Centennial Collection (Bonus Dvd) [Original recording remastered]

Duke Ellington | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B0002KQRZ0
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #381,979 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Black and Tan Fantasy

2. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo

3. The Mooch

4. Old Man Blues

5. Mood Indigo

6. Rockin' in Rhythm

7. Stompy Jones

8. Solitude

9. Jack the Bear

10. Ko Ko

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Symphony in Black [Multimedia Track]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yet another anthology? Look closely at this one, though..., March 13, 2005

By 

J. Lund "jazzbrat" (SoCal, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Centennial Collection (Bonus Dvd) (Audio CD)

On the surface, CENTENNIAL looks like yet another repackaging of familiar material: the umpteenth "greatest hits" package. However, dig a little deeper and this CD/DVD combo serves not only as a decent introduction to Duke, but doubles as an arguably essential purchase for Ellington and jazz collectors.

The first 13 cuts on the CD offer a brief anthology of Duke's RCA recordings from 1927-1942. Oddly, "Take The `A' Train" is not included (even though he recorded it for RCA), so we're really talking here about a tip-of-the-iceberg sampling of Duke's classic recordings. Of course, the tracks that are present represent some of Ellington's greatest music, from "East St. Louis Toodle-O" (later remade by Steely Dan) to "Perdido." The remaining 7 tracks are a find for collectors: a previously-unreleased 1941 aircheck by the so-called "Blanton-Webster" band -- "so-called" because bassist Jimmy Blanton had recently left the band -- with unusually good sound quality for the most part. Several tracks have the vocalist Ivie Anderson fronting the band, but most of the music is instrumental (a definite plus because Duke's bandmen include a number of jazz's all-time great musicians).

The real selling point of this set is the DVD. The footage starts out with the famous 1934 short film "Symphony In Black," which features a young Billie Holiday in addition to Duke and his orchestra. A 1937 Paramount short follows with rare footage of Duke and his band in the studio. Five 1941 music videoclips (aka soundies) follow, and the DVD ends with four 1943 selections and an audio-only 1941 interview. Although CD sets that try to have it both ways -- attracting newcomers and fans alike -- usually satisfy neither, CENTENNIAL can safely be recommended across-the-board.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remote Radio Broadcasts...and a DVD to Boot, November 29, 2004

By 

J. Bandur (Lynnwood, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Centennial Collection (Bonus Dvd) (Audio CD)

Just listening to the 7 previously unreleased remote radio broadcasts makes this a recommended listening. Very nice. And there's even a DVD video disc included that contains Symphony in Black (with a young Billie Holiday), Record Making with Duke Ellington (a 1937 studio rehearsal), five 1941 "soundies" shorts made for use in coin-operated video jukeboxes, short entitled Duke Ellington and His Orchestra (4 songs), and an 11-minute audio interview with The Duke himself.