jazzbo Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Okay, I thunk and thunk and decided on an album for discussion the week of July 6 through July 13. . . . Duke Ellington - FAR EAST SUITE (click here to buy) It's time for Duke as an album of the week project, and this is an album that many have and that has been discussed, but not to death. Get your spinning devices ready! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 I had a strong feeling it would be ducal time. Wonder if Heaney has his ducat for it yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 Good choice!! About time we had an Ellington AOW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 This was one of the first jazz cds I ever heard (after becoming a jazz fan) and it's a great choice. What colors and sounds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted July 3, 2003 Report Share Posted July 3, 2003 I can't WAIT for this one!!! Wheeeeeee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted July 3, 2003 Report Share Posted July 3, 2003 Great choice Lon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJ Posted July 3, 2003 Report Share Posted July 3, 2003 Inspired choice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted July 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 (edited) Alright, I just really enjoyed listening to this again, via the RCA box version. One factor that I really like about this suite is that Ellington and Strayhorn were very wise to not try to write Eastern music, but to bring some sounds of that music into their own. There are a few melodic elements that seem eastern, but most of that character of the suite is in my estimation developed through the sound of the instruments and to another extent through the rhythms selected. The suites seem to be joined by this approach, the touch of the exotic to the sound, and this is more effective a "glue" to my ears than some other methods Duke used to form suites. Gonsalves, Hodges and Hamilton especially seem to carry a lot of the "easterness" and quite admirably. Another plus to this recording is that the material was not entirely fresh in the studio. Bits and pieces had shown up on live material from as far back as two years plus before this session, and I have a recording of the bulk of the suite done for a Canadian television station more than a year before this. What is most new is the drummer, Rufus Jones, who does bring a new sound to the recording (it would be interesting to have this high fidelity a recording of the same occasion with Woodyard on the throne instead; Woodyard had a very well worked out conception for these pieces too that differs in some ways from Jones'.) To my ears the orchestra is really familiar with this material and gives it a tight rendition---not always the case with this orchestra which could be charmingly and not so charmingly loose as well. Another delight for me is bassist John Lamb. I really liked his tenure with the orchestra, and his meaty, modern sound really adds to the recordings he was on. From video sources it appears to me that Duke really liked his playing and sound as well. When the piano is absent during this suite, Lamb's notes give the swing and the foundation needed. If anyone knows of considerable work that Lamb did after this tenure with the band, let me know! Here too I find a very nice melding or fusion or coupling of Ellington and Strayhorn. One can find the lyrical Strayhorn idea followed by the flashily elegant Ellington bit, and they seem to be well placed. The writing of this seems more inspired than some of their collaborations or separate suites to me. Strong themes and strong writings for the ensemble, well captured by the RCA engineers. This recording was one of the ones that made me realize there is no decade or era of the Ellington Orchestra that can be ignored! I had been thinking that after the fifties I would probably have to be very choosy in selecting Duke recordings to collect. After exposure to this and other RCAs and to a Reprise lp or two I just decided I would have to pay as serious attention to the final years of the Orchestra as to the earlier! I hope that quite a few of you dig this out and listen again and enjoy! Edited July 6, 2003 by jazzbo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Lightning Posted July 6, 2003 Report Share Posted July 6, 2003 I always had some reservations about this album. There are some masterpieces there: especially Ad Lib in Nippon (whata solo!) and of course Isfahan. However, I always felt uncomfortable listening to "Tourist point of View" and "Amad". Lon mentioned that Ellington & Strayhorn brought the eastern sound into their own music. At least in these 2 tracks I humbly disagree. When I listen to these tracks track I indeed hear "a tourist point of view" of Arab/Mid eastern music. full of musical Cliches. Not real feel of the orient, but a caricature of it. The kind of music you'll probably hear if you go to a tourist oriented show in a fancy hotel in an Arab city. Eventhough they didn't used "authentic" instrumentation, the results are as phony to my ears as "Laurence of Arabia" to my eyes. I suppose the way I feel about these tracks is because I'm relatively familiar with Classic Arab music with it's nuances. I suppose that's why I prefer the South-east asian parts of the Far east suite and other pieces as Latin American Suite much more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jazzbo Posted July 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 Well you have a point. . . but I still enjoy these a lot, perhaps because I am not as steeped in Arab etc. music, and because I just think there are great performances in these. . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Lightning Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 ... and because I just think there are great performances in these. . . . Indeed there are. Some unforgettable solos indeed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJ Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 Hard to add much to those eloquent comments. I would say that for me this is a GREAT Ellington unit album for a few reasons - consistency, recording that captures the impact of the band, and most importantly a wonderful representation of both the beauty AND contained but still remarkable power of the band. In other words, it alternately carresses and swings the listener nearly to death! While I understand the comments about use of eastern elements maybe sounding a bit contrived at times, on the whole I think Ellington and Strayhorn admirably avoided that. It sounds like the Ellington organization, really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 7, 2003 Report Share Posted July 7, 2003 I've got more to say than this, but "Mount Harissa" moves me to tears of simultaneous joy and awe every damn time I hear it, much less think of it (yeah, I'm getting shivers just posting this). So much truth, so much beauty, so much wisdom, so much HELL YEAH in just that one cut alone, one of those occasional moments that comes along where God (or who/whatever you want to use in God's place) looks down and says, "Yeah Duke, yeah Paul, y'all been doin' the right thing for a long time now. A little on the wild side sometimes, but y'all been cool overall. So here's a special mega-blessing for your ass. Take it and run with it. Have fun!" There's a reason that piece came at the end of Side One of the original LP - nothing could follow it without some sort of pause! 'Scuse me. I gotta stop before somebody asks me why I got tears rolling down my cheeks. Just know that in a career filled with special moments and blessings, this is one of the mostest specialist blessingest of them all. Dig it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Alfredson Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 Dig it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEK Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 I own and enjoy many Ellington recordings from throughout his long career. I think that "Far East Suite" gets the most play. This exciting session is a high point in the Ellington-Strayhorn legacy. There is a remarkable consistency in the high quality of the arrangements and solos in this varied program. The compositions get some inspiration from the "exotic sounds of the East", but it's music from the sophisticated, swinging and imaginative worlds of Ellington and Strayhorn, rather than an attempt at cultural fusions. Everyone came to play! Before I got this recording (somehow it escaped my notice till the release of the "Special Mix" CD!), I thought I knew what to expect from Johnny Hodges and Paul Gonsalves, but their contributions on this CD exceeded my already high expectations. Jimmy Hamilton... OOOEEE!!! I've been a Jimmy Hamilton fan ever since I was captivated by his clarinet on this recording. And the drumming of Rufus Jones rocks the house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clunky Posted July 8, 2003 Report Share Posted July 8, 2003 This was one of the first Ellington's I heard and as per all the above it is beyond reproach. His various suites and extended works of his latter years are just a marvel. He really kept up to date his music timeless. Whilst the Blanton Webster band was indeed very special stuff like this and "Such Sweet thunder" and "Latin American Suite" get loads more play time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted July 10, 2003 Report Share Posted July 10, 2003 Well okay, I'm not really an Ellington fan or a big band lover for that matter but I like the AOTW thread so I borrowed an early cd copy. When I was discovering jazz I went through a big band phase but in the end I decided on a core collection of modern small groups because of time, money, space etc. That said though one my most magical jazz experiences was hearing the Ellington band live in 1963 for the first time, the sound the band made, and the sax section in particular, was unforgetable. I enjoyed playing this through. more so the second time around. It's a nice set and holds together nicely as a suite. I know it's sacrilege but I've never really taken to Hodges' ballads, I was turned off in the first place when I heard "Warm Valley" and "Isfahan" doesn't do anything to change my mind. Much too sickly sweet for my taste. Ellington's piano is timeless, I could have done with more and his contribution to the final track is the cd's highlight for me. Other good things, Gonsalves usually pleases, Carney's enormous sound, Hamilton's clarinet and the trombones. Duke has always had a way of writing some nifty trombone figures. I'll be playing this again before I return it but at the moment I can't see me adding much Duke to my collection even though I know I probably should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceH Posted July 10, 2003 Report Share Posted July 10, 2003 You no like "Isfahan"? Seriously, my favorite track from this suite has got to be "Ad Lib On Nippon." There was a time when I just had to hear that at least once a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKE BBB Posted July 11, 2003 Report Share Posted July 11, 2003 Wonderful music! I don´t know (as I´m not an expert in oriental music) if this suite only takes this kind of music in a "tourist point of view" (paraphrasing the first title in this record), but I enjoy every spin I give to it. Nowadays I have it on my car stereo, so it´s my first listening of the day when I get to work! It´s one of my favorite late suites from DUKE (alongside Latin American suite and others). Tunes are excellent, the exotic sounds of the orchestra, marvellous solos from Hodges and Gonsalves, and then there´s the trombones section and...Harry Carney (I love his powerful sound) Favorite themes? All of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeith Posted July 14, 2003 Report Share Posted July 14, 2003 I know it is a bit late, but I wanted to say I am a big fan of this album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 14, 2003 Report Share Posted July 14, 2003 I know it's sacrilege but I've never really taken to Hodges' ballads... Much too sickly sweet for my taste. Fair enough, but have you heard "Blood Count"? Ain't NO sweetness there, just a devastating portrait of a sick man's last few days, right down to his dying breath. Every rule has an exception, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundog Posted July 14, 2003 Report Share Posted July 14, 2003 I was turned off in the first place when I heard "Warm Valley" and "Isfahan" doesn't do anything to change my mind. Much too sickly sweet for my taste. Have you heard Joe Henderson's version of Isfahan from his Billy Strayhorn tribute album Lush Life? A more upbeat bopish treatment, that might change your opinion of the song. I really like the original version though. Those are some really lush (or do you say sickly sweet ) changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Sundog, I have the Henderson "Isfahan", I'll check it out but I guess it has a bit of muscle. Jim, I don't believe I have an Ellington version of Strayhorn's "Bloodcount". Can you recommend a version, I'm sure I can borrow a copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Jim, I don't believe I have an Ellington version of Strayhorn's "Bloodcount". Can you recommend a version, I'm sure I can borrow a copy. It's on AND HIS MOTHER CALLED HIM BILL. Check it out. For me, it's nothing less than devastating to hear Hodges work his way through Strayhorn's deathbed portrayal of, in order, shock, defiance, and resignation at/to his fate, and finally, slowly but surely, the final slipping into the grips of death itself. At least that's what I hear in it. STILL can't listen to it without a shudder and a tear. Give it a shot and see what you think. Maybe it's just me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted July 15, 2003 Report Share Posted July 15, 2003 Thanks Jim I may have it tucked away somewhere. Interesting playing Joe Henderson's "Isfahan" and "Bloodcount". The way Joe tackles "Isfahan" makes it much more interesting for me. His version of "Bloodcount" is reverential and he keeps sentimentality at bay. I can imagine this piece could easily veer in that direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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