1961)
Harry James - 1964 Live! In The Holiday Ballroom Chicago (Jazz Hour Compact Classics JH-1001, 1989)^[4]
Oscar Peterson - Mellow Mood (1968)
Paul Gonsalves - Humming Bird (1970)
Joe Pass - Portraits of Duke Ellington (1975)
Sonny Stitt - Sonny Stitt with Strings: A Tribute to Duke Ellington (1977)
The Manhattan Transfer - Pastiche (1978)
Nick Brignola - L.A. Bound (1979)
Art Pepper and George Cables - Goin’ Home (1982)
Marcus Roberts - Plays Ellington (1995)
Bob Wilber and Dick Hyman - A Perfect Match (1997)
Tony Bennett - Bennett Sings Ellington: Hot & Cool (1999)
Clare Teal - Don't Talk (2004)
Royce Campbell - A Tribute to Charlie Byrd (2004)
Maynard Ferguson - "Live from London" (1994)
Bill Wurtz (2011)
Count Basie - Breakfast Dance and Barbecue (1959)
Buddy Rich - "Very Alive at Ronnie Scotts" (1971)

^ Douglas Martin, "Milton Gabler, Storekeeper of the Jazz World, Dies at 90", The New York Times, July 25, 2001.
^ "In a Mellotone" at jazzstandards.com; retrieved 24 May 2009.
^ Gioia, Ted (2012). The Jazz Standards. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 193–4. ISBN 978-0-19-993739-4.
^ "Harry James And His Orchestra – Live 1964 In Holiday Ballroom Chicago". Discogs. Retrieved February 4, 2017.

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