Duke In Blue

Ellis Marsalis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 23, 2011)
• Original Release Date: November 2, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Columbia
• ASIN: B00002MZ1J
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #120,541 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Despite his prodigious talents on piano, Ellis Marsalis has been largely content to remain in his hometown of New Orleans, raising sons who would go on to win wide acclaim in the jazz world. And with albums like Duke in Blue to his credit, Marsalis ought to be content, as this is easily among the most fulfilling nods to Ellington in his centennial year. The playing is neither reserved nor sporty, relying on color and a slowed pace to demonstrate how well Ellington built his works from behind the keyboard. "Come Sunday" gets the most sublime reading, and "The Mooche" gets the broadest, brightest jump, opening the session. In between, there's "Squatty Roo" with its finger-jumping complexity and "Reflections in D" to quietly indulge a melancholic strain that runs throughout Duke in Blue. Maybe Marsalis's vision of Ellington is suffused with the blues, not just their structure but their philosophic, on-the-run underpinnings. After all, Marsalis chose to remain somewhat local in the Crescent City, deepening his family's legacy for sure. And Ellington? Well, he barely came off the road for home leave in all his decades of touring. In any event, Marsalis sounds experienced and wise throughout his Ellingtonian forays, ever comfortable and carefully creative. --Andrew Bartlett

Product Description

Duke In Blue by Ellis Marsalis

This product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT, November 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Duke In Blue (Audio CD)

I RECENTLY SAW "E" PLAY A MOSTLY SOLO SET AT SNUG HARBOR IN NEW ORLEANS. A LOT OF THESE SONGS WERE IN THAT SET, AND IT IS GOOD TO HAVE A RECORDING OF THEM. EVEN WHEN DUKE WAS ALIVE, SOLO PIANO PERFORMANCES BY HIM WERE RARE. "E" IS ONE OF FEW MUSICIANS WHO CAN GIVE US THIS TYPE OF REPRESENTATION OF DUKE'S MUSIC. WE ARE VERY LUCKY TO HAVE THIS IMMENSE TALENT AVAILABLE. I HOPE YOU GET ACHANCE TO ENJOY THIS DISK.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars blue skies, August 29, 2003

By 

"perryink2" (castle rock) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duke In Blue (Audio CD)

Last year, a select few jazz musicians and vocalists celebrated the centennial of the Edward Kennedy `Duke' Ellington's birth with their own interpretations of the composer and pianist's catalogue. This one, courtesy of the Marsalis family patriarch, is one of the best. Marsalis (who admits he once thought of Ellington as a senior citizen back when he himself was a Bebop absorbed teenager enamored of so-called `hip' jazz players like Charlie Parker and Thelonius Monk) goes it alone on the ivories for this collection of decidely alternative choices from Duke's repetoire. That the flavour of New Orleans courses through the song selection on Duke In Blue is hardly surprising considering Marsalis' roots in that city. But he avoids the trap of being staid and overly faithful of Duke's sheet music; sprinkling just the right amount of spice on the uptempo tracks, including a steaming broil of The Mooche, an exceptionally zesty slice of improvisation (Caravan) and a finger-sizzling rendition of Squatty Roo. The ballads (Prelude To A Kiss, Sophisticated Lady, Mood Indigo) are spared radical reinvention but they do provide Marsalis the chance to showcase the soft and delicately expressive side of his piano playing. While the up and down mood and sparse instrumentation of Duke In Blue might throw some people off, Marsalis' tribute is an unpretentious and distinctive as it gets.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The correct track listing of this fine CD, April 13, 2008

By 

M. van den Assem (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Duke In Blue (Audio CD)

Ellis Marsalis : Duke in Blue

1. The Mooche
2. Prelude To A Kiss
3. Squatty Roo
4. Sophisticated Lady
5. Just Squeeze Me (But Don't Tease Me)
6. Mood Indigo
7. Caravan
8. Come Sunday
9. Creole Love Call
10. Reflections In D
11. Drop Me Off In Harlem
12. Melancholia
13. Medley: I'm Beginning To See The Light - Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me - In A Mellow Tone
14. Duke In Blue

Only the sound samples of 1-11 are given here (with the correct sound)
but wrongly labelled with compositions by Thelonious Monk.