*** The Duke Ellington Corner ***

[brownie]

Anybody heard this new release from TCB?

The Ellington band playing in Zurich in 1950. Don Byas is listed as plaing in the sax section!

[Swinging Swede]

Wow! I had not heard about this before.

From the site:

"Miracles happen. This recording was found by accident in a drawer...and it is an unbelievable recording. The performance of the Duke Ellington Orchestra on the night of may 2, 1950 at the Kongresshaus in Zurich, Switzerland is absolutely outstanding. On top, the recording quality is sensational. This CD is an absolute must and not only for Ellington fans. Even though this music was recorded some 57 years ago it sounds so fresh like it was yesterday. I am happy to be able to present this historic document to you."

The Ellington band was little recorded at this time. If the recording quality is sensational as they say (and the performance outstanding to boot), I would say this is a major Ellington find.

[Swinging Swede]

Some more thoughts. This must have been the tour on which Charlie Rouse, who then was Ellington's regular tenorist, couldn't follow the band to Europe because he couldn't get a passport in time. I wonder if Don Byas substituted for him the entire tour? Hearing Byas with the Ellington band is in any case another major point of this release. Only later that year did Paul Gonsalves join.

Noticeable is also trumpeter Al Killian's presence, since he was murdered just a few months later. Is this his last recording? Coincidentally, a common link between Byas, Gonsalves and Killian is that all three previously had played in the Basie band.

[BruceH]

Wow! I had not heard about this before.

From the site:

"Miracles happen. This recording was found by accident in a drawer...and it is an unbelievable recording. The performance of the Duke Ellington Orchestra on the night of may 2, 1950 at the Kongresshaus in Zurich, Switzerland is absolutely outstanding. On top, the recording quality is sensational. This CD is an absolute must and not only for Ellington fans. Even though this music was recorded some 57 years ago it sounds so fresh like it was yesterday. I am happy to be able to present this historic document to you."

The Ellington band was little recorded at this time. If the recording quality is sensational as they say (and the performance outstanding to boot), I would say this is a major Ellington find.

I want it.

[brownie]

Some more thoughts. This must have been the tour on which Charlie Rouse, who then was Ellington's regular tenorist, couldn't follow the band to Europe because he couldn't get a passport in time. I wonder if Don Byas substituted for him the entire tour? Hearing Byas with the Ellington band is in any case another major point of this release. Only later that year did Paul Gonsalves join.

The invaluable volume 'Duke Ellington - Day by Day and Film by Film' by Dr. Klaus Stratemann indicates that

Don Byas was picked up in Paris immediately after Ellington's arrival there to replace Charlie Rouse as tenor soloist for the duration of the tour.

That April to June 1950 European tour during which the Ellington band played numerous concerts is barely documented on records.

That TCB CD looks like a very welcome addition!

[Niko]

Some more thoughts. This must have been the tour on which Charlie Rouse, who then was Ellington's regular tenorist, couldn't follow the band to Europe because he couldn't get a passport in time. I wonder if Don Byas substituted for him the entire tour? Hearing Byas with the Ellington band is in any case another major point of this release. Only later that year did Paul Gonsalves join.

just to make the information complete in this thread as well (the other:http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=36574&st=0&gopid=701793&#entry701793)

this source claims that tenorists McCain and Rouse were annouced before the concert...

http://www.jazzdocumentation.ch/philippi/4personenusa.pdf

[papsrus]

Lots of good information here. Just getting into Ellington in depth.

I read the comment earlier in this thread that some musicians thought he was overrated, that his bands played out of tune and his arrangements were indulgent. Not getting that. ... I've yet to hear anything that's less than exciting. I will say the Coltrane/Ellington disc with Garrison and Jones didn't quite live up to what I'd anticipated. More spins, maybe. But Ellington seemed to be content to take a back seat in that setting and as a result the magical moments that could have developed maybe didn't fully.

Anyways, I'll be adding piecemeal to my currently tiny Ellington collection over the course of the year.

Edited January 24, 2008 by papsrus

[king ubu]

I decided to for the first time really dig deep into Ellingtonia before x-mas... started with the early sessions: the first volume of the Masters of Jazz Ellington (early stuff, the band and the Duke still searching, mostly), then the Columbai "OKeh Ellington" 2CD set, the GRP "Early Ellington" 3CD set and the first 6 or 7 CDs of the Centennial RCA box (I was too lazy to sort my listening in chronological order, just went label by label).

Then I continued with the Storyville "Duke Box" and the corresponding mid-forties discs of the RCA box plus the Carnegie Hall sets (Prestige).

Then the Blanton/Webster parts from the RCA box (much more than 3CDs there, by the way - what did they leave out of the 3CD set? All the small band dates? Is that enough to fit the rest onto 3 CDs?)

In the meantime I ordered plenty of Classics to try and cover the missing years, roughly 1932-1939 (Brunswick and Vocalion dates), and that's where I am currently (around 1936). Some of the later ones are OOP and impossible to find (38-39, where there are about three volumes per year).

I'm enjoying it tremendously, even the very early sessions I loved more than ever before.

What strikes me is how excellent the music is - it's not just the Blanton/Webster band that's so great, I think some of the 30s material is just as great, and the 44-46 sessions (studio for RCA and live on the "Duke Box") are almost up there, too, in general!

Oh, and Betty Roché to me was one of the very best singers Ellington ever employed - hearing her at greater lenght is one of the joys of the Storyville box - her period with the band would have been covered by RCA if not for the recording ban... 43/44, roughly - I think the RCA box only has one date with her returning shortly after she'd left the band.

[ghost of miles]

Mentioned it already in the DETS thread, but Storyville says they'll be resuming the Treasury Show series with V. 13 come this May.

[BruceH]

Mentioned it already in the DETS thread, but Storyville says they'll be resuming the Treasury Show series with V. 13 come this May.

Nice.

[A Lark Ascending]

I've been on an Ellington trip all week, working through the 40s recordings from the Centennial box of 2000. Papsrus is responsible - his enthusiasm elsewhere had me digging back.

Led to me spending a fortune on Ellington material online -

* The Duke Box - the 40s live material.

* Piano in the Foreground - really want to hear more of the piano, having really enjoyed 'Money Jungle' the other night; and as a result of Stan Tracey's frequent ventures into Ellington territory.

* The big one...god knows what customs are going to sting me for this....the late 30s small groups Mosaic.

Over thirty years since Ellington first bit andhe still drags me back.

[Noj]

I've got this one on the way, courtesy of one of those BMG coupons.

[paul secor]

I've been on an Ellington trip all week, working through the 40s recordings from the Centennial box of 2000. Papsrus is responsible - his enthusiasm elsewhere had me digging back.

Led to me spending a fortune on Ellington material online -

* The Duke Box - the 40s live material.

* Piano in the Foreground - really want to hear more of the piano, having really enjoyed 'Money Jungle' the other night; and as a result of Stan Tracey's frequent ventures into Ellington territory.

* The big one...god knows what customs are going to sting me for this....the late 30s small groups Mosaic.

Over thirty years since Ellington first bit andhe still drags me back.

Others have already said this, but welcome back, Bev. You've been missed.

[papsrus]

... * The big one...god knows what customs are going to sting me for this....the late 30s small groups Mosaic. ...

That is going to be some ride. I've had that Mosaic on the radar as well recently, but I need to wait a bit, digest what's on the way and save some pennies before making another large purchase. ... But that box looks very good. I'll be interested to read your thoughts on it.

EDIT: Speaking of Mosaic, this one also looks interesting:

Small group session from 1958. More high praise for Gonsalves, Clark Terry and Jimmy Hamilton. Anyone familiar with this one?

Edited January 26, 2008 by papsrus

[Alexander Hawkins]

... * The big one...god knows what customs are going to sting me for this....the late 30s small groups Mosaic. ...

That is going to be some ride. I've had that Mosaic on the radar as well recently, but I need to wait a bit, digest what's on the way and save some pennies before making another large purchase. ... But that box looks very good. I'll be interested to read your thoughts on it.

EDIT: Speaking of Mosaic, this one also looks interesting:

Small group session from 1958. More high praise for Gonsalves, Clark Terry and Jimmy Hamilton. Anyone familiar with this one?

I recently got 'The Cosmic Scene' on vinyl. I absolutely love it. Great instrumentation, with these three plus the trombones. And I love how Ellington used Clark Terry.

[jazzbo]

I have a mono lp of Cosmic Scene, and the Mosaic Single. Very nice little session indeed!

Yesterday I got the Jazz Beat version of "A Drum is A Woman" from Worlds Records. Well, aside from the obvious problems of provenance of which I'm well aware, this is a beautiful digipak with the best cover image, glossy as an Impulse reissue, I've seen on cd, and sound that I think is a tad better than the CBS cd from France. (Plus one extra track). Until Columbia and/or Mosaic see fit to grace us with an official release this is one worth having.

A friend of mine thinks the music on this is silly, but I really like it more and more.

[A Lark Ascending]

... * The big one...god knows what customs are going to sting me for this....the late 30s small groups Mosaic. ...

That is going to be some ride. I've had that Mosaic on the radar as well recently, but I need to wait a bit, digest what's on the way and save some pennies before making another large purchase. ... But that box looks very good. I'll be interested to read your thoughts on it.

I think you have some of the Mosaic material, Papsrus. It was seeing your mentioning of one of the 'Duke's Men' Columbia sets that had me searching. They seem to be OOP with just a few copies floating round. Then I got the Mosaic magazine through the post.......

Another one I'm very fond of is 'The Ellington Suites' with 'The Queen's Suite' on it. This was the first full Ellington album I bought c. 1976-7 when it first came out for public issue. 'Sunset and the Mocking Bird' is just sublime!

*************

And Hi, Paul. Thanks!

[king ubu]

Hey Bev, good to see you around!

I gave the Duke Box a first listen in December and loved most of it! (I was lucky not to have owned anything but the Fargo set before, so 6 CDs of 8 were new to me.)

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

That's one I've been meaning to get for about forty years. I love Ellington's piano playing more than the band material.

MG

[king ubu]

MG, the Ellington Meets Hawkins is magnificient! Definitely one of the most marvellous small group sessions ever made by the Duke, and up there with the best Hawkins albums... that Limbo Jazz and the Riccitic or whatever it's called, these two alone are woth the prize of admission for me! (One of them was just a rehearsal take, you can hear some chatter etc, added to the CD reissue)

[papsrus]

I think you have some of the Mosaic material, Papsrus. It was seeing your mentioning of one of the 'Duke's Men' Columbia sets that had me searching. They seem to be OOP with just a few copies floating round. Then I got the Mosaic magazine through the post.......

Another one I'm very fond of is 'The Ellington Suites' with 'The Queen's Suite' on it. This was the first full Ellington album I bought c. 1976-7 when it first came out for public issue. 'Sunset and the Mocking Bird' is just sublime! ...

Yes, I hadn't compared the track listings but anticipated some overlap. The Mosaic treatment though is ... enticing.

Ordered this earlier on your rec:

Also, couldn't resist -- this one's on the way as of this morning:

This morning I'm listening to "The Duke Ellington Small Bands: The Intimacy of the Blues"

My appetite for small band settings led me to this one. From what I can gather, it is a mix of several studio sessions, one of which resulted in something he called The Combo Suite (the first six tracks here) ... also referred to as Hi Fi Fo Fum. Cat Anderson (I believe) on the muted trumpet is priceless.

Edited January 26, 2008 by papsrus

[A Lark Ascending]

Hey Bev, good to see you around!

I gave the Duke Box a first listen in December and loved most of it! (I was lucky not to have owned anything but the Fargo set before, so 6 CDs of 8 were new to me.)

Hi, King Ubu,

It arrived this morning - I've never even had the Fargo so it's all new to me! Looking forward to wallowing over the next couple of weeks.

[king ubu]

You also ought to check out the Paul Gonsalves Impulse twofer, "Tell It Like It Was" - the first album has him with fellow Ellingtonians (plus Rolf Ericsson), and the second ("Cleopatra Feeling Jazzy") in a totally different setting, with Kenny Burrell and others (much like the Jazzland album quite a departure from Ellingtonia, but in rather different a direction).

info taken from jazzdisco:

Rolf Ericson (tp -1/5) Ray Nance (tp, vln -1/5) Johnny Hodges (as -2/5) Paul Gonsalves (ts) Walter Bishop Jr. (p) Ernie Shepard (b) Osie Johnson (d)

NYC, September 4, 1963

1. Tell It The Way It Is Impulse A 55

2. Things Ain't What They Used To Be -

3. Duke's Place Impulse A 55, AS 9285-2

4. Impulsive Impulse A 55

5. Rapscallion In Rab's Canyon -

6. Body And Soul -

* Paul Gonsalves - Tell It The Way It Is! (Impulse A 55)

= Paul Gonsalves - Tell It The Way It Is!/Cleopatra-Feelin' Jazzy (Impulse 314 547 960-2)

* Various Artists - Ellingtonia, Vol. 2: The Impulse Years (Impulse AS 9285-2)

Paul Gonsalves (ts) Hank Jones (p) Dick Hyman (org -1/4,8) Kenny Burrell (g) George Duvivier (b) Roy Haynes (d)

NYC, May 21, 1963

1. Caesar And Cleopatra Theme Impulse A 41

2. Antony And Cleopatra Theme Impulse 45-217, A 41

3. Bluz For Liz Impulse A 41

4. Cleo's Blues -

5. Action In Alexandria Impulse A 41, AS 9285-2

6. Cleo's Asp Impulse A 41

7. Cleopatra's Lament -

8. Second Chance Impulse 45-217, 314 547 960-2

* Paul Gonsalves - Cleopatra-Feelin' Jazzy (Impulse A 41)

= Paul Gonsalves - Tell It The Way It Is!/Cleopatra-Feelin' Jazzy (Impulse 314 547 960-2)

* Various Artists - Ellingtonia, Vol. 2: The Impulse Years (Impulse AS 9285-2)

* Paul Gonsalves - Second Chance c/w Antony And Cleopatra Theme (Impulse 45-217)

then there's also this one:

reissued with a short Clark Terry album on this CD (US cover, European version looked very different):

The Terry album is lightweight, but the Gonsalves one is fine - I haven't played it in a while though, need to dig it up again!

[A Lark Ascending]

I love Ellington's piano playing more than the band material.

MG

The piano playing is quite wonderful. A great deal is made of Stan Tracey's Monk influence but listening to lots of Elington over the past week I can really hear his (frequently acknowledged) debt to Ellington as well. Nice and percussive.

[king ubu]

Hey Bev, good to see you around!

I gave the Duke Box a first listen in December and loved most of it! (I was lucky not to have owned anything but the Fargo set before, so 6 CDs of 8 were new to me.)

Hi, King Ubu,

It arrived this morning - I've never even had the Fargo so it's all new to me! Looking forward to wallowing over the next couple of weeks.

The Fargo date is terrific! The Blanton/Webster band in an extended concert recording - not much more you could wish for, as far as Ellington is concerned!

The earlier Storyville 2CD set had a booklet almost as thick as the (filmsy - too bad they couldn't use some heavier paper at least for the front/back page!) booklet of the "Duke Box", so I'll keep that previous version. But the annotation in the "Duke Box" served me well enough, giving some selected background info and also soloist run-downs (yup, for trumpet soloits mainly I was often glad to have it... I'm not so familiar with all these guys, and during that period some new ones kept arriving and leaving again).

Besides the Fargo date, the Carnegie set (you'll need the four Carnegie Hall Prestige 2CD sets, two!) and some of the radio broadcasts have been on a 2CD and 1CD set before, too, as far as I know (I only saw that in the Penguin guide, didn't check the discographies if the rest of the material has been released before).