Duke Ladies Vol. 1

 

Out! Damn'd Spotify

 ... as Lady Mac (nearly) said.

Here is just a reminder that the vast majority of Duke Ellington's recorded music that has been published commercially is available absolutely for free on the web in one form or another.

Here is a quick roundup/cut-out-and-keep guide where to find Ellington's catalogue. Well, in fact, it is beyond catalogue, but here we go... Just hit the hyperlinked title...

A recently discovered radio series the programming of which includes rarities and less often heard gems is American Hit Network Channel 27: Duke Ellington

Virtually a complete library of Ellington's recorded work is available in the radio series hosted by Concertzender.

Highly recommended is Steve Bowie's podcast Ellington Reflections...

Happy Listening!

Ich bin...

Time was, you would wait for the release date and pick up a new LP or CD when it was published.

These days, the album is first streamed or made available on YouTube.

The release of the physical product Duke Ellington Berlin 1959 on the Storyville label has been delayed towards the end of September so for all those who can't wait, but want to start peeling away at the Christmas wrapping or are modern streaming hipsters, here is the album, courtesy of the cathode YouTube...

From the Storyville website...

What we have here is the welcome memento of Duke Ellington and his band’s 1959 European tour.

Berlin’s Sportpalast is not a concert hall and during the cursed Nazi reign often was the site of speeches by Hitler and his fellow criminals, but the hall can be said to have been thoroughly purified by sounds of jazz by the time of this concert.

The music starts with the Ellington Medley, by then a standard concert opener in varied embodiments. Critics often chided Duke for (in their opinion) overdoing this staple, but in fact it was not only a clever way of dealing with what undoubtedly would have been audience requests for beloved Ducal standards, but also a way of celebrating the continued life of his musical heritage. It also was subject to constant change, some due to new voices in the band, but most caused by Ellington’s own way of not making it a bore for his musicians. The Medley has a longer history than even serious students of Ellingtonia know. It makes its first appearance on records when Victor Records, in the depth of the Depression, introduced the Long-Playing Record. Yes, dear reader, in 1932! The discs, of a nice silvery hue, of course required a phonograph that could accommodate the required speed which was quite reasonably priced.

Some observations regarding personnel: An important new voice in the trumpet section was that of Clark Terry, previously with Charlie Barnet and Count Basie, most prominently. He came into his own with Duke but left after feeling that he got little to play other than his feature, Perdido. Aside from Terry, a non-soloing but important lead voice in the trumpet section is that of Andres Merenguito, also known as Fats Ford, who had served in Louis Armstrong’s last big band.

Trombonists Booty Wood and Britt Woodman/ the former great with the plunger mute, the latter great with high notes, were both proof of Duke’s way of finding new voices with personal traits. But the star of the section is Quentin “Butter” Jackson, whose long career included stints with McKinney’s Cotton Pickers, Cab Calloway, and Don Redman, first from 1932 to 1939 and then again for the 1946 European tour that included Copenhagen—first post-war visit by an American jazz band.

Bassist Wendell Marshall, a cousin of the immortal Jimmy Blanton, had some of the family genes with his full, pleasing sound, fine intonation and solid time. Less known is drummer Jimmy Johnson, remarkably effective as a stand-in for the gifted but frequently absent Sam Woodyard (they shared the drum chair for a moment). And then, of course, last but by no possible means least, the Ducal piano, from which he directs like a master conductor and accompanist. As is not always the case with live recordings he has a fine instrument at his disposal in Berlin, but one shortcoming here is the omission of his very personal verbal comments, mainly invocations of the soloists (some can be distantly heard).

We can be sure that the audience left satisfied—and so will you, having spent time in the good hands of a master.

August in New York

 

August in the late sixties would find Duke Ellington in residency at The Rainbow Grill atop the Rockefeller centre, NY with an octet drawn from his Orchestra.

The performances were often relayed by CBS remotes so a number of albums have been issued from this source. This month is a good time, then, to work through the issued recordings...

A few shows from The Rainbow Grill were among the tapes i've been writing about here recently

in Reelin' In The Years and two of the shows were prefaced by recorded messages, one from critic and Ellingtonian Boswell Stanley Dance and one from baritone saxophonist Harry Carney.

The identity of the recipient of the tapes and the messages is something of a mystery beyond his first name, 'Irv'. The details of 'Irv's' collection are here. Irving Mills is an unlikely Ellington collector but 'Irv' must have been someone significant in Ellingtonian circles to receive a  personal message from Harry Carney. The best guess we have at the moment is the addressee may be Irving Townsend, sometime producer for Ellington at Columbia who, I believe, continued to be involved in new and re-issues of Ellington records long after Duke had left the label.

Anyway, in what is possibly a unique recording, I thought readers might like to hear the voice of Harry Carney, recorded some time in, I think, 1967, around the tile sessions were being recorded for the album And His Mother Called Him Bill...

Ian · Message From Harry Carney

The Lady Vanishes...

 

Tony Bennett appeared with Duke Ellington and his Orchestra at Dane County Exposition Center on 25 April, 1968, as detailed in all the major Ellington discographies. No discography, however, lists these two songs - Who Can I Turn To? and The Lady's In Love With You. They feature on the reel-to-reel tape I acquired recently. 

The rest of the sets - a first half from Ellington and a second half from Bennett - are as featured in the discographies. This may be a different engagement to the tape recording that's listed in the discographies but I have no other tape with which to compare it. Alternatively and for some reason unknown, these two tunes have been omitted from the discographies. In any case, here is the performance. 

The Lady's In Love With You features a characteristically rambunctious solo from Paul Gonsalves...

Ian · The Lady's In Love With You

The Cosmic Seen...

 

1927 and Duke Ellington (In Person )is second on the bill... 

Read about the pageant itself and the selection of Miss Universe here...

Reminiscing Temporarily

Here is a photostat of a document Ellington researcher Ken Steiner shared recently on Facebook and which has since been incorporated into David Palmquist's Duke Where and When website.

It is a document of great historical significance, showing the effect the loss of his mother had on Ellington and the extent to which, however temporarily, it de-railed his career.  

Ken writes...

Daisy Ellington's death on 27 May, 1935 sent her son Duke into a deep melancholy. How many band dates were cancelled, and how long Duke was away from the band, are uncertain from newspaper reports. Mills publicist Ned Williams sent this telegram on June 5 to African American journalist Earl Morris requesting his assistance to get the word out that Duke had returned to the band. 

It reads:

June 5, 1935

MILLSERVICE AIRMAILER

From Ned G. Williams, 799 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y.

Circle 7-5217 or Circle 7-7162 

Cable – Jazz

Mr. Earl J. Morris

Metropolitan News

4506 South Michigan Avenue

Chicago, Illinois

Please help me correct the impression arising from the story circulated in the ANP to all colored newspapers that Duke Ellington has cancelled all future engagements on account of the death of his mother. Duke has returned to his band, is playing dance engagements every night and opens Friday at the Shea Theatre in Toronto, Canada, to be followed by another extended dance tour. The false impression that Duke is not traveling with the band had seriously affected his box-office receipts on a number of engagements and has cost him a lot of money unnecessarily. I know that you will be happy to help us correct this error.

Cordially yours,

Ned E. Williams

VIA AIR MAIL

Source: Claude A. Barnett Papers, The Associated Negro Press, 1918-1967; Drama, Theatre, and Motion Picture Materials in the Microtext Department; Boston Public Library.

Post Script:

Aftermath of Daisy Ellington's Death - follow up. Letter from Mills publicist Ned Williams thanking African American journalist C.A. Barnett for his help in correcting the impression that Duke Ellington's engagements had been cancelled.

June 11, 1935

Mr. C.A. Barnett
Associated Negro Press
3507 South Parkway
Chicago, Illinois

Dear Mr. Barnett:

I want to thank you for your courtesy in helping correct the erroneous impression regarding the cancellation of Duke Ellington’s bookings.

In my letter to various newspapermen, I did not intend to cast aspersions upon the accuracy of the ANP, but I was considerably upset by the demands of various dance promoters for adjustments on their contracts, based upon the stories which appeared in various colored newspapers.

Thank you again for your kindness and I hope that I may be able to reciprocate in some fashion.

Cordially yours,

ned e. williams