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Duke Ellington: The Duke Box Cd5 |
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The Duke Box includes more than eight hours of music from what many consider the greatest decade (1940s) of the greatest orchestra in the history of jazz.
This 8CD box set captures Duke Ellington and his musicians, including Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, Lawrence Brown, ""Tricky"" Sam Nanton, Harry Carney, Rex Stewart, Barney Bigard and Jimmy Blanton, live in dance halls, night clubs, concert halls and radio stations.
We are lucky indeed that these slice-of-life documents survive, or were made in the first place, such as the unique Fargo dance date (what was captured that long night is a veritable treasure trove of music) and hearing it chronologically places this grand music in a very special and illuminating perspective. All your favourite Ellington standards (including Sophisticated Lady, Mood Indigo, ""C"" Jam Blues, Don't Get Around Much Anymore and Do Nothing 'Til You Hear From Me) are here as well as some rare tracks that even seasoned Ellingtonians will encounter for the first time.
The accompanying 40 page illustrated booklet includes liner notes by Dan Morgenstern and photographs by Herman Leonard and William Gottlieb.
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Duke Ellington And His Orchestra
Duke (Edward Kennedy) Ellington: pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader. Born on April 29, 1899, in Washington, D.C.. Died on May 24, 1974, in New York City.
As a child Duke Ellington played piano, but for several years divided his interests between music and art. Already during his school days he played as a professional, and at the age of 19 he formed his own quintet. In 1923 he moved to New York and joined Elmer Snowden’s band, The Washingtonians, which he took over the next year. The orchestra expanded to ten members and had its breakthrough with an engagement at the Cotton Club in N.Y.C. which lasted from 1927 to 1931. The name of the band, meanwhile, had been changed to Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra. Among the band’s members were Joe Nanton, Harry Carney, Sonny Greer, Johnny Hodges, Barney Bigard and Cootie Williams. Most of them stayed with Ellington for many years.
Duke Ellington was an industrious composer; one could even say extraordinarily industrious. Most of the repertoire of the Ellington band were Ellington compositions. It has been said that his compositions had two extremities: the mood-style with sophisticated timbres, and the jungle style, where the brass, in particular, uses the subtle application of various growl and wah-wah effects and various kinds of vibrato, as a means of creating atmosphere.
By the end of the twenties, the orchestra was often in the recording studio for various companies, often under different pseudonyms.
In the thirties, the complement of musicians was fairly constant and Ellington’s band achieved great popularity in the USA, performing mostly in nightclubs, vaudeville theatres and dance halls. The band visited Europe twice during this decade.
The orchestra reached a peak of popularity and musicality around 1940, partly because of Duke’s compositions and partly because of the musicians involved. With Ben Webster and bassist Jimmy Blanton joining them, the crew was unique. Another new member was Billy Strayhorn, who played the piano and wrote many compositions and arrangements.
Soon after, more changes in the line-up took place. Some of the musicians from the Cotton Club period returned, and more outstanding soloists joined: Paul Gonsalves, Harold Ashby and Buster Cooper, for example.
Duke Ellington’s last years were characterized by an extremely large compositional and recording activity. Long after his death in 1974, previously unavailable recordings of radio broadcasts, studio sessions and concerts are still being released.
This intense activity during a career of more than fifty years, plus the outstanding quality of Ellington’s compositions and musicians, makes him a central figure in the music of the Twentieth Century. In 1999, a hundred years after his birth, Duke Ellington was memorialized and acclaimed in countless concerts all over the world, and several recordings were issued by other artists paying tribute to the Duke’s uniquely wonderful music.
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