The tribute band featuring, among others, Dave Brubeck, Paul Desmond, Clark Terry, Joe Williams, J.J. Johnson, Jim Hall, and Milt Hinton, elegantly works through twenty-seven Ellington / Strayhorn compositions, including “Take the ‘A’ Train, “Satin Doll, “Sophisticated Lady,” and “Mood Indigo.” The musicians all play the repertoire straight and do not stray too far from the composer original intentions, but each track is a true gem of wonderfully performed music that made Ellington proud.

Ellington is not a performer on this album until the last track, which is a three minute solo piano piece and sounds mostly improvised dedicated to the President Nixon’s wife entitled “Pat.” “Pat,” not only is the only track that Ellington performs on, but also, the albums only original composition, which until now, wasn’t available anywhere.

Very rarely does an unreleased album come along that not only contains this much top rate music performed by a great ensemble, but also is a historically significant event. “1969: All-Star White House Tribute to Duke Ellington” resides in the ‘must have’ category for any jazz and/or Ellington fan.

Track listing: 1. Take the A Train 2. I Got It Bad 3. Chelsea Bridge 4. Satin Doll 5. Sophisticated Lady 6. Just Squeeze Me 7. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart 8. Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me 9. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore 10. In a Mellotone 11. In a Sentimental Mood 12. Prelude to a Kiss 13. Ring Dem Bells 14. Drop Me Off in Harlem 15. All Too Soon 16. It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing) 17. Things Ain’t What They Used to Be 18. Perdido 19. Warm Valley 20. Caravan 21. Mood Indigo 22. Prelude to a Kiss 23. I Didn’t Know About You 24. Praise God and Dance 25. Come Sunday 26. Heritage 27. Jump for Joy 28. Pat

Personnel: Duke Ellington – piano Dave Brubeck – piano Earl Hines – piano Hank Jones – piano Billy Taylor – piano Paul Desmond – sax Gerry Mulligan – sax Urbie Green – trombone J.J. Johnson – trombone Bill Berry – trumpet Clark Terry – trumpet Milt Hinton – bass Louie Bellson – drums Joe Williams – vocals Mary Mayo – vocals

Style: Dixieland/New Orleans/Swing
Published: May 23, 2002

Be the first to post a comment on:
Duke Ellington, et al.'s 1969: All-Star White House Tribute to Duke Ellington

Signup & post a comment!