Duke Ellington: Blues in Orbit (Columbia Jazz Masterpieces)

Duke Ellington | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Columbia
• ASIN: B0000026I2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,099 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Blue In Orbit

2. Track 360

3. Villes Ville Is The Place, Man

4. Brown Penny

5. Three J's Blues

6. Smada

7. Pie Eye's Blues

8. C Jam Blues

9. Sweet & Pungent

10. In A Mellotone

11. Sentimental Lady

12. Blues In Blueprint

13. The Swingers Get The Blues, Too

14. The Swinger's Jump

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Late 50's Duke, January 19, 2003

By 

Steve Thomas (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duke Ellington: Blues in Orbit (Columbia Jazz Masterpieces) (Audio CD)

"Blues in Orbit" seems to get overlooked when Ellington's best albums are discussed, but it is a real keeper. There are 14 tracks, none of them is longer than 4:50 and it is all good stuff. There are some familiar favorites like "In a Mellotone" and "C Jam Blues" as well as less often heard gems like "Blues in Blueprint and "Sweet and Pungent". It is also in stereo, which doesn't hurt matters.

The featured performers include Ellington stalwarts Johnny Hodges, Ray Nance, Harry Carney and Jimmy Hamilton, as well as the less familiar Booty Wood and Matthew Gee. Johnny, in particular is well showcased here, taking the lead not only in slow pieces like "Brown Penny" and "Sentimental Lady", but also in the rousing, "Smada", which is probably my favorite track. Ray shines on his trumpet, but also gets to play the violin on "C Jam Blues".

Among Duke's later works (post-1950), "Ellington at Newport" and "Far East Suite" are more famous, but I have all three on CD and find myself listening to this one more than either of those two. If you like Ellington or 50's era jazz, I don't see how you can't like this album.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Duke Album, February 12, 1999

By 

Jeff Richardson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duke Ellington: Blues in Orbit (Columbia Jazz Masterpieces) (Audio CD)

This is by far one of my favorite Duke Ellington albums to date. I have not found and album since which makes me smile after I listen to it like this one does.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly great, somewhat forgotten Ellington album, October 15, 2003

By 

chefdevergue (Spokane, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Blues in Orbit (Audio CD)

Why this album is not better known is a mystery to me. The album overflows with one excellent arrangement after another, often harkening back to a traditional 12-bar blues format. The band has a bizarre arrangement of personnel, with only the single trumpet of Ray Nance going up against a full reed section, but you would never know that anything was out of the ordinary from the sound of the band.

My particular favorites on this album include "Smada" featuring reed work by Johnny Hodges that matches up with anything that he ever did; "Track 360," and some great blues arrangements, "Pie Eye's Blues," "The Singers Get the Blues, Too," and "The Swinger's Jump" (what a great way to end an album!).

This is one of my very favorite Ellington recordings, one I never tire of listening to. It took a long time for me to find a copy of this CD, and I am forever grateful that I did.