Duke Ellington's Sound of Love

Vienna Art Orchestra | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 15, 2000)
• Original Release Date: February 15, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tcb Music
• ASIN: B000046S05
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #451,809 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Red Garter

2. Very Sepcial

3. Blues in Blueprint

4. Mood Indigo

5. Smada

6. Warm Valley

7. Circle of Fourths

8. Take the "A" Train

9. After All

10. I'm Just a Lucky So and So

11. Blood Count

12. Rockin' in Rhythm

13. A Little Max (Parfait)

14. Sophisticated Lady

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Matthias Rüegg's Vienna Art Orchestra have taken jazz fans on some genuine adventures, covering Anthony Braxton and Scott Joplin vividly within the span of an album. Here, they explore Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, presumably the more intimate sides of the two. Things are, as you might expect, quickly colorful, with a wild-ride swing taking the listener to emotional peaks and blaring precipices. It's not often one finds "Red Garter" and "Blood Count" among Ellington tributes, especially rendered with such a gigantic mix of sonorities. Then there's "Mood Indigo," played as a stellar duet between trombone and guitar that ranges over and riffs on the blues in a slow, plunger-mute bonanza. "Take the 'A' Train" is no less wonderful, made miniature in a bass clarinet and bass duo that rumbles with a bumpy rhythm, just like the rails to Harlem. Among Ellington tributes, Anthony Brown's rundown of the Far East Suite is an instant classic. This live session from the Vienna Art Orchestra is right behind Brown, standing tall in a crowded field of nods to the Duke. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BUY THIS CD NOW!, August 19, 2000

By 

Andrew Hingston (Saint Helena, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duke Ellington's Sound of Love (Audio CD)

This is a virtuoso band of virtuoso players, and it cooks like hell on fire. I've been playing it almost non-stop since I bought it about three weeks ago. The arrangements are not Ellington's, not really anything like Ellington's, except that they capture the master's suaveness and subtlety...and up the octane significantly; they are mostly Matthias Rüegg's -- leader and principal arranger. Whether Ellington purists should buy this CD or not, I cannot say -- probably not. But if you don't mind your Ellington with a big dose of impishly applied Tabasco Sauce, and some humorously unintentional Europeanisms (such as singer Ann Lauvergnac's obviously un-idiomatic English pronounciations and cadances), then this one should have you toe tapping, finger snapping, and smiling all over -- from early morning to late at night, or vice-versa. Worth the price just for the arrangements of Red Garter, Very Special, Circle in Fourth, Rockin in Rhythm and Take the A-Train (unexpectedly presented as an extended bass improvisation on the theme of TTAT). The most exciting recording I've heard in ages, full of brilliant, challenging solos, precise yet lively ensemble work, superb rhythm work, and overflowing joyfulness (you don't just hear it, you feel it). BUY THIS CD NOW!

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing orchestra, April 18, 2011

By 

Bruce Hart "pilgarlic" (USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Duke Ellington's Sound of Love (Audio CD)

The Vienna Art Orchestra compose and perform music like no other. This CD is of Ellington's music and they do it justice in every way. But they have their own slant and approach and this music is not for everyone. If you enjoy unusual then try this and then the Eric Satie Cd which is even better.