The Rabbit Strays

The chapter describes Johnny Hodges’s break with the Ellington orchestra in the early 1950s. He had occasionally threatened to leave the band, and in early 1951 he did so with the encouragement of record producer Norman Granz, who signed him to a recording contract and financed his break. Hodges took two Ellingtonians with him, and among other noteworthy musicians who joined was a young John Coltrane, whom Hodges had to fire because of his drug habit. Hodges said he and his co-conspirators made the break because they wanted to return to simpler music than the ambitious works that Ellington would sometimes write. The economic reasons for the break are also discussed. The big bands were suffering, and Ellington had announced a pay cut. Ultimately Hodges found that he was not suited to be a bandleader; he disbanded the group and returned to Ellington in 1955.