Jazzopaters

Ellington live I would dearly have loved to have seen was performed this Saturday last, 28 October by guitarist Nick Rossi leading The Jazzopaters, an 'Ellington unit'  dedicated to playing the music of Ellington's numerous small groups recording through the 1930s.  

The performance took place at Mr Tipple's Jazz Club, San Francisco, a venue which Nick says "strikes a balance between a classic nightclub atmosphere and a great listening space.

On Facebook, Nick wrote:

"I am unable to fully express how deeply grateful I feel for everyone who came out to Mr. Tipple's Jazz Club last night for two (nearly) sold out performances of our new project dedicated to the small group music of Duke Ellington. Thank you all SO very much for the support and community! And of course thank you to Jay Bordeleau and his fantastic team at the venue both for their willingness to put this on, but also for all of the extra effort they put into pulling it off. Most importantly, my most sincere thanks to the eight musicians who shared the bandstand with me last night. It's always an honor to perform Ellington's music, even more so in such truly great company.

"Here's a taste from last night's matinee show featuring Nathan Tokunaga on clarinet performing Harry Carney's PELICAN DRAG, written by Harry Carney and originally titled THE GASSER'S BLUES when it first recorded in February 1940 for CBS/ARC by an Ellington Unit led by Barney Bigard. Original arrangement likely by Duke himself, even though Billy Strayhorn had just recently stepped into the role of arranging the orchestra's small combo recordings. Transcription arrangement by Riley Baker.

"Band personnel (from left): James Dunning (trumpet), Rob Reich (piano, obscured), Remee Ashley (trombone), Nick Rossi (guitar), Riley Baker (drums), Nathan Tokunaga (clarinet), Mikiya Matsuda (bass), and Kamrin Ortiz (baritone saxophone). Patrick Wolff sat this one out as per the original instrumentation, but provided the band essential direction all performance long."

The music was transcribed by Pierre-Antoine Badaroux.

Again, courtesy of Nick Rossi, here is the set list for the two 'houses' given Saturday evening. For the record. There are rumours of a recording for YouTube - perhaps the whole performance. We live in hope!

C BLUES (Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn, 1941)**

PIGEONS AND PEPPERS (Duke Ellington & Mercer Ellington, 1937)

BARNEY GOIN’ EASY (Barney Bigard, 1939)*

FROLIC SAM (Cootie Williams, 1936)

A FLOWER IS A LOVESOME THING (Billy Strayhorn, 1947)*

CARAVAN - (Juan Tizol & Duke Ellington, 1936)

BOUDOIR BENNY - (Duke Ellington & Cootie Williams, 1939)

PELICAN DRAG - (Harry Carney, 1940)**

SQUATY ROO - (Johnny Hodges, 1940)**

READY EDDY - (Barney Bigard, 1940)*

SWINGIN’ IN THE DELL - (Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges, 1938)

MOOD INDIGO (Duke Ellington, Barney Bigard, and Lorenzo Tio, 1943)

**Denotes possibly Strayhorn involvement with the arrangement, but I could not find any solid proof in my reference materials

"While A FLOWER IS A LOVESOME THING may seem like an outlier," Nick wrote, "the song was composed by Strayhorn circa 1940 (originally titled PASSION) and was possibly in the Ellington band book by early 1941. The first commercial recording was for an Ellington Unit led by Johnny Hodges, cut in NYC for Sunrise Records during the first half (before June 7th) of 1947."

... and the band pressed on...

For the record, from 2018, Peter Gardner's piece for Dawkes Music.

…and finally ‘Lotus Blossom’

19th April 2018

I travelled with a young saxophonist who had never seen the great man before. The journey was uneventful and we arrived on time at Preston railway station. Then we made our way to Preston’s Guild Hall for the second concert of the evening. In a foyer we came across a large crowd of people facing closed doors that led into the auditorium. The doors were manned by a number of ushers and security staff. Word quickly spread that the start of the first of the evening’s concerts had been delayed and that the first concert would end in about thirty or forty minutes. As a result, the second house would be starting late. The ushers and security staff, more than willing to try to explain what had caused the delay, went through the foyer chatting to groups and answering our questions.

As part of his British tour in November 1973, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra had played in Dublin on Thursday 29th November and the next day had flown to Liverpool in plenty of time for their two evening concerts in Preston. Unfortunately, one of the ushers told us, the musicians and their instruments had somehow got separated. One of the rumours in the foyer was that at the time the musicians were flying eastwards, the plane carrying their instruments was on its way to America. Eventually the band and instruments were reunited at Preston’s Guild Hall, though by now they were unable to start the first concert on time. Rather than cancel a performance, Ellington decided to start the first concert late and play straight through, without an intermission. The second concert would then start late and again there would be no intermission.  But, the ushers were keen to stress, Ellington would be playing two full concerts; nothing would be cut.

Ellington Programme – British Tour, 1973

Next day Preston’s local paper, The Lancashire Evening Post, told a different, but more complex story.  The band, as arranged, had flown from Dublin to Liverpool, which I took to be Liverpool’s Speke Airport, later to be named the John Lennon Airport. However, “because of payload restrictions” the band’s instruments “had to go on a different plane” and this plane was going, not to Liverpool, but to Manchester, “where”, the Post informed us, “a truck was waiting to bring them (the instruments) to Preston. But this plane could not get into Manchester for fog and was diverted to land at Liverpool.” The truck that had been waiting at Manchester’s Ringway Airport then set off for Liverpool only to be “involved in an accident” which prevented it continuing with its journey.

Meanwhile back at the Guild Hall, “entertainments manager Vin Sumner and his staff managed to hire a van and, even harder in the early evening, to find a driver to speed to Liverpool and pick up the instruments.  They finally reached Preston an hour after the first house was due to begin.” Nevertheless, despite the delay, “fans of both houses got their full quota of Ellington’s music.”

I had not been terribly optimistic about the concert for some time and the delayed starts on that Friday evening in Preston did nothing to change my mood.  A little over a month earlier, on 24th October to be precise, Ellington and His Orchestra had performed the third of Ellington’s Sacred Concerts on behalf of the United Nations at Westminster Abbey.  The reviews for that concert were not encouraging and seventy-four-year-old Ellington, it was suggested, was in poor health. Tenor saxophone star, Paul Gonsalves, had also been taken ill and although a photo of Gonsalves in full flow appeared in the programme that was produced for the British tour, he was no longer with the band.  Saxophonist and flautist, Norris Turney, had also departed after a musical disagreement, and there were other omissions.

Over the years I had seen Ellington trumpet sections that featured ‘Cat’ Anderson, Clark Terry, ‘Cootie’ Williams and Ray Nance, but by 1973 all of these stars had gone or, at least, were not part of the Ellington band we were about to hear. There seemed to be a change of drummer as well.  On the three previous occasions I had seen Ellington, Sam Woodyard had sat behind his two bass drums and booted the band along with a primitive urgency. Rufus ‘Speedy’ Jones had then appeared with the Duke on an Ellington tour that I missed, though ‘Speedy’ Jones was another who by now was a former sideman. The new drummer, and some reports said he was only twenty-one, was Quentin H. White, Jr., making him, by far, the youngest Ellingtonian I had ever seen. And while it was pleasing to read in the programme that Chuck Connors, who had been with the Duke since 1961, was one of the trombonists, those with some knowledge of great Ellington line-ups must have been saddened that Lawrence Brown was no longer in the trombone section or available for solos that evoked the Blanton-Webster days and beyond.

Duke Ellington (L) with Johnny Hodges (R)

But, given my preferences, the major absentees would be in the reed section. Gonsalves was no longer available to create either frenzied Newport moments or deliciously sinewy ballads. The pristine clarinet playing and the robust in-your-face tenor sound of Jimmy Hamilton wouldn’t be heard either. After more than twenty-five years with the Duke, Hamilton, according to some reports, had opted for the slower-paced life of the Virgin Islands. Yet, the major loss amongst the reeds was the irreplaceable Johnny Hodges, whose sublime tone and eloquent minimalism had made him the Duke’s supreme soloist for most of their careers. As Ellington said, “Never the world’s greatest showman or greatest stage personality, but a tone so beautiful it sometimes brought tears to the eyes – this was Johnny Hodges…Because of this great loss, our band will never sound the same again.” Hodges had died in May, 1970, aged sixty-two.

The first concert ended and a little later we took our seats. The orchestra entered from the back of the stage and veteran baritone saxophonist Harry Carney counted the band in.  The piano stool remained empty. I recall the band playing ‘Perdido’ before the Duke’s entrance, though one account says it played both ‘C-Jam Blues’ and ‘Perdido’ before Ellington took to the stage. In those days audiences rarely stood to show their appreciation of their heroes and heroines, and the audience at the Guild Hall contented itself with applauding mightily as the Duke made his way through his musicians to the piano. Looking back, I’m certain we should have got to our feet.

Some of the highlights, as I remember them, were Russell Procope’s clarinet playing and Carney’s majestic baritone. Procope had what I always regarded as one of the great New Orleans sounds on clarinet; it was full, round, warm and woody, and his attack was a throwback to earlier Crescent City clarinet legends. A little research, however, shows that he hailed from New York.  (A reminder that tones are personal, not geographical?) As for the band’s baritone player, Gerry Mulligan once observed that Duke Ellington has two sax sections and one of them is called ‘Harry Carney’. Now that the band was without Gonsalves, Hamilton and Hodges, their replacements being Harold Ashby, Percy Marion and Harold Minerve, Carney’s rich baritone seemed more prominent than ever. On bass Ellington had Joe Benjamin, a musician who had worked with just about everyone. I remember that he played superbly at the Guild Hall.  Many years earlier Ellington used “Mr. J. B.” to refer to the astounding Jimmy Blanton.  Apparently he was now reusing the title to refer to Joe Benjamin.  Praise indeed.

Harry Carney (Bari Sax)

There was also a low point.  Trumpeter Harold ‘Money’ Johnson gave us an Armstrong-like version of ‘Hello Dolly’, which wasn’t terribly good. It was part of the concert where a jocular Ellington predicted what music would be around in the coming centuries. I have never fathomed why the Duke himself or anyone who played with him needed to move outside the Ellington-Strayhorn songbook for inspirational material. And predicting what future generations would be listening to seemed an ideal opportunity to be optimistic and play something Ellingtonian.

The finale was wonderfully moving. All the musicians had played what appeared to be their final piece and left the stage and we applauded for an encore. After a while Ellington returned on his own. He played Billy Strayhorn’s ‘Lotus Blossom’.  Strayhorn had worked with the Duke for over twenty-five years, and, as Robert Palmer has noted, he “was capable of interacting so seamlessly with Ellington that even the two of them had trouble pinpointing where one man’s contribution ended and the other’s began.” Strayhorn’s death in 1967 had affected Ellington deeply and the album ‘…and His Mother Called Him Bill’ (1), Ellington’s tribute to Strayhorn, was recorded just a few months after Strayhorn’s death. The album has many emotionally charged moments, but perhaps the most touching was when, with the noise of musicians chatting, packing their instruments and getting ready to leave the studio, Ellington played ‘Lotus Blossom’.  That spontaneous studio performance has a few slips, but to close his November Guild Hall concert Ellington, alone at the piano, played it perfectly to an audience that I felt was well aware of its significance.

Ellington bowed graciously and left the stage. The delays with the instruments and two concerts without intermissions, would have made it a demanding day for a healthy man half his age. We applauded long and hard, but we knew in our hearts that no one would return to play. The tribute to Strayhorn was a fitting closure.

The next day the Ellington Orchestra continued its tour. As Patricia Willard would later write, “By December 1, when the band was to perform a pair of concerts at the Congress Theatre at Eastbourne on the south-east of England, it had performed in sixteen nations in five weeks.” In those five weeks the band had “only two ‘off’ days” and they “were spent travelling.” On 2nd and 3rd December the band had engagements in London and on Friday, 7th December, one week after appearing at Preston’s Guild Hall, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra gave a concert at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia. That was the Ellington way: day after day, week after week, year after year, and, in his case, decade after decade.

Eastbourne Performance LP

The concerts at Eastbourne’s Congress Theatre were recorded and eleven pieces from the concerts were later issued on an LP called ‘Eastbourne Performance’ (2). One of the most prominent soloists on these tracks is Ellington himself, who, despite everything, sounds on fine form. Other soloists on the Eastbourne album include tenor saxophonist, Harold Ashby, on ‘I Can’t Get Started’, trumpeter, Johnny Coles, on ‘How High the Moon’ and ‘Money’ Johnson on ‘Basin Street Blues’.  At least altoist Harold Minerve found something suitable in the Ellington-Strayhorn songbook; he soloed on the Duke’s ‘Don’t You Know I Care?’.

Many years later I realised that life for Ellington during that British tour was even more fraught than I had imagined. On 25th November the Duke’s dearest friend, long-term confidant and personal physician, Dr. Arthur Logan, died in New York. Fearing that the news of Dr. Logan’s death would have a shattering effect on his father, the Duke’s son, Mercer Ellington, who was a member of the band’s trumpet section, kept the news to himself for a few days. But, according to David Bradbury, it was on 29th November that Mercer finally told his father of Dr. Logan’s death. Mercer recalled, “For the next two or three days he (his father) unashamedly went through moments of mental hysteria…It was the first real breakdown I ever saw him get into.”  This account means that Ellington, already very ill, would have heard of Dr. Logan’s death the day before the Preston concerts.

The following year was desperately sad for Ellington’s numerous followers. Joe Benjamin died on 26th January, 1974, after a car crash. Paul Gonsalves died in London on 15th May. Some reports say he died of an overdose. News of Gonsalves’ death was kept from Ellington. On 24th May Ellington himself died. A bandleader for fifty years and a monumental contributor to the great music of the twentieth century, he gave his final performances in late March. Harry Carney, who had been with the Duke since 1927, said he had nothing more to live for after Ellington had gone. He died on 8th October, 1974.

At the end of the second concert at the Guild Hall on that Friday evening, we made our way back to Preston station. It was now well after eleven o’clock. The night was bitterly cold and foggy.  The station was quiet and our train had long gone. Over seven hours in a waiting room lay ahead of us. I arrived home at about nine on the Saturday morning. I had seen the great man for the last time.

Peter Gardner

April, 2018

Acknowledgements

I am particularly grateful to Liza Rivia, Library Assistant at the Harris Library, Preston, Lancashire.  I also wish to thank Steve Marshall from Marshall McGurk, Maryport, Cumbria and Dawkes’ woodwind specialist, Sam Gregory, who has helped me with this, my twentieth blog for Dawkes, and all the previous ones.

Endnotes

(1) LPs LPM -3906 (mono) and LSP-3906 (stereo) of  ‘…and His Mother Called Him Bill’ were released in May 1968.  The CD ‘ Duke Ellington…and His Mother Called Him Bill’,  ND 86287, has all the original tracks plus some previously unreleased material amounting to 16 tracks in all. A 19 track version of  ‘…and His Mother Called Him Bill’ appears in the 24 CD set mentioned below..

(2) The LP APL1 – 1023 ‘The Eastbourne Performance’ was originally issued in November 1974.  It has 11 tracks.  A 12 track version of ‘The Eastbourne Performance’ appears in the 24 CD Set ‘The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition’ The Complete RCA/Victor Recordings (1927-1973).

Some Sources Used

David Bradbury, Duke Ellington (Haus Publishing, London,2005).

Duke Ellington, Music Is My Mistress: An Autobiography (W. H. Allen, London, 1974).

Mercer Ellington with Stanley Dance, Duke Ellington in Person (Hutchinson, London, 1978).

Richard Palmer, notes for ‘…and His Mother Called Him Bill’, ND 86287.

Programme for Duke Ellington’s British Tour, November 1973.

Patricia Willard, ‘The Last Recordings’ in booklet for ‘The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition’ The Complete RCA/Victor Recordings (1927-1973), pp. 109-116.

Tone Parallel October 2023

 The latest edition of Tone Parallel on the fiftieth anniversary of Duke Ellington's Third Sacred Concert is available now.

Readers may subscribe here.

Don’t Cry For Me, Argentique

 From the virtual sale room, photographic argentique: Herman Leonard's iconic portrait of Duke Ellington at the piano: Paris, 1958.

The vendor's description:

Duke Ellington à Paris. La photographie est prise à l’Olympia. Une superbe ambiance dans les toanlités clair-obscur. Les contrastes sont intenses, on passe du noir au blanc, quasiment sans demi-tons.  Duke Ellington est photographié de dos, magnifié par la lumière des projecteurs de 

la salle.

(Duke Ellington in Paris. The photograph is taken at the Olympia. A superb atmosphere in the chiaroscuro toanlities. The contrasts are intense, we go from black to white, almost without midtones. Duke Ellington is photographed from behind, magnified by the light of the projectors

the room.)

Typon de photogravure original. Ancien tirage unitaire pour l’imprimerie. Film offset au format 23,7 x 16,4 cm avec marges. Le typon est présenté sur carte passe-partout 24 x 30 cm.

(Original photoengraving typeface.Old single edition for printing. Offset film in 23.7 x 16.4 cm format with margins.The artwork is presented on a 24 x 30 cm mat card.)

Document graphique original, provenant de Clair Offset à Paris, photograveur graveur de 

livres et d’édition d’art dans les années soixante à quatre-vingt-dix.

Le film est accompagné d’un tirage diazoïque dit ozalide de contrôle ou Blueprint 

en anglais.

C’est un tirage monochrome, développé à l’imprimerie dans un bain d’ammoniaque, sur 

papier non couché. Il était destiné à pré-imprimer le film d’impression pour les dernières vérifications au montage  avant la roule finale.

Original graphic document, from Clair Offset in Paris, photoengraver and engraver of books and art publishing in the sixties to nineties.

 

The film is accompanied by a diazo print called a control ozalide or Blueprint.

in English.

It is a monochrome print, developed at the printing house in an ammonia bath, on uncoated paper. It was intended to pre-print the printing film for final editing checks before the final roll.

Les films de photogravure :

En photogravure traditionnelle, on réalisait d'après une photographie ou une diapositive originale une selection couleur qui était tirée sur films.

Ces films, au nombre de quatre pour les quadrichromies ou deux pour les bichromies (noir + gris 

de soutien) étaient ensuite insolés sur des plaques photosensibles, lesquelles étaient calées sur 

les presses offset. 

Le procédé d'impression est basé sur le principe d'attraction-répulsion entre l'eau et la graisse 

(encre).

Par l'intermédiaire d'un blanchet (tampon en caoutchouc), seule est conservée la partie encrée, 

qui reprend le dessin du film et se dépose sur le papier.

La technique moderne s'affranchit des films et les plaques sont désormais simplement insolées 

d'après fichiers numériques.

 

 

 

Photoengraving films:

In traditional photoengraving, we created from a photograph or an original slide

a selection color which was printed on film.

These films, four in number for four-colors or two for two-colors (black + gray support) were then exposed onto photosensitive plates, which were wedged onto offset presses.

The printing process is based on the principle of attraction-repulsion between water and grease

(ink).

Using a blanket (rubber stamp), only the inked part is preserved, which takes up the design of the film and is placed on the paper.

Modern technique does away with films and the plates are now simply exposed from digital files.

Né en 1923 en Pennsylvanie (est des Etats-Unis) de parents roumains, Herman Leonard avait obtenu son diplôme de photographe peu après la Seconde guerre mondiale, avant d'ouvrir son premier studio de photographie en 1948 à New York. C'est alors qu'il fréquente les clubs de jazz, avec qui il passe des accords pour pouvoir photographier les grands musiciens d'alors. Au cours de sa carrière, les plus grands passeront devant son objectif, de Charlie Parker à Dizzy Gillespie en passant par Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington ou Miles Davis, qu'il immortalisera dans des clichés en noir et blanc à l'esthétique léchée. 

Il réalisera aussi de nombreuses pochettes de disques. En 1956, il fut choisi par Marlon Brando pour l'accompagner dans un voyage en Extreme-Orient, avant de s'installer à Paris où il continua à travailler sur les jazzmen, tout en se diversifiant dans les photographies de mode et de voyage, et dans la publicité.

En 1980, le photographe quitte Paris pour l'île d'Ibiza, où il vivra sept ans et préparera la publication de son premier livre. Sa première exposition est organisée Londres en 1988, où il vit alors. Au début des années 1990, c'est à la Nouvelle Orleans qu'il décide de s'installer, où il renoue avec la scène du jazz.

En 2005, l'ouragan Katrina détruit une grande partie de sa maison et de son studio, et emporte 8.000 photos d'archives. Par bonheur, les négatifs étaient conservés au musée de l'art du sud des Etats-Unis d'Ogden.Dans la foulée, le photographe avait décidé de s'installer à Los Angeles, où une bourse accordée par la fondation Grammy lui avait permis de numériser et organiser la conservation de sa collection de 60.000 négatifs.

Ses clichés ont valu à Herman Leonard de nombreux prix, et sont conservés et exposés dans de nombreux musées aux Etats-Unis et dans le monde, notamment à la Smithsonian Institution de Washington.

 

 

(Born in 1923 in Pennsylvania (eastern United States) to Romanian parents, Herman Leonard graduated as a photographer shortly after the Second World War, before opening his first photography studio in 1948 in New York. It was then that he frequented jazz clubs, with whom he made agreements to be able to photograph the great musicians of the time.

During his career, the greatest would pass before his lens, from Charlie Parker to Dizzy Gillespie, including Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and Miles Davis, whom he would immortalize in black and white photos with a polished aesthetic.

He also created numerous record covers. In 1956, he was chosen by Marlon Brando to accompany him on a trip to the Far East, before settling in Paris where he continued to work on jazzmen, while diversifying into fashion and travel photography, and in advertising.

In 1980, the photographer left Paris for the island of Ibiza, where he lived for seven years and prepared the publication of his first book. His first exhibition was organized in London in 1988, where he lived at the time. At the beginning of the 1990s, he decided to settle in New Orleans, where he reconnected with the jazz scene.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed a large part of his house and his studio, and took away 8,000 archive photos. Fortunately, the negatives were kept at the Museum of Southern Art in Ogden. At the same time, the photographer decided to move to Los Angeles, where a grant from the Grammy Foundation allowed him to to digitize and organize the conservation of its collection of 60,000 negatives.

His photos have won Herman Leonard numerous awards, and are preserved and exhibited in numerous museums in the United States and around the world, notably at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.)

The Third, Man

Embed from Getty Images

 

The next edition of Tone Parallel will be published this coming Monday, 23 October, the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of The Third Sacred Concert premièred at Westminster Abbey. 

On The Slide...

Here are photographs of a set of slides/ transparencies recently for sale on eBay. The slides show an engagement which took place on 27 June 1971.

This was a performance of a Sacred Concert which concluded the silver jubilee celebrations of the  Lancaster County Council of Churches. The 120-voice Hempfield Singers of Hempfield High School, directed by Richard L.Kline, sang with Ellington's orchestra. This large battery of singers may be seen clearly in the second image above.

The orchestra seems to be playing outdoors - a rarity, perhaps, for a Sacred performance?

From the vendor's description...

Set of 22 color slides, 2x2, picturing a concert at Long's Park, Lancaster PA, in June, 1971.

Duke Ellington was the featured act and appears on four of the slides.  The band, along with four other acts (not identified) and the emcee appear on the other slides, along with a crowd photo.

A little piece of music history!

Discography: Ellington In Order Volume 5 (1932-33)

 

 

Mills Brothers with Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra

New York City, NY    

22 December 1932

ARC recording session

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins(t); Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol(tb); Johnny Hodges(cl,ss,as); Otto Hardwick(cl,as,bsax); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Duke Ellington(p); Fred Guy(bj); Wellman Braud(sb); Sonny Greer(d,vibes); The Mills Brothers(v)

Diga Diga Doo (Take B) vTMB      

Diga Diga Doo (Take A) vTMB      

 

Ethel Waters with Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra

New York City, NY    

Same session

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins(t); Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton(tb); Johnny Hodges(cl,ss,as); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Duke Ellington(p); Fred Guy(bj); Wellman Braud(sb); Sonny Greer(d,ch); Ethel Waters(v)

I Can't Give You Anything But Love (Take B) vEW

I Can't Give You Anything But Love(Take A)vEW      

Porgy  (Take C)  vEW         

Porgy  (Take B) vEW         

Porgy (Take A) vEW           

 

Adelaide Hall with Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra

New York City, NY    

7 January 1933

ARC recording session

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams(t); Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol(tb); Barney Bigard(cl,ts); Johnny Hodges(cl,ss,as); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Duke Ellington(p); Fred Guy(bj); Wellman Braud(sb); Sonny Greer(d,ch); Adelaide Hall(v)

I Must Have That Man(Take D) vAHa    

I Must Have That ManTake C) vAHa      

Baby! (Take D) vAHa         

Baby!(Take C) vAHa          

 

Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra

New York City, NY    

Same session

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams(t); Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol(tb); Barney Bigard(cl,ts); Johnny Hodges(cl,ss,as); Otto Hardwick(cl,as,bsax); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Duke Ellington(p); Fred Guy(bj); Wellman Braud(sb); Sonny Greer(d,ch)

Eerie Moan (Take B)

Eerie Moan (Take A)          

 

Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra

New York City, NY    

15 February 1933

English Columbia recording session

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins(t); Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol(tb); Barney Bigard(cl,ts); Johnny Hodges(cl,ss,as); Otto Hardwick(cl,as,bsax); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Duke Ellington(p); Fred Guy(g); Wellman Braud(sb); Sonny Greer(d,ch); Ivie Anderson(v)

Merry Go Round (Take 2)

Merry Go Round (Take 3)

Sophisticated Lady (Take 1)        

Sophisticated Lady (Take 2)        

I've Got The World On A String vIA         

 

Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra

New York City, NY    

16 February 1933

English Columbia recording session

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins(t); Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol(tb); Barney Bigard(cl,ts); Johnny Hodges(cl,ss,as); Otto Hardwick(cl,as,bsax); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Duke Ellington(p); Fred Guy(g); Wellman Braud(sb); Sonny Greer(d,ch)

Down A Carolina Lane      

 

Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra      

New York City, NY    

17 February 1933

ARC recording session

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins(t); Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol(tb); Barney Bigard(cl,ts); Johnny Hodges(cl,ss,as); Otto Hardwick(cl,as,bsax); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Duke Ellington(p); Fred Guy(bjo, g); Wellman Braud(sb); Sonny Greer(d, chimes)

Slippery Horn (Take B)      

Slippery Horn (Take A)      

 

Blackbirds Medley Part 1(Take B)         

I Can't Give You Anything But Love/ Doin' The New Lowdown/I Must Have That Man/ Baby!                      

 

Blackbirds Medley Part 1(Take A)         

I Can't Give You Anything But Love/ Doin' The New Lowdown/ I Must Have That Man/ Baby!                     

 

Blackbirds Medley Part 2  (Take C)

Dixie/ Diga Diga Doo/Porgy/ I Can't Give You Anything But Love              

Blackbirds Medley Part 2 (Take B)         

Dixie/ Diga Diga Doo/ Porgy/ I Can't Give You Anything But Love            

Blackbirds Medley Part 2 (Take A)                    

Dixie/ Diga Diga Doo/ Porgy/ I Can't Give You Anything But Love

 

 

Drop Me Off In Harlem (Take B)

Drop Me Off In Harlem (Take A)  

 

 

Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra

New York City, NY    

9 May 1933

ARC recording session

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins(t); Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol(tb); Johnny Hodges(cl,ss,as); Otto Hardwick(cl,as,bsax); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Joe Garland(ts); Duke Ellington(p); Fred Guy(g); Wellman Braud(sb); Sonny Greer(d,ch)

Happy As The Day Is Long vIA

Raisin' The Rent vIA           

Get Yourself A New Broom vIA   

 

Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra

New York City, NY    

16 May 1933

ARC recording session

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins(t); Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol(tb); Barney Bigard(cl,ts); Johnny Hodges(cl,ss,as); Otto Hardwick(cl,as,bsax); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Duke Ellington(p); Fred Guy(g); Wellman Braud(sb); Sonny Greer(d,vib)

Bundle Of Blues (Take B)  

Bundle Of Blues (Take A)  

Sophisticated Lady            

Stormy Weather     

 

Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra      

New York City, NY    

15 August 1933

ARC recording session

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins(t); Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol(tb); Barney Bigard(cl,ts); Johnny Hodges(cl,ss,as); Otto Hardwick(cl,as,bsax); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Duke Ellington(p); Fred Guy(g); Wellman Braud(sb); Sonny Greer(d,ch), Ivie Anderson(v)

I'm Satisfied vIA      

Jive Stomp (Take B)           

Jive Stomp (Take A)           

Harlem Speaks       

In The Shade Of The Old Apple Tree     

 

 

Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra

Chicago, IL   

26 September 1933

RCA-Victor recording session

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins(t); Louis Bacon(t,v)Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton, Juan Tizol(tb); Barney Bigard(cl,ts); Johnny Hodges(cl,ss,as); Otto Hardwick(cl,as,bsax); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Duke Ellington(p); Fred Guy(g); Wellman Braud(sb); Sonny Greer(d,ch)

Rude Interlude vLBa (Take 1)      

Rude Interlude vLBa (Take 2)      

Dallas Doings (Take 1)      

Dallas Doings (Take 2)      

 

Duke Ellington and his Orchestra

Chicago, IL   

4 December 1933

RCA-Victor recording session

Arthur Whetsel, Cootie Williams, Freddie Jenkins(t); Louis Bacon(t,v)Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton(tb); Barney Bigard(cl,ts); Johnny Hodges(cl,ss,as); Otto Hardwick(cl,as,bsax); Harry Carney(cl,as,bar); Duke Ellington(p); Fred Guy(g); Wellman Braud(sb); Sonny Greer(d,ch)

Dear Old Southland vLBa (Take 1)         

Dear Old Southland vLBa (Take 2)         

Daybreak Express (Take 1)         

Daybreak Express (Take 2)