Customer Reviews

At the Hurricane 1943

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Why is this disc so great? There's no way that either the studio discs made shortly thereafter or the two Carnegie Hall concerts of '43 could prepare one for the hellified playing on this disc. This is it, folks - get with it. The Ellington band was rarely at its best in concerts. These club broadcasts, with, I assume, people dancing around the bandstand - that's what it's all about. Just compare any concert version of Main Stem or Goin' Up to the ones here. And, another thing: this was a very long residency in New York Freakin' City! Which means everybody slept in their own beds every night - or at least had the choice to do so, if they so desired. And Sonny Greer's got all his stuff - his hardware, his gongs. And, more importantly, he's playing at the top of his game. There's definitely a difference between drinking all night and then getting on the train and drinking all night and then going home.
And you can hear it. Highly recommended.

Recording a bit rough, distant and incomplete, but more representative of the sound of the early 1940s Ellington band than the "plummy" Victor sound. And any scrap of that golden era is, of course, precious. The brass is right up front, piano and rhythm less so.

I like the somewhat more "loosey-goosey" "average set" feel of this collection, but I'd buy "at Fargo" first.