Sign of the Times

Imagine living in a world where an artist of the stature of Duke Ellington featured on the cover of a television listings magazine.

Currently up for sale on a certain Internet auction house for a hefty £45.00, is the listings magazine for Independent Television dated 8 February, 1963. Once upon a times...

Out of the Blue

The blog Into a Blue Haze is well worth checking out.

Three concerts by Duke Ellington and his Orchestra are currently available for download and you can access them by clicking the link here.

For the record...

Here are details of a 'one of a kind' Ellington recording which came up for auction at a certain internet clearing house recently.

The vendor claims the disc in question is an off air recording of the Famous Orchestra during its first stint at The Cotton Club (it was the 85th anniversary of Ellington's opening at the club a couple of weeks ago).

The full description runs:

A truly remarkable two sided LIVE recording of DUKE ELLINGTON & HIS ORCHESTRA from the COTTON CLUB in New York!. 

This one of a kind disc was found in the collection of musician/collector DICK FURGESSON...it is on a metal "UNIVERSAL BLANK RECORDING DISC........Likely at the Cotton Club in Harlem shortly before it moved to Mid-Town in the mid-1930's..one of the tunes identified is DUCKY WUCKY which is from 1932.introduced as an arrangement you haven't heard. 

.....the sections of the disc I played  play pretty well on my rig but requires a bit of extra weight..there is distortion in some sections and very clear in others..some one putting some time into play this will likely get  better results than me ....the sleeve also identifies I'VE GOT TO BE A RUG CUTTER " fine trumpet & Hodges sop"...side B says "Azure"..this one is sold AS IS!

Whilst it is often difficult to establish provenance, the auction was contested hotly, and the disc sold for the not inconsiderable sum of $385 dollars (about £285)! One for the record books?

Do I hear...

Going, going…

Under the virtual hammer of a certain Internet auction house at present is a fascinating collection of Ellingtonia. I thought I’d post the description and all the photographs of the various lots here. For the record…

From the vendor's description:

"Duke Ellington memories collectible collection all original items. Arrangements From His Private Collection. Which include Fascimile, Copies Of The Exact First Drafts Of Many Ellington Strayhorn Songs There on Passantino Sheet Music And Forrest Brand With The Tempo Music Inc 333 Riverside Drive. Manuscripts Of Strayhorn, it's a very beautiful collection. I have never seen The Exact Copies of how Ellington and Strayhorn wrote there music in exact form.

Love You Madly, Love Scene (Making That Scene), B Sharp Blues, Spanking Brand New Doll, Love You Madly, Such Sweet Thunder, And On A Turquoise Cloud. And Many More

Exactly How Duke And Billy Wrote There Notes...Very Rare.

I didn't want to Add These Arrangements but there are so many from different friends of my father's, I figure Someone who really loves Duke Would Appreciate This Collection. It is all One of A Kind And All 100% authentic.

1. One signed card hand signed in blue ink. Merrie Christmas Happy New Year Duke Ellington love xxx (Great For X-mas, This Item Has a lot of value due to the fact it states no name, so it could be a great Joy to an Ellington Fan) This would be Dukes Last Hand

Written Card comes with Envelope addressed to and from

Mint.

2. Hand designed card by Duke Ellington Very special and rare only to his closet friends.

"Merry Christmas is Merriest

Happy new year is happie, you are beautiful compounded with luv and blessings and may your total future be the greatest! Duke Ellington. With love and hearts xxxx"

Mint.

3. (20) Negative photos. One of Duke Ellington at Billy StrayhornMemorial. And one of the Strayhorn memorial plaque. Never before released,My father took the photos with his rolleflex camera. Will sign the photography rights over. Very Rare

4. A Copy of Half the Fun (From The Original Arrangements in Dukes Hand) written by Duke And Strayhorn, from his original transcribes 1957 tempo music inc. with Duke Signature titled on top by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

5. Framed 4x6 photo from the negatives of Duke And Bob Udkoff by the American flag. Beautiful. One of a kind shot. Never released. Developed with Epson perfection lighted scanner.Slight pop look to it. 6. East meets the west through the swinging music of Duke Ellington LP Signed on the back to my mother."Xxxx to Beautiful lady of grace Loretta.I'm very glad to see that you are prettier now then before, don't stop now love xxxx duke xxxx for your Jose ERS.

7. Sacred concerts complete Duke Ellington inspirational songbook 1972 tempo music, given to my father not for sale original arrangements very small pressing for concert. Extra fine condition.

8. Photo card hand written from the great Lou levy, one of the most underrated Jazz pianists.

9. Duke Ellington we love you madly tribute card January 10th 1973 from Quincy Jones. Mint

With envelope.

10. (20) Classic Ellington Lp's Nm And Sealed First Press

11. Framed Card About Love And Life Christmas And New Years By Duke Ellington. Have Not Seen Another

Like it.

12. 5 Song Books By Duke Ellington

13. Strayhorn Original Arrangement of Passion Flower And Lush Life...People Say Strayhorn isn't worth As much but Billy was The Engine

Will Email any photos Ran out of photo space.

The Negatives show Duke by The American Flag...There are over 50 beautiful photos of Ellington...Will Sign Over Rights."

Hobsbawm on Ellington

The death was announced today of historian Eric Hobsbawm. He wrote extensively on the subject of jazz under the nom de plume Francis Newton. A heady and evocative account of those years is here.

Bliss must it have been in that very dawn...

Reading the obituaries and the scatterings of virtual press 'cuttings' on line, I also happened upon this brief piece on Ellington which I thought more than quoting here:

"The sort of teenagers who were most likely to to be captured by jazz in 1933 were rarely in a position to buy more than a few records, let alone build a collection. Still, enough was already being issued in Britain for the local market: Armstrong, Ellington, Fletcher Henderson and John Hammond's last recording of Bessie Smith. What is more, shortly before the trade dispute stopped American jazz-players from coming to Britain for some 20 years, the greatest of all the bands – I can still recite its then line-up from memory – came to London: Duke Ellington's. It was the season when Ivy Anderson sang Stormy Weather. Denis [Preston, a cousin] and I, presumably financed by the family, went to the all-night session ("breakfast dance") they played at a Palais de Danse in the wilds of Streatham, nursing single beers in the gallery as we despised the slowly heaving mass of south London dancers below, who were concentrating on their partners and not on the wonderful noises. Our last coins spent, we walked home in dark and daybreak, mentally floating above the hard pavement, captured for ever.

"Like the Czech writer Josef Skvorecky, who has written better about it than most, I experienced this musical revelation at the age of first love, 16 or 17. But in my case it virtually replaced first love, for, ashamed of my looks and therefore convinced of being physically unattractive, I deliberately repressed my physical sensuality and sexual impulses. Jazz brought the dimension of wordless, unquestioning physical emotion into a life otherwise almost monopolised by words and the exercises of the intellect."

Plus ca change...

The photograph, above, of Duke on bath night is currently for sale at a certain internet auction house. The description reads:

This auction is for an original 9" by 7" photograph of Duke Ellington smiling while bathing. This is a rare photo and may be unpublished. Stamped on the back: Olaf Ibsen Foto. Olaf Ibsen was a well known Danish photographer of the 1940s & 50s.

It is the former owner of the photograph which shows the Gallic connection, however. The vendor writes:

From the estate of Gaston Criel (1913-1990) French author and Jazz critic and Paris celebrity of the 1940s & 50s. A friend to many prominent French writers and artists and Jazz musicians.

Here is a photograph of M Criel.

Le Chat qui Peche...