Customer Reviews

Best of Duke Ellington

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

 

 

This is a nice collection of Duke Ellington music and a value for the price on offer. It is not a perfect collection, but overall this is a solid set.

The set concentrates on music from early in Ellington's career. His first hit in the US charts, from 1927 -- East St. Louis Toodle-oo is included, as are three of his five singles from the charts in 1928: Black and Tan Fantasy, Creole Love Call, and The Mooche. His last hit on the charts was in 1954, and of course he continued performing and writing more serious music ("suites") practically right up until his death in 1974. The latest recording included here appears to be I'm Beginning to See the Light, from 1945. (I hope I didn't miss anything, but as far as I can tell that's the case.)

There are a few small glitches in the sound. I mainly mean little digital pops and bloops that are artifacts created in the encoding process. I heard them only in a few places -- most prominently on "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" and "Solitude". According to what I have read in another review, these may be caused when a recording interface is pushed too hard, or there is not enough disk space, or the writing of the MP3 is not fast enough for some other reason, causing an overload of information and resulting in defects in the sound. Whatever the cause, I docked a star for this because I think this problem could have been avoided by using the proper equipment.

The other sound issue is that these are, of course, old recordings, and they sound like it. But that is inherit in any collection of early Duke Ellington music, so that's fair.

One could certainly quibble with the "Best of" title. Ellington had 78 records on the charts in 1927-1954. And many would regard his suites -- sometimes closer to classical music than bandstand jazz -- as his best, or at least most significant work. Still, this is a solid collection and a worthwhile buy. Recommended.

If you don't have many of these songs, buy this inexpensive entry point to Ellington's genius.

how can you not know of one of the most influential men of Jazz!!! Listen to it with your eyes close, and feel the soul!