Customer Reviews

The Centennial Edition: Complete RCA Victor Recordings

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Congratulations are in order for producers Keepnews and Lasker, and for BMG. If only Sony would issue it's Ellington holdings (Columbia, Brunswick, Okeh, etc.) in such a comprehensive and intelligent fashion! The remastering is fantastic. The digital transfers are wonderfully clear and full-bodied (for a sample of other work by Steven Lasker check out reissues of Ellington's 1920s Brunswick recordings on the GRP/Decca Jazz label), and easily superior to any previous issues of these recordings. The music, whether from the 1920s, 30s, 40s or 60s is some of the best in the Ellington catalog. The annotations are meticulous and the 124 page book is beautifully illustrated.

REVISED - 2006 - O.K., I was a little excited when I wrote my earlier review. I still stand by everything I wrote, though with a few qualifications. First, the other reviewers here are correct about the packaging. I replaced the cardboard sleeves with jewel cases. Second, the content of the book is excellent. However, it is not bound well. I've been extremely careful with mine, but a few pages are coming loose. Third, I think the remastering on the first thirteen discs is excellent. I've been listening to 78-era recordings for many years. The background hiss is inevitable. To remove all of the hiss would leave a boxy and compressed sound, and that's as grating to me as the hiss seems to be for others. Unfortunately, I don't think discs 14 through 16 in this set meet the same high standards of the first thirteen. To my ears, they have some of that dreadful compressed quality. They are much better than previous issues, but not as good as the first thirteen discs (a different engineer performed the CEDAR noise reduction on discs 14-16). Finally, discs 17 through 24 are a mixed bag. Some of the music is not as essential as the earlier material (e.g. the Tanglewood concert). Also, the remastering on the last four discs is a little thin and abrasive (compare to the excellent work on the "Far East Suite" portion of the set - again, a different engineer is at work here).

That said, I do not regret buying this set. I bought it mainly for the first sixteen discs (though the Far East Suite and Strayhorn tribute are highlights of Ellington's late period). The music is always more important to me than the packaging, and for the most part the sound is stunning.

Very few mammoth box sets are worth the money, simply because very few artists are worth the attention. Duke Ellington's music is dirt-cheap even at these prices. These recordings are, of course, part of our everyday musical language -- but in RCA's remastered sound, it's like meeting old friends for the first time. Ellington's practical knowledge of recording technology and techniques was ahead of its time, and RCA-Victor always had the best recording engineers and equipment. Even the earliest recordings are amazing for the brightness of their treble and the heft in their bass register. No longer do you feel as though you're listening to the Blanton-Webster band through a wall of mud -- this music comes across as fresh and newly-minted as the day it was played.

BMG's oversized accompanying book is a virtual Ellington encyclopedia, with complete track-by-track information down to the approximate times of day the sides were recorded and lists of soloists. An essential document which one hopes will be eventually reprinted in a more "user friendly" size for those who like to flip for information while they listen.

Of course, no one need talk much about the music itself. Suffice to say it is among the best the 20th century had to offer, and will still have a lot to say to us in the 21st. Few bands played such divine compositions with as much sophistication, creativity, emotion, and sheer unbridled energy as Ellington's band.

All in all, a stunning tribute to a man whose Pulitzer Prize came over a quarter of a century too late. Fortunately the music, thanks to BMG's labor of love (and, admittedly, commerce), is the only prize that really matters. Thank you, BMG, and thank you, Mr. Ellington!

You can't go wrong with the man who was truly 'Beyond Category' - the greatest musician in American history, and, very likely, the greatest artist in American history -period - the great Duke Ellington.

RCA got a lot right with this set: the music - all 24 cds worth - is amazing, the remastering of the recordings from the 30s and40s is astonishing, and the lavishly illustrated booklet provides a comprehensive overview of the Duke's career.

The one thing that RCA got wrong, however, was the packaging of the individual cds. Each disc is enclosed in a cheap, flimsy, cardboard sleeve instead of in a jewel box. You can't get a disc out of its cardboard prison without reaching in and getting your fingerprints all over it . You can't store your new Ellington cds with the rest of your collection, because the sleeves won't fit in your cd shelf, nor will they stand up straight like a jewel box will. Even if you do stack them at the end of your row of normal cds, you still have to sort through them to find the disc you want, because you can't read the spine like you can on a normal jewel box. If you are spending this kind of money to buy a box set, I suspect that your interest in the Duke will last for a lifetime. I guarantee that the cheap cardboard sleeves in this set won't. If you are spending this kind of money to buy a box set, you shouldn't have to buy 24 empty jewel boxes to preserve your investment. That's what I plan to do, however. I suspect that many others will do the same.

I agree with the person who complained about the cheap packaging. Yes the music is great. But cardboard sleeves? In addition to the problems that person cited, sliding discs in and out of the sleeve is going to scratch them.

Next, the little ribbons used for lifting the CDs out of their wells in the plastic box insert are glued in place. Guess what? They come unglued! Unless you reglue them, you have to turn the box upside down and shake out all the CDs to get the one you want.

Finally, the lovely book that comes with the set is cheaply bound. I haven't even read it once and there are pages coming loose.

Come on, RCA! This is meant to be your highest tribute to America's greatest composer, and you aren't exactly giving it away. You could have used better binding and real jewel cases, sold it at the same price, and still profited handsomely. Shame on you!

I have to agree with music fan from Texas. The problem, though, is not too little noise reduction, but too much. The high-pitched whistling he cites is, I think, an artifact of hiss reduction. It ruins the whole set, in my opinion. An awful shame, considering the importance of this music, and the fact that the remastering was otherwise most meticulously done. BMG, why did you allow this to happen?
***LATER***The late John R. T. Davies, who was during his lifetime the world's foremost restorer of 78 r.p.m. recordings, confirmed in correspondence with me that the whistling noise I refer to is an artifact of the master recording and is not caused by electronic noise reduction. Specifically, it is caused by the cooling of the wax master during recording. There are ways of minimizing it during transfer and remastering, and I wish BMG had taken advantage of these.

This 24 CD collection is so rich I've made it only to CD #10 (Early 40's).With the exception of several of his most popular numbers,I was unfamiliar with much of Ellington's music. Now I understand the importance of this American master. The sound quality of the 1927-1934 recordings is stupendous and the inclusion of alternate takes for most of the selections will fascinate the connoisseur and please the casual listener. The collection really demonstrates the versatility and evolution of the great Duke Ellington Orchestra. Forget Glenn Miller and the other "white big bands"...this is the real thing. With the exception of the period from 1933-1940 and the 50's, this collection has EVERYTHING!!! Who cares if this month's rent is late, if you love music, GET IT!!!!

Duke Ellington is the foremost composer of the 20th century and many of his best works are contained in this box. The breadth of his work is astonishing, ranging from Cotton Club dance numbers to beautiful sacred works. The range is well-represented here. My favorite section is the early '40s band: It's amazing how consistently Ellington created masterpieces with this band. BMG has done a great job with the reissue, with the music sounding better than ever. This box puts to shame anything Sony has done in their feeble reissue program celebrating Ellington's centennial.

I would have preferred that this set be marketed in such a way that fans of the early ellington could buy just the sides up to 1934. Nevertheless, it's beautifully done. Anyone who believes that the transfers of the early 78 rpm tracks are poorly done simply knows very little about the technical side of that whole business.

We love the Great Scholar Master Duke Ellington musical legacy, and undoubtely, have decided to buy this extraordinary and uncommon box set.

We have experimented a wide range of emotions! For example, the inclusion of the "Three Sacred Concerts", we believe, was a great idea with the addition of the Second one, thanks to "Fantasy Records" permission.

Also, we are impressed by the early 1930's "stereo sound". It is really amazing to hear this special effect from that time. Surely, Duke Ellington would be feeling happy to listen to this, as he loved -and this is a fundamental fact about his musical legacy- the recording technology, and used it to record and record again, having the concept of the Great Music, and the wonderful Art of Improvisation, being recorded for the posterity, and for the new generations of young people who really love music.

Here, we believe that it is important to remember that a genuine "Jazz Performance" is only one, and it never will be the same the next opportunity.

Also, we like the box set book for its sober, satin finish pages, the magnificent photos, general design, and, of course, the invaluable and complete information.

Undoubtely, this box set is the result of a very hard, extensive and extraordinary research, writing, audio restoration, remastering, printing and special manufacturing work, and we, with deep admiration, congratulate the Duke Ellington's legacy lovers, Steven Lasker and Orrin Keepnews, among other persons at RCA-BMG, for this Giant Homage to Duke.

If you really love music, and the musical legacy from Edward Kennedy Ellington, this box set is a must! Imagine: ALL the Duke Ellington's RCA recordings stored on the box set's 24 compact discs, and with that magnificent restored sound...!

This BMG-RCA Duke Ellington's Centennial Edition, 24 Compact Discs Box Set, is an authentic HISTORIC TREASURE.

Finally, as this box set is a limited edition product, we would like to receive an "online" serial number, from one of a certain quantity of items that were manufactured by BMG-RCA.

I traded in all of my RCA-Victor cds and have sworn to myself not to buy another cd until January, 2000 just so I could afford this set. What can I say? This is some of the most essential, beautiful, innovative, deep music of the 20th century and it is impeccably packaged. This is a set to treasure and to listen to for the rest of your life. The sound is clear and to my ears is more bright than THE BLANTON-WEBSTER YEARS or BLACK, BROWN, AND BEIGE. The book is packed with photos and excellent essays. (Stanley Dance's essay is among his last). My spring and summer listening is going to be the Duke and his men (and ladies) as captured by this superlative set. I can't imagine any box set being any more perfect or compiled with more love. BUY THIS TODAY AND ENRICH YOUR LIFE!