If Beale Street Could Talk...

 

… from “His Master’s Voice” Record Review, July-August, 1949 (No. 4907)

W. C. Handy’s Beale Street Blues has never been more enchantingly presented than it is by Duke Ellington in this latest record by his band of one of  the classic items of the jazz repertoire.

In his lovely slow arrangement of the piece the Duke has gone all out to capture the nostalgia and musical charm of early folk music known as the blues. Following an introduction (based, incidentally, on a phrase the Duke used in his Black, Brown and Beige suite) Jimmy Hamilton’s lovely clarinet is heard rhapsodizing above rich toned trombones to produce music that is gripping in its intensity. Then Harold baker’s trumpet takes over, backed by the reeds, to produce a more caressive mood. Later the mood reverts to poignancy as Ray 

Nance’s pungent trumpet is heard, this time over the whole ensemble, the voicing of which is something worth hearing for itself alone. 

Rockabye River is, if possible, even more enthralling. Another captivating slow melody, it variegates between the frantic yearning of fiercely growling trumpets and the more restrained heart appeal of some of the loveliest alto saxophone playing that has been heard, even from the inimitable Johnny Hodges.

Both records are Ellington at his most soul-stirring best and will go straight to the hearts of jazz and more conventional music lovers alike.

Get Reel

 

Nothing sets an archivist's pulse racing quite like a pile of boxed reel-to-reel tapes. Eleven such specimens were auctioned recently on eBay, as pictured above. The text ran:

Item description from the seller

Duke Ellington REEL TO REEL Possible MASTERS Remastered by Jack Towers LOT of 11 I recently accquired these large format Reel To Reel Tapes from a person that buys out houses, estates, storage units and the like. They do smell musty but look pretty clean and well preserved. I mention the possiblity that these might be Masters and Remastered by Jack Towers because a lot recently sold for quite a bit and these have the same boxes and handwriiting on them. I am starting these at a much lower price and letting the experts and risk takers do what they do best. I will quickly respond to any and all questions and the only things that I can gurantee are that you will get the exact ones pictured, that I will ship them safely and quickly, and that I am being 100% honest as to how I am selling them. I hope these do end up with someone that will love them, play them, and really enjoy them. I have added shipping options. I am hoping that Fed EX shows up as the default option. I have included Media Mail but please check it against Fed Ex as Fed Ex may be less and provide a faster service. It is much less than Priority Mail. If it does not please check it first before emailing me because you should see a drop in shipping rates if it is not displaying as the defalult. If you do not want priority mail please let me know asap because I box things up and ship them out very quickly. I cannot use Priority Boxes so adding a note to your payment will get it packed up quicker.

The name of the late Jack Towers is often appended to sales of such tapes. Such was the case with a second lot auctioned some weeks earlier.

The contents of the tapes, so far as we can tell from what is written on the boxes and the notated inserts, are, in part (those Columbia studio sessions fro the fifties) reflected in the contents of several of the LPs on the Up-to-Date label issued by Jerry Valburn through the 1980s. A friend and colleague of Jack Towers, the provenance of these particular tapes is perhaps confirmed with this association.

To the contents of the tapes themselves and a little detective work may shine a light.

The tape labelled Fairfield Jazz Festival 28 July 1956 is likely correct. This recording found its way onto a commercial issue and may be heard here.

The tape labelled Taniment Playhouse 27 June, 1959 again corresponds to a recording which does exist among collectors. A couple of the tracks have appeared on this album. The full discographical information courtesy ellingtonia.com) is as follows:

Concert, Playhouse

Cat Anderson, Harold Baker, Andres Marenguito(t); Clark Terry(t,flh); Ray Nance(t,vn,v); Britt Woodman, Quentin Jackson, John Sanders(tb); Jimmy Hamilton(cl,ts); Russell Procope(cl,as); Johnny Hodges(as); Paul Gonsalves(ts); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Duke Ellington(p); Jimmy Woode(sb); Jimmy Johnson(d); Lil Greenwood, Ozzie Bailey(v)

Take The "A" Train (theme)

¬ Black And Tan Fantasy

- | Creole Love Call

_|The Mooch

Perdido

Sophisticated Lady

Sonnet To Hank Cinq

What Else Can You Do With A Drum? - vOB

Autumn Leaves - vOB

Hand Me Down Love - vOB

Tenderly

V.I.P. Boogie

Haupé

Flirtibird

All Of Me

Take The "A" Train - vRN

Take The "A" Train

Skin Deep

Medley

-      1. Don't Get Around Much Anymore

-      2. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me - vOB

-      3. In A Sentimental Mood

-      4. Mood Indigo

-      5. I'm Beginning To See The Light

-      6. Sophisticated Lady

-      7. Caravan

-      8. Satin Doll

-      9. Just Squeeze Me - vRN

-    10. It Don't Mean A Thing - vRN

-    11. Solitude

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

I Got It Bad - vLG

Walkin' And Singin' The Blues - vLG

¬ Diminuendo In Blue

_| Wailing Interval

Jones

The Carrolltown tape has been mis-labelled 27 June 1959, perhaps transposing the tainment tape date. The correct date is likely 22 June 1957. This recording was made available commercially on the Doctor Jazz label as All Star Road Band. 

The tape labelled Ellington Cleveland Pops Orchestra 25 July 1956 is a concert which took place on that date at Severance Hall, Cleveland, Ohio.

The combined Cleveland Pops Orchestra and the Duke Ellington Orchestra played New World A-Comin’ in an arrangement by Luther Henderson. They were conducted by Louis Lane, the musical director of the Pops Orchestra and Ellington was the piano soloist. They also played Night Creature, another arrangement by Luther Henderson. Ellington conducted.

Following the interval, Ellington and his Orchestra played Skin Deep and a  Medley  with Jam With Sam and V.I.P. Boogie for the finale. 

The tape labelled Ellington Manchester is likely he concert which took place on19 January 1963 as part of the Orchestra's tour of the UK at that time. Again, from ellingtonia.com:

2nd Concert, Free Trade Hall

Cootie Williams, Roy Burrowes, Cat Anderson(t); Ray Nance(t,vn); Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper(tb); Chuck Connors(btb); Jimmy Hamilton(cl,ts); Russell Procope(cl,as); Johnny Hodges(as); Paul Gonsalves(ts); Harry Carney(bar,cl,bcl); Duke Ellington(p); Ernie Shepard(sb); Sam Woodyard(d); Milt Grayson(v).

Take The "A" Train (theme)

Afro-Bossa (Boola)

¬ Kinda Dukish

_| Rockin' In Rhythm

Silk Lace (Caliné)

Eighth Veil

Pyramid

-Asphalt Jungle Theme

Guitar Amour

Cop-Out

Jam With Sam

Main Stem

Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me (New Concerto For Cootie)

Tutti For Cootie

Star-Crossed Lovers

Things Ain't What They Used To Be

All Of Me

Perdido

The Blues Ain't - vMG

Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me - vMG

One More Once - vMG

Duke Ellington(tk) acc. by Jimmy Hamilton, Russell Procope(cl), Harry Carney(bcl).

Monologue

Take The "A" Train (theme)

God Save The Queen

 

The remaining tapes,

Ellington Col 1938

Ellington Col 1939-40

Ellington Columbia 12-51

Ellington Columbia 58

would all seem to be studio recordings for Columbia, some of which were issued on the Up-to-Date series of albums.

Although the lot lists 11 tapes, there are, in fact 12 pictured. One tape is labelled (or mis-labelled) Ellington World Complete 1943. The title is struck through. And on the very top of the pile there appears to be a smaller tape in a box which does not seem to feature in the content descriptors.

Update:

Duke In Africa

15, 16, 17 January 2026 

Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street, New York, NY 10019

Duke in Africa is a powerful tribute to Duke Ellington’s profound connection to the African continent. This concert explores how the legendary composer’s works drew inspiration from African rhythms and cultural themes. 

Co-music directors, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s own Chris Lewis and Alexa Tarantino, lead the JLCO in a dynamic program featuring selections from Ellington’s works: Afro-Bossa (1963), a lively blend of Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms; Liberian Suite (1947), written for Liberia’s centennial; and Togo Brava Suite (1971), a Grammy Award-winning composition.

Discover how Ellington’s music cuts across cultural boundaries, rooted in African traditions, and resonating with audiences worldwide.

There will be a pre-concert lecture before the show at 18:30 (EDT)

Details here.

Uptown Lockdown Uproar...

Uptown Lockdown with special guest Steven C. Bowie...

Do Be Frank (Be Do Be Do)

 

On 110th anniversary of the birth of Francis Albert Sinatra, the latest edition of Tone Parallel is published today.

Subscription is free and the newsletter is available here.

As an added 'extra', here is a 'soundboard' recording of the the first of six concerts Sinatra gave in support of Hubert Humphrey's run for office in 1968. The concert took place at The Oakland Arena on 22 May, 1968 and features, among its selections, Billy May's arrangement of All I Need Is The Girl from the Francis A and Edward K album, sadly with neither Edward K nor his Orchestra... (the ensemble being conducted by Sinatra's long-time pianist and ex-Charlie Barnet man, Bill Miller)

Three Black Kings

With the publication in English of Luca Bragalini's study Duke Ellington's Symphonic Visions now just a week away, here is our final pre-publication posting.

A compact disc of recordings of the 'new' and newly-discovered Ellington works was included in the original Italian publication of the book. For this new iteraton of the book, the International Center for American Music has made these same recordings available on line. We have published already the recording of Celebration. Today we present the triptych Les Trois Rois Noir as they are presented on the American Music Center's page here.

“Duke Ellington’s Symphonic Visions” by Luca Bragalini, University Press of Mississippi.

Duke Ellington’s Symphonic Visions (UPM-University Press of Mississippi, 2025) is the first book entirely dedicated to Ellington’s symphonic music. The new international edition of the book, based on the Italian text published by EDT in 2018, was translated by Brent Waterhouse under the scholarly supervision of ICAMus and Aloma Bardi. The audio files accompanying the book are made accessible on the ICAMus channels.

Duke Ellington's Symphonic Visions by Luca Bragalini. Foreword by David Schiff. Preface by Aloma Bardi.
University Press of Mississippi, 2025 - American Made Music Series.

Audio files complementing Duke Ellington’s Symphonic Visions:

 

1. Three Black Kings - Part 1 - “King of the Nativity”
2. Three Black Kings - Part 2 - “King Solomon”
3. Three Black Kings - Part 3 - “Martin Luther King (Elos)”
4. Paolo Birro, piano

Bepi D’Amato, clarinet & alto saxophone

Teatro Marrucino Orchestra

SIdMA Jazz Orchestra

Bruno Tommaso, conductor

Live recording - Chieti, Italy, March 6, 2007.

 

Centro di Documentazione sulla Musica Americana · Duke Ellington - Three Black Kings - Part 1 - “King of the Nativity”

Centro di Documentazione sulla Musica Americana · Duke Ellington - Three Black Kings - Part 2 - “King Solomon”

Centro di Documentazione sulla Musica Americana · Duke Ellington - Three Black Kings - Part 3 - “Martin Luther King (Elos)”

Duke Ellington’s Symphonic Visions by Luca Bragalini addresses English language readers in   an adapted and revised edition based on the book published by EDT in Italy in 2018, Dalla Scala a Harlem: I sogni sinfonici di Duke Ellington From La Scala  to Harlem: Duke Ellington’s Symphonic Visions. In the English text, based on Professor Bragalini’s original Italian text, translated by Dr. Brent Waterhouse under the scholarly supervision of ICAMus and Aloma Bardi who worked   in close association with the author the University Press of Mississippi edition of Luca Bragalini’s book can now meet the large audience it was meant for.

LUCA BRAGALINI is professor of history and analysis of jazz at the Music Conservatory          Giuseppe Verdi of Milan. Bragalini was a distinguished scholar at Reed College, where he          offered a series of lectures on Ellington. He has discovered unpublished works by Duke EllingtonChet Baker, and Luciano Chailly. The Italian edition of his monographic study on Ellington, Dalla Scala a Harlem: I sogni sinfonici di Duke Ellington was named Best Musicological Book of 2018 by the Jazzit Awards.

Duke Ellington’s Symphonic Visions by Luca Bragalini, the University Press of Mississippi website.

#symphonicellington #dukeellington #LucaBragalini

At Elos For Words...

Continuing to look forward to the advent of the publication of Luca Bragalini's Symphonic Visions, here is video of a zoom seminar conducted by Luca in 2022. The title MLK as a Black King of the Bible in Duke Ellington’s Symphonic Triptych Three Black Kings gives us some insight into the forthcoming English translation of his book. 

The inclusion of Luca's discoveries with regard to the 'private session' recording of Elos is particularly striking....