The Best Of The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition

Duke Ellington | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 27, 1999)
• Original Release Date: April 27, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B00000IIRI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #147,272 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The 24-disc Complete RCA Victor Recordings is a bountiful musical feast as nourishing and satisfying as any. This single-CD snapshot offers mere morsels, but in doing so provides a worthwhile sampler plate for those looking for a taste of each of Ellington's creative periods. Spanning 50 years of jazz genius, the 18-song collection begins with Cotton Club-era favorites featuring the growling horns of Bubber Miley and "Tricky Sam" Nanton, moves through the Duke's artistic peak of the early 1940s (featuring tenor Ben Webster and bassist Jimmy Blanton), samples the extended Black, Brown and Beige suite and Sacred Concerts, and culminates with several late-1960s gems from successes such as The Far East Suite and the tribute to departed Billy Strayhorn. In addition, this set features a number of oddities from the Ellington oeuvre--an almost-eight-minute medley from 1932 that was one of the earliest long players as well as an early attempt at stereo (thanks to a double-mic setup), a 1945 date with Tommy Dorsey's orchestra, and a 1946 Esquire all-star summit with Louis Armstrong. As a useful and musically superb overview of the master's career, this record stands on its own; however, don't be surprised if it simply whets your appetite for more Ellingtonia. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description

Here's 18 of the bandleader's most popular and important RCA Victor sides, spanning from 1927 to 1967. Includes the long-lived tracks Mood Indigo/Hot and Bothered/Creole Love Call; Take the A Train; Come Sunday and Raincheck .

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Please break up the set!, January 22, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Best Of The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition (Audio CD)

As soon as BMG breaks up the $400 24-CD Centennial set that is highlighted in this collection, I'm making a beeline for the early Ellington. Between tracks #10 and #11 there is a notable degradation in sound quality (although no track in this collection has the bad sound of, say, "The Okeh Ellington"). Turning to the liner notes reveals that #1-#10 were digitally restored by Steven Lasker using CEDAR. These are the years 1927-1942. Hearing the 1932 Ellington band in true stereo on #4 is a revelation (they made two simultaneous recordings from two mics as an experiment). Oh, if they had only done this on all recordings of the period, for that future day when technology could utilize the second tracks. I'm looking for music to play for Swing dances, and from this collection, #3, 6, 8, 10 and 12 are suitable. Let's hope BMG issues the 24 CDs separately to allow people access to their favorite Ellington periods.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alive, June 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Of The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition (Audio CD)

I'm a youngish guy and the trouble I have with a lot of "my dad's music" is that it seems like you had to be there. A great artist's style is copied and used so often that when, decades later, you go back to the source, you're not hearing anything revolutionary -- the thing that made the original artist great in the first place. That's doesn't seem to be the case with this CD. This CD seems really "alive" to me. The music bursts from the speakers and jumps all around you. I can still hear the passion and brilliance in this music that I often find missing from other supposedly "great" performers of a bygone era. I'm very impressed with this record.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the box for Duke, May 30, 2008

By 

Johnny Boy "The Record Collector" (Hockessin, DE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Of The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition (Audio CD)

Duke Ellington's life and music is vital. A box set was issued years ago, and it was titled 'The Complete RCA Victor Recordings: The Centennial Editon.' It's very pricy, often ranging in the $500 range. So RCA was smart enough to issue this "best of the box" single disc CD, which is a sampler and is designed for people (I'm definitely included) who want to hear some of the box, but definitely don't want to empty their wallets to get it.

And this serves it's purpose very well. 'Take The A Train,' 'Raincheck' and 'Sophisticated Lady' are all here, and these are vital parts of Sir Duke's career.

And, RCA gets extra points for remastering this. The sound quality is superb!

Overall, the Ellington fan that doesn't need or want to buy the box set should definitely get this. Highly recommended for any Ellington fan.

A must own. ENJOY!!!