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.