Don't Get Around Much Anymore was composed by Duke Ellington in 1940, originally recorded as an instrumental titled Never No Lament by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra on May 4, 1940, for Victor Records. The piece originated as a counter-melody to Concerto for Cootie and features a swinging AABA form built on call-and-response interplay between cup-muted brass and richly voiced saxophones, with Johnny Hodges on alto saxophone, Cootie Williams on trumpet, and Lawrence Brown on trombone delivering memorable solos. In 1942, lyricist Bob Russell added words transforming the instrumental into a vocal piece about a jilted lover avoiding social gatherings, and wartime covers by Glen Gray and the Ink Spots turned it into a popular hit beyond jazz circles, though ASCAP disputes and the AFM recording ban prevented Ellington from making a timely vocal version himself. The tune became one of the most enduring jazz standards of the swing era, recorded across genres by artists including Louis Armstrong in a 1961 session with Ellington at the piano. Its catchy melody and accessible harmonic framework have kept it in active repertoire for decades. On AllSolos, the tune is represented by Stephen Riley's performance on the 2018 album Oleo, offering a modern tenor saxophone interpretation of this classic Ellington composition.
