Alice Babs & Duke Ellington: Serenade To Sweden

[crisp]

This is being reissued by Real Gone (the legit label, not the EU PD one) in November:

Amazon link

Blurb:

Real Gone Music is proud to present what is probably the rarest album in the voluminous Duke Ellington discography, his 1963 date with Swedish singer Alice Babs, Serenade to Sweden. That year, Ellington was hired by the Reprise label as an A&R man, free to sign any artist he wanted and to record them. His first choice was Babs, who, in Ellington's words, was "the most unique artist I know…She sings opera, she sings lieder, she sings what we call jazz and blues, she sings like an instrument, she even yodels, and she can read any and all of it!" For her part, Babs (born Hildur Alice Nilson) had a hit in Sweden when was only 15 ("Swing It Teacher"), and was an iconic figure in her homeland, appearing in 14 Swedish films from 1938 to 1959. The result of this meeting of legendary musical minds was a sublime cool jazz masterpiece that, sadly, never received a proper release in the U.S. and appears to be the only Ellington album never to be reissued on CD or even digitally, having eluded even the most comprehensive compilers. Needless to say, original copies go for big Swedish krona online, and not just because it's rare; Babs' wordless vocals and scat singing on "The Boy in My Dreams," "Strange Visitor," and "Babsie" are positively Ella-worthy, and Ellington's masterful arrangements—at times filigreed with a French horn section—provide the perfect accompaniment. We've added liner notes by Scott Yanow, while the album boasts remastering by Aaron Kannowski. Fascinating for any jazz fan—essential for Ellington enthusiasts!

[jazzbo]

Great news! This is an excellent release. Will be great to have on CD.

[Ted O'Reilly]

The link indicates there are 15 tracks.  The original LP had 14, so there's a bonus.  Not likely 'previously unavailable' though -- the Azure label put out a lot of things from these sessions on cassette.

(Sorry...I miscounted:  the LP had 15 tracks.  But I think there are still other things only on the Azure, which I've never seen.)

Edited September 2, 2016 by Ted O'Reilly
Correcting myself

[mikeweil]

As far as I can see in Lord the Azure cassettes we all alternates, incomplete takes etc.