Jazz Articles about Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington: Ellington Uptown

by C. Michael Bailey
October 12, 2003

Two Hundred Fifty-Plus Words on Ellington, Part II

Duke Ellington Uptown was released shortly after Ellington adopted the 12-inch long player philosophy and began recording his concert of some of his greatest pieces. Before the present release, this recording was issued on three different occasions, each released including slightly different material. The original release (Columbia ML 4639) contained the opening five tracks: "Skin Deep," "The Mooche," "Take The 'A' Train," "A Tone Parallel To Harlem," and "Perdido." The second release, ...

Duke Ellington: Masterpieces By Ellington

by C. Michael Bailey
October 12, 2003

Two Hundred Fifty-Plus Words on Ellington, Part I.Columbia Records waited until the end of 1950 before recording directly to tape, enabling pieces longer that the biblical three minutes to be recorded. All of this, in spite of the fact that long playing records debuted two years previously. This occasion was the first time in Ellington’s 25-year recording history that the maestro was able to slough off the 78-rpm format and record what he and his band played in ...

Duke Ellington: Never No Lament: The Blanton/Webster Band

by AAJ Staff
June 25, 2003

There's something to be said for conciseness. Ellington and his band members were masters of the most succinct yet complete solos perhaps in jazz history. The two big stars in Duke's orchestral constellation from the early '40s were bassist Jimmie Blanton and his first official voice on tenor, Ben Webster. A recently reissued set of 3 CDs captures what many would consider the band in its prime, recorded only just after Ellington had found his musical soulmate in composer, arranger, ...

Duke Ellington: Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band

by David Rickert
May 25, 2003

The Blanton-Webster band sides represent an unparalleled burst of creativity in the history of jazz and stand without question as the best recordings of Ellington’s storied career. However, since the mid-nineties they have only been available with bland packaging and marginally acceptable sound, a woeful compromise since technological advancements had long since paved the way for a better package. RCA eventually remastered their entire Ellington catalog, and recently released this dramatically improved version of the Blanton-Webster sides from 1939-42. This ...

The Further Adventures of Duke Danger

by Jeff Fitzgerald, Genius
January 8, 2003

Happy New Year, kids. Here's wishing you all the joy and prosperity you can possibly procure for yourself without drawing any attention from the proper authorities. That said. When last we left Duke Ellington , he had come into his own (I know what you're thinking. Stop it) as a composer and was constantly traversing the country with his ensemble. He had begun his remarkably productive collaboration with Billy Strayhorn, was firmly established among the top of the jazz hierarchy, ...

Duke Ellington: Money Jungle

by Jim Santella
August 1, 2002

The dramatic character of this album’s title track tells you from the start that few trio jam sessions have ever carried so much weight. Recorded in 1962, it brought together three definitive leaders in this field we call jazz. Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Max Roach interpreted a program of swinging Ellington material. His “Money Jungle,” “African Flower,” “Very Special” and “Wig Wise” were introduced to the listening public for the first time with this LP. Blue Note ...

Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington Live at the Alhamabra

by David Rickert
July 16, 2002

The success of Ellington’s appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956 reinvigorated his career and once again made him a world-wide concert draw at a time when many other big bands were struggling to find work. His appearance at the Alhambra two years later has been circulating in bootleg form for years and is finally available on CD. Although the recording quality isn’t great (blame the poor acoustics of the concert hall), it still captures a lively Ellington band ...