Sound Quality of Ellington's New Orleans Suite

[Stereojack]

I always thought that among the albums by Ellington with the word "suite" in the title, "New Orleans Suite" was the least like an extended work. It always seemed to me like a collection of individual songs, bound together only by the title of the album and the titles of the songs.

I have always liked it a great deal.

Well put. This, like many of Duke's "suites" is a program of original compositions, tied together not by any common musical theme, but by titles that refer to New Orleans people and places. "Portrait of Mahalia Jackson" is, imo, one of Duke's most beautiful compositions, and it never fails to move me.

[Idiom59]

Out of interest Portrait of Mahalia Jackson is on another album called the Girls Suite on Columbia. Recorded in the early sixties with Ray Nance as the soloist. As far as NOS is concerned the two tracks that really do it for me are Blues for NO and Portrait of Sydney Bechet. Johnny Hodges is his usual superb self and for someone making their last recording I doubt whether you could play a finer farewell. Paul Gonsalves plays a touching solo on Portrait of Sydney Bechet which was originally slated for Hodges. It must have been very difficult time for him and the band in general and I think they manage it very well.