Personnel:
Duke Ellington (p, arr), Clark Terry, Ray Nance, Willie Cook, Cat Anderson, 'Shorty' Baker (tp), Quentin Jackson (tb), Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope (as), Jimmy Hamilton (cl), Paul Gonsalves (ts), Harry Carney (bs), Jimmy Woode (b), Sam Woodyard (d), Joya Sherrill (vcl)
Reference: 88697 93888 2
Bar code: 886979388826
His 1950s recordings for Columbia Records, where Ellington experienced a renaissance, feature his embrace of the new LP era; compositions and solos could be ambitiously extended.
These are certainly among the most important albums he ever recorded.
Featured are Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Clark Terry, Ray Nance, Harry Carney, and Ellington's alter-ego, Billy Strayhorn.
New essay by Loren Schoenberg, musician and Executive Director of the Jazz Museum in Harlem.
No one can deny the eternal beauty of Duke Ellingtons music of the 1930s and 40s, the decades when he and his band mates were regularly scaling new heights of both orchestral and small group jazz. Yet not to pay similar respect to his masterworks of the 1950s would be scandalous. Ellington then embraced the long-playing album era with a passion and sense of invention that can be palpably felt as one brilliant recording followed another.
True, some of the giants were gone from the fold, but consider some of the names stocking the Ellington units during the decade: Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Clark Terry, Ray Nance and Harry Carney among others, as well as Dukes right hand man, composer and arranger Billy Strayhorn. Taking advantage of the instrumental riches at their disposal and the additional space offered by the LP, Ellington and Strayhorn began thinking in terms of ambitious expanded projects.
The initial Columbia album, Masterpieces By Ellington, found the maestro embracing the new technology, displaying grand arrangements of his popular anthems. Other visionary projects soon followed: Ellington Uptown, featuring the masterful composition, Tone Parallel To Harlem; Blue Rose with singer Rosemary Clooney; Such Sweet Thunder, a Shakespearian adaption; Black, Brown and Beige with majestic contributions from Mahalia Jackson; and Anatomy of a Murder, with music written for the hit film, among them. Each of these albums, as well as other jewels including Ellington Indigos, Blues In Orbit and A Drum Is A Woman, brim with marvelous melodies, sumptuous arrangements, glistening solos and exceptional ensemble work from all involved.
Consider just a handful of the contemporary gems to be found on these albums: The Star-Crossed Lovers, The Tattooed Bride, and U.M.M.G. -- and there are dozens more to be found without the slightest difficulty. The 1950s, it turns out, was just one more golden era for the Duke.
9-CD set with all 9 original albums Duke Ellington and his orchestra cut for the Columbia inprint, all come in nice mini-LP replica sleeves, including bonus tracks, original artwork and a comprenhensive booklet.
Albums included:
CD 1 - Masterpieces By Ellington (CL 825) 1951
CD 2 - Ellington Uptown (ML 4639) 1952
CD 3 - Blue Rose,
with Rosemary Clooney (CL 872) 1956
CD 4 - The Drum Is A Woman (CL 951) 1956
CD 5 - Such Sweet Thunder (CL 1033) 1957
CD 6 - Ellington Indigos (CL 1085 / CD 8053) 1957
CD 7 - Black, Brown And Beige,
with Mahalia Jackson (CL 1162 / CS 8015) 1958
CD 8 - Duke Ellington At The Bal Masque
(CL 1282 / CSRP 8098) 1958
CD 9 - Duke Ellingtons Spacemen:
The Cosmic Scene (CL 1198) 1958
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Complete tracklisting:
CD 1
01. Mood Indigo
02. Sophisticated Lady
03. The Tattooed Bride
04. Solitude
05. Vagabonds
06. Smada
07. Rock-Skippin' At The Blue Note
CD 2
01. Skin Deep
02. The Mooche
03. Take The 'A' Train
04. A Tone Parallel To Harlem
(The Harlem Suite)
05. Perdido
06. Before My Time
07. Later
08. I Like The Sunrise
09. Dance No. 1
10. Dance No. 2
11. Dance No. 3
12. Dance No. 4
13. Dance No. 5
CD 3
01. Hey Baby
02. Sophisticated Lady
03. Me And You
04. Passion Flower
05. I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart
06. It Don't Mean A Thing
(If It Ain't Got That Swing)
07. Grievin'
08. Blue Rose
09. I'm Checkin' Out, Goodbye
10. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
11. Mood Indigo
12. If You Were In My Place
(What Would You Do?)
13. Just A-Sittin' And A-Rockin'
CD 4
01. A Drum Is A Woman, feat. Margaret Tyne
02. Rhythm Pum Te Dum
03. What Else Can You Do With A Drum
04. New Orleans
05. Hey, Buddy Bolden, feat. Joya Sherrill
06. Carabae Joe / Congo Square
07. Carabae Joe
08. Congo Square
09. A Drum Is A Woman - Part Two
10. You Better Know It
11. Madam Zajj / Ballet Of The Flying Saucers
12. Madam Zajj
13. Ballet Of The Flying Saucers
14. Carabae Joe, feat. Joya Sherrill
15. Rhummbop / Carabae Joe - Part Two
16. Rhummbop
17. Carabae Joe - Part Two
18. Finale, feat. Margaret Tyne
CD 5
01. Such Sweet Thunder
02. Sonnet For Caesar
03. Sonnet To Hank Cinq
04. Lady Mac
05. Sonnet In Search Of A Moor
06. The Telecasters
07. Up And Down, Up And Down
(I Will Lead Them Up And Down)
08. Sonnet For Sister Kate
09. The Star-Crossed Lovers
[A.k.a. Pretty Girl]
10. Madness In Great Ones (Hamlet)
11. Half The Fun [A.k.a. Lately]
12. Circle Of Fourths
13. The Star-Crossed Lovers
[A.k.a. Pretty Girl] (Bonus Track)
14. Circle Of Fourths (Bonus Track)
15. Suburban Beauty (Bonus Track)
16. A Flat Minor (Bonus Track)
17. Cafe Au Lait (Bonus Track)
18. Half The Fun
[A.k.a. Lately] (Bonus Track)
19. Suburban Beauty (Bonus Track)
20. A Flat Minor (Bonus Track)
21. Cafe Au Lait (Bonus Track)
22. Pretty Girl
[A.k.a. The Star-Crossed Lovers[ (Bonus Track)
CD 6
01. Solitude
02. Where Or When
03. Mood Indigo
04. Autumn Leaves
05. The Sky Fell Down
06. Prelude To A Kiss
07. Willow Weep For Me
08. Tenderly
09. Dancing In The Dark
10. Night And Day
11. Cop Out
12. Under The Balcony
13. Strange Feeling
14. Dancers In Love
15. Coloratura
CD 7
01. Part I
02. Part II
03. Part III
04. Part IV
05. Part V
06. Part VI
07. Track 360
08. Blues In Orbit
09. Part I
10. Part II
11. Part III
12. Part IV
13. Part V
14. Part VI
15. Studio Conversation (Bonus Track)
16. Come Sunday (Bonus Track)
(From Black, Brown And Beige)
CD 8
01. Alice Blue Gown
02. Who's Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf
03. Got A Date With An Angel
04. Poor Butterfly
05. Satan Takes A Holiday
06. The Peanut Vendor
07. Satin Doll
08. Lady In Red
09. Indian Love Call
10. The Donkey Serenade
11. Gypsy Love Song
12. Laugh, Clown, Laugh
CD 9
01. Avalon
02. Body And Soul
03. Bass-ment
04. Early Autumn
05. Jones
06. Perdido
07. St. Louis Blues
08. Spacemen
09. Midnight Sun
10. Take The "A" Train
11. Body And Soul
12. Jones
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