Jazz Articles about Duke Ellington

like 449

Duke Ellington: Far East Suite

by Kurt Gottschalk
January 25, 2004

Duke Ellington's Far East Suite has never enjoyed the accolades lauded upon some of the Maestro's other major works. Black, Brown and Beige and Such Sweet Thunder are in the Ellington canon; Far East, it seems, was left behind.That may be due to its dated Orientalism. It was recorded in 1966, a strange few years when jazz was looking to other cultures for inspiration but not embracing ethnic traditions the way it would in the coming decades (witness, ...

like 377

Armstrong & Ellington: The Great Summit

by John Ballon
October 29, 2003

No two musicians defined the first half of the Jazz Century more than Duke Ellington & Louis “Satchmo" Armstrong. Duke was the dashingly elegant mad-genius of composition, a black Mozart who imbued jazz with an emotional sophistication and wit that will never be surpassed. Louis almost single-handedly popularized the art of the solo, liberating jazz from the rigid rules of ensemble playing and giving individual musicians a chance to express themselves. Unmistakable in sound, Satchmo's presence strongly defined every session ...

like 355

Duke Ellington: Festival Session

by C. Michael Bailey
October 12, 2003

Two Hundred Fifty-Plus Words on Ellington, Part III.

Festival Session is the third in a trio of remastered and reconfigured Columbia releases to the Legacy imprint. The other two are Ellington Uptown and Masterpieces by Ellington , both worthy of purchase considering the amount of reconstruction and updating the releases have undergone since the 1950s. All three recordings are comprised of old and new songs. Festival Session was recorded following a successful series of festivals the Ellington Band had performed ...

like 397

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, ...

like 174

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 ...

like 471

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, ...

like 495

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 ...