Duke Ellington 1924 1927

Duke Ellington | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 11, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Allegro Corporation
• ASIN: B000001NJ3
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #388,115 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Choo Choo (Gotta Hurry Home) - The Washingtonians

2. Rainy Nights - The Washingtonians

3. I'm Gonna Hang Around My Sugar - The Washingtonians

4. Trombone Blues - The Washingtonians

5. Georgia Grind - Duke Ellington's Washingtonians

6. Parlor Social Stomp - Duke Ellington's Washingtonians

7. (You've Got Those) Wanna-Go-Back-Again Blues - Duke Ellington

8. If You Can't Hold The Man You Love - Duke Ellington

9. Animal Crackers - Duke Ellington And His Washingtonians

10. Li'l Farina - Duke Ellington And His Washingtonians

11. East St. Louis Toodle O - Duke Ellington And His Kentucky Club Orchestra

12. Birmingham Breakdown - Duke Ellington And His Kentucky Club Orchestra

13. Immigration Blues - Duke Ellington And His Kentucky Club Orchestra

14. The Creeper - Duke Ellington And His Kentucky Club Orchestra

15. New Orleans Low-Down - Duke Ellington And His Kentucky Club Orchestra

16. Song Of The Cotton Field - Duke Ellington And His Kentucky Club Orchestra

17. Birmingham Breakdown - Duke Ellington And His Kentucky Club Orchestra

18. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo - Duke Ellington And His Kentucky Club Orchestra

19. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo - Duke Ellington And His Washingtonians

20. Hop Head - Duke Ellington And His Washingtonians

See all 23 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For the Ellington completist, September 2, 2003

By 

bukhtan (Chicago, Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duke Ellington 1924 1927 (Audio CD)

This is the first in the "Chronogical [sic] Classics" series (Melodie Jazz Classics, operating in France) for Duke Ellington.
The first ten tracks are not currently available on CD elsewhere, to my knowledge; the first volume in the "Masters of Jazz" series (also French) for Ellington included these as well as some other early (i.e. pre "East St. Louis Toodle-O") recordings, but that CD is hard to find and indeed the "Masters of Jazz" series appears to have become defunct.
Tracks 11 to 23 are available elsewhere: the Columbia recordings (there are three of them) on the Columbia 2-CD set "the Okeh Ellington", and the Brunswick and Vocalion numbers (the rest) on the 3-CD Decca/MCA set "Early Ellington". The Decca set includes alternate takes, and the sound on both the Columbia and Decca sets is slightly better than that afforded by Classics.
Because these major label sets are easy to find, most Ellington fans considering this CD will focus on the first ten tracks, which were recorded for the Blu Disc, Pathe, and Gennett labels between 1924 and June 1926 (after Sidney Bechet's brief and non-extant stay with the band in the summer of 1924). These recordings have frequently been disparaged but they are not really that bad, and they will certainly be enjoyable to Ellington enthusiasts. They might be described as pop music with a distinct jazz and blues flavor. All of these arrangements are in the New York style, with no attempt to imitate New Orleans polyphony. Choo-Choo and Rainy Nights feature a small combo including Duke, Otto Hardwick on various reeds, Bubber Miley on trumpet, Charlie Irvis on trombone, Freddy Guy on banjo, and Sonny Greer on the scarcely audible drums. The later ensembles are somewhat larger. Blu Disc & Gennett seem to have preserved the best sound quality, and the sequential solos already have the somewhat operatic quality that would become characteristic of Duke's orchestra, with a fair degree of individualism though not yet of technical prowess. Bubber Miley stands out among these soloists. Unfortunately, Miley didn't make the recording sessions for several of the other numbers, performed by considerably augmented ensembles, and was frequently replaced by less distinctive trumpeters. Don Redman appears on two of the numbers, and "Wanna go back again blues" and "Can't hold the man you love" feature the great trombonist Jimmy Harrison (usually associated with Fletcher Henderson), who sings on these sides as well. Of these recordings, "Choo choo", "Rainy nights" and "Lil Farina" are probably the best realized.
Other early Ellington recordings, mostly featuring novelty numbers with singers (among them Sonny Greer), are available on the 1924-1929 "Alternate Takes" volume, part of a series coordinated with the Chronogical Classics.
Four stars rather than five, as this is not the most vital Ellington and sound quality is not of the best. But those who pursue all Ellingtonia might be tempted to add a star.