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Shout Factory Strikes Gold in Bethlehem Vault
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Bethlehem Records began in 1953 with Gustav Wildi at the helm and became one of the cornerstone NYC based jazz label in the be-bop heyday. Syd Nathan's King Records, best known for his recordings with James Brown, saw that the major recording companies were going to join on his turf as R&B was becoming lucrative. Nathan decided that distribution might be the best way to keep King afloat and one of the first catalogues he acquired was Bethlehem's in 1960. He began a reissue series that faded away in the 1970s.

The Duke Ellington recording contains only the recordings originally found on the 1956 recording of Duke Ellington Presents. This album finds Ellington and his sixteen piece orchestra in fine form and featuring Clark Terry on trumpet and Johnny Hodges on alto sax. The orchestra works through some standard repertoire inn typical well-arranged form including "Blues," "Summertime," and "My Funny Valentine." The package contains a brief essay and track descriptions by Joseph Muranyi. This package leaves falls a bit short of what has become expected by Shout Factory, but the music makes up for this shortfall.

Shout Factory will continue the Bethlehem reissue series with Mel Torme, Dexter Gordon, Charles Mingus and many others.
John Coltrane: The Bethlehem Years
Disc 1
1 Midriff; 2. Ain't Life Grand; 3. Tippin'; 4. Pristine; 5. El Toro Valiente; 6. The Kiss Of No Return; 7. Late Date; 8. The Outer World; 9. Not So Sleepy; 10. Love And The Weather; 11. If I'm Lucky; 12. Turtle Walk
Disc 2
1. Oasis (Unreleased); 2. Midriff, Take 1; 3. Midriff, Take 2; 4. The Kiss Of No Return, Take 1; 5. The Kiss Of No Return, Take 5; 6. The Outer World, Take 2; 7. The Outer World, Take 5; 8. El Toro Valiente, Take 1; 9. Ain't Life Grand, Take 2; 10. Ain't Life Grand, Take 4; 11. Pristine, Take 2; 12. Pristine, Take 6; 13. Pristine, Take 8; 14. Tippin', Take 1; 15. Tippin', Take 3
Ellington Presents...
1. Summertime; 2. Laura; 3. I Can't Get Started; 4. My Funny Valentine; 5. Everything But You; 6. Frustration; 7. Cotton Tail; 8. Day Dream; 9. Deep Purple; 10. Indian Summer; 11. Blues
East Coasting
1. Memories Of You; 2. East Coasting; 3. West Coast Ghost; 4. Celia; 5. Conversation; 6. Fifty-First Street Blues; 7. East Coasting (bonus alt. take); 8. Memories Of You (bonus alt. take)
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