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Jazz Articles about Duke Ellington

About Duke Ellington

572

Genius Guide to Jazz

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 ...

322

Album Review

Duke Ellington: Money Jungle

Read "Money Jungle" reviewed by Jim Santella

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 ...

221

Album Review

Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington Live at the Alhamabra

Read "Duke Ellington Live at the Alhamabra" reviewed by David Rickert

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 ...

375

Album Review

Duke Ellington, et al.: 1969: All-Star White House Tribute to Duke Ellington

Read "1969: All-Star White House Tribute to Duke Ellington" reviewed by Charlie B. Dahan

by Charlie B. Dahan
May 23, 2002

Duke Ellington celebrated his 70th birthday on April 29, 1969 as a guest of President Richard Nixon at the White House. In addition to receiving the distinguished Medal of Freedom, Ellington witnessed an all-star tribute concert featuring many of the day’s great jazz musicians in their prime, which until now, was lost. Recently a cassette belonging to then White House advisor Leonard Garmet found its way to Blue Note Records and the label enlisted Malcolm Addley and the National Archives ...

452

Album Review

Duke Ellington: Duke Ellington 1969: All-Star White House Tribute

by Jim Santella
May 2, 2002

A big band with Gerry Mulligan and Milt Hinton at the bottom, Paul Desmond and Clark Terry at the top, and an all-star cast in the middle makes this previously unissued session quite special. At the end, Duke Ellington sits down at the piano and performs a solo improvisation that he dedicated to Mrs. Pat Nixon. The President awarded Ellington the Medal of Freedom that day. It was the maestro's 70th birthday: April 29, 1969. Preserved on tape and broadcast ...

524

Album Review

Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington: The Great Summit/Complete Sessions

by Jim Santella
October 1, 2000

A collector’s item, The Great Summit places two fathers of jazz together in the studio with a small ensemble. It was Louis Armstrong’s all-star band with guest pianist Duke Ellington, and 1961 marked a gradual turning in both artists’ careers. In time, both would use their instruments less often, as matters turned toward other paths. Armstrong’s trumpet was still sparkling full and bright with his distinctive phrasing. Trummy Young and Barney Bigard made ideal sidekicks. Three of the 17 numbers ...

409

Album Review

Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington: The Great Summit: The Complete Sessions

by C. Andrew Hovan
September 1, 2000

After already leading his illustrious band for many decades, Duke Ellington saw fit to engage in a number of extracurricular activities during the early part of the ‘60s. All of these endeavors proved to be quite successful, including Impulse dates with John Coltrane and Coleman Hawkins and the celebrated Money Jungle with Charles Mingus and Max Roach. As distinguished a pianist as he was a composer, the windfall that came with these sidebars was a better chance to hear Duke ...