I'm Beginning to See the Light

 The collaboration of composer Duke Ellington and saxophonist Johnny Hodges is legendary among jazz enthusiasts. Hodges’s recording of tunes like “Prelude to a Kiss” and “Passion Flower” are the graduate level seminars on how to construct smart, moving solos. But Hodges was also a keen composer in his own right. Take for instance the 1944 pop tune that he put together with Ellington and trumpeter Harry James — “I’m Beginning to See the Light” — which to this day remains an upbeat standard in most jazz repertoires. We just recently started playing around with it. Here’s our take on the tune from last night Flood affair.