For unreleased in their time studio dates (like the Gonsalves feature), there are also Unknown Session and Happy Reunion. So many records, what are you gonna do?
― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 10:32 (sixteen years ago) link
The story behind that Rosemary Clooney album is good too. She was with child at when they were about to record the album and under doctor's orders she was confined to her home in LA, so Billy Strayhorn flew out and stayed at her house to run through the songs with her. After about ten days he flew back east to finish the arrangements and oversee the recording of the instruments, then returned to LA to overdub the vocal tracks.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 14:12 (sixteen years ago) link
Money Jungle C/D?
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 14:16 (sixteen years ago) link
Another thing about Blue Rose, the title track is apparently a harmonic predecessor to "Giant Steps."
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Wednesday, 19 December 2007 17:30 (sixteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― ILX System, Thursday, 27 December 2007 00:01 (sixteen years ago) link
OK, of the offered choices, I am going with Ella Fitzgerald/The Duke Ellington Songbook.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 27 December 2007 00:49 (sixteen years ago) link
When you listen to the Ella Songbooks and you get to the Ellington one, you can feel the energy level jump up a few notches. Ella kicks into gear with that band behind her amd really starts to swing.
― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 27 December 2007 21:25 (sixteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― ILX System, Friday, 28 December 2007 00:01 (sixteen years ago) link
Not a lot of Ellington listeners, I guess. Yikes.
― Usual Channels, Friday, 28 December 2007 16:48 (sixteen years ago) link
1958 Side by Side
great record
― deej, Friday, 28 December 2007 17:18 (sixteen years ago) link
Such Sweet Thunder is currently my fave Duke album, but have also been clutch of others which are also amazing, but damn SST is so good.
― xelab, Tuesday, 10 March 2015 22:19 (nine years ago) link
excuse my shite inglish:p
― xelab, Tuesday, 10 March 2015 22:22 (nine years ago) link
I love Such Sweet Thunder and Far East Suite. I arrived at him in the middle 90s as somebody listening to Martin Denny and Les Baxter and the "Space Capades" collection CD and Esquivel - he is many times more "important" than this obviously, but he is also the Duke of all musical exotica. He's FUN.
I think the monumental status scares people off who could be getting some groovy kicks.
― Vic Perry, Tuesday, 10 March 2015 23:25 (nine years ago) link
Yeah the Far East Suit and the Coleman Hawkins collab. are both masterpieces as well.
― xelab, Wednesday, 11 March 2015 02:11 (nine years ago) link
Don't know enough Ellington to comment with context, but "Hi-Fi Ellington Uptown" is brilliant (save the awful vox on "Take The A-Train').
― hardcore dilettante, Wednesday, 11 March 2015 06:15 (nine years ago) link
Would love folks familiar with the canon to rank them all.
― hardcore dilettante, Wednesday, 11 March 2015 06:16 (nine years ago) link
Latin American Suite is nearly as brilliant as Far East Suite, and has, for me, one of the most thrilling moments of Ellingtonia ("Brasilliance").
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 11 March 2015 13:57 (nine years ago) link
Yeah that Latin American Suite is another great album. Ellington's piano style is amazing and is a true wonder (excuse my fumbling inelegance) but it has this crisp, classical minimalist quality allied to his ability to swing like fuck, it is so brilliant. I have been slowly getting into lots of jazz artists in the last decade and a half and really wish I had checked out Ellington sooner.
― xelab, Wednesday, 11 March 2015 21:34 (nine years ago) link
many libraries have the Smithsonian collection, and what they picked of Ellington (and everybody before that too) is all great. "Blue Serge" is haunting.
A short, very hot piece: "Acht O'Clock Rock" from the Afro-Eurasian Eclipse. Suitable for dropping into almost any mix tape. I am not up to writing about how profound this track is yet, but it's one of his most exciting short pieces (super-underselling it here).
― Vic Perry, Wednesday, 11 March 2015 21:40 (nine years ago) link
^ that's a great one! Late 60s/early 70s Ellington had this incredible urgency and edge to how it swung (and was also the best-recorded work of his career).
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 11 March 2015 22:13 (nine years ago) link
Have to rep for "The Queen's Suite" here, the other two suites on that cd aren't worldbeaters but the Queen's... well, rules!
― a date with density (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, 11 March 2015 23:05 (nine years ago) link
I have been listening to the New Orleans Suite a lot recently and it is very underrated.
― xelab, Friday, 12 June 2015 13:56 (eight years ago) link
Star-Crossed Lovers off Such Sweet Thunder is so beautiful.
― xelab, Thursday, 6 August 2015 22:17 (eight years ago) link
Masterpieces (the 1951 LP, not the Proper box set) is incredible, isn't it? it has a sense of space and restraint that prefigures Gil Evans (or maybe Mingus at his most sedate) more than any other Ellington album I've heard, and it seems about 10 years ahead of its time in terms of sound quality and cohesiveness. I don't know if it's considered essential Ellington, though — the bland title and cover art don't do it any favors, nor does the fact that 3 of the 4 pieces date back to the 1930s (I guess purists prefer the original recordings?)
― schrute dwyte (unregistered), Friday, 13 January 2017 04:02 (seven years ago) link
tbf the vocal sections are pretty awkward, though they only account for maybe 5 minutes of the album. the singer is still alive and tours her nursing home under the moniker Eve Duke.
― schrute dwyte (unregistered), Friday, 13 January 2017 04:12 (seven years ago) link
What a coincidence-- I just listened to the Masterpieces LP this afternoon
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Friday, 13 January 2017 05:22 (seven years ago) link
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2014/12/duke_ellington_s_best_album_masterpieces_by_ellington_reviewed_on_the_new.html
There is a great Fred Kaplan write up on it here.
― calzino, Friday, 13 January 2017 13:10 (seven years ago) link
"If there were nothing on this album but “Mood Indigo,” it would still deserve a special spot in the annals of 20th-century music."
absolutely otm
― calzino, Friday, 13 January 2017 13:13 (seven years ago) link
hm, now I need to hear Jazz Party too
― Brad C., Friday, 13 January 2017 15:41 (seven years ago) link
Masterpieces is great -- though yeah, I could do without the (limited) vocal sections. Ellington had kinda weird taste in vocalists, didn't he?
― tylerw, Friday, 13 January 2017 15:44 (seven years ago) link
thats a polite way of putting it I suppose
― calzino, Friday, 13 January 2017 15:53 (seven years ago) link
I dunno, I thought Ray Nance was great, though I guess he wasn't there for his vocals, necessarily. Always loved Ivie Anderson and Kay Davis. And while I can't say I loved Herb Jeffries, "Flamingo" just sounds wrong without his vocal. And "I Like The Sunrise," with Al Hibbler, is one of my favorite Ellington pieces...which is to say, one of my favorite pieces.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 13 January 2017 16:00 (seven years ago) link
yeah i like Nance and both Anderson and Davis have their moments -- I think it's more just Ellington's (and Strayhorn's) preference for a kinda stilted "theatrical" delivery that hasn't aged quite as well.
― tylerw, Friday, 13 January 2017 16:05 (seven years ago) link
what do you guys think of the Ellington/Clooney album?
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Friday, 13 January 2017 16:53 (seven years ago) link
i haven't heard it! I probably should check it out, I like rosemary clooney.
― tylerw, Friday, 13 January 2017 19:55 (seven years ago) link
Apart from the Ella Fitzgerald live album and Mahalia Jackson on Come Sunday, I've personally not enjoyed any of Ellington's vocalists. But saying that there must be loads I've not heard, including the Clooney album.
― calzino, Friday, 13 January 2017 20:28 (seven years ago) link
I like Al Hibbler a lot. I'm just a stodgy dude, I guess.
― bamcquern, Friday, 13 January 2017 21:03 (seven years ago) link
The Clooney album is available through this cheapo box:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71igilB36KL._SX355_.jpg
― EvR, Friday, 13 January 2017 21:06 (seven years ago) link
Listening to Masterpieces for the first time, thanks to this thread. Great record, didn't even mind the vocal sections, but yeah I'm kinda stodgy too.
― Fake posts from a failing poster (Dan Peterson), Friday, 13 January 2017 21:21 (seven years ago) link
I like Yvonne/Eva on Masterpieces, but she's no Baby Cox
― Brad C., Friday, 13 January 2017 21:40 (seven years ago) link
thought this was cool -- ellington doing mingus' "The Clown"http://www.bigozine2.com/TRKSB/CMrarities/CMrarities208.mp3
― tylerw, Friday, 13 January 2017 21:44 (seven years ago) link
^ yeah, that's really great. In the Mingus doc, Triumph of the Underdog, Sue Mingus talks about that being what got Charles back into making music.
― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Friday, 13 January 2017 22:03 (seven years ago) link
nice. does seem like duke genuinely had an affinity for mingus' music.
― tylerw, Friday, 13 January 2017 22:13 (seven years ago) link
Various versions of how Mingus got fired from Ellington's band.
― Don Van Gorp, midwest regional VP, marketing (誤訳侮辱), Friday, 13 January 2017 22:57 (seven years ago) link
Mingus' account is my favorite (though maybe the least trustworthy?)
― tylerw, Friday, 13 January 2017 22:59 (seven years ago) link
That article omits a good line from Mingus' account: "I'm afraid, Charles -- I've never fired anybody -- you'll have to quit my band."
― Brad C., Friday, 13 January 2017 23:12 (seven years ago) link
haha, yeah, that is so good
― tylerw, Friday, 13 January 2017 23:13 (seven years ago) link
Totally off topic here, but at the mo I'm totally in love with his late period hard swinging duo Album with Ray Brown.
― calzino, Friday, 13 January 2017 23:35 (seven years ago) link
― a date with density (Jon Lewis), Wednesday, March 11, 2015 7:05 PM (one year ago)
yeah damn queen's suite is great
― Heez, Saturday, 14 January 2017 05:49 (seven years ago) link