Customer Reviews

Ellington '65

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Ellington '65 gives us eleven instrumental numbers covered by the incomparable Duke Ellington and His Orchestra. Duke Ellington and His Orchestra do some of their best work on this CD even though they had been together a long time already by 1965.

"Hello Dolly" begins with a fine piano introduction and when the saxophone ensemble comes in the number takes flight! The musical arrangement makes great use of the horns, strings, and piano. Duke's orchestra does great justice to "Hello Dolly." "Call me Irresponsible" lets the horn take the lead as the percussion and drums bolster the melody of this timeless classic. Wow! This is elegance!

"Danke Schöen" sports a faster tempo than normal; the clarinet and trumpet arrangements greatly enhance "Danke Schöen." The tempo eventually picks up even slightly faster as more musicians come in on horn and percussion. Great! "More" features Russell Procope on a low register clarinet; the clarinet, percussion and piano bolster "More" and raise it to even new heights as a classic romantic ballad. I predict that you will enjoy "More" very, very much.

"Never On Sunday" begins with some great drum playing; and the clarinet adds to the beauty of this number. "Never On Sunday" sports some incredible horn playing later on in the number which infuses this track with a degree of playfulness we rarely see in this number. Excellent! "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," in Duke Ellington's hands, will appeal to more than just the Tony Bennett fans out there. The horns work well for this number; and the tempo is just right to enhance the romantic qualities of "I Left My Heart In San Francisco." The musicians make it all look so easy; although of course we know it really wasn't. These are men of genius!

The band also tackles a cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' In The Wind." The brass does wonders for "Blowin' In The Wind;" and their musical arrangement infuses Dylan's number with a very special Latin flavor. ¡Olé!

The liner notes include the original liner notes by Leonard Feather; and the fine artwork literally and figuratively adds color to the notes. We also get the lineup of musicians in Duke's band.

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra will never be forgotten. They wove their magic through countless numbers over a career that spanned several decades. I highly recommend this CD for Duke Ellington fans; and people who enjoy "mood music" from the 1960s will cherish this album for years to come.

Enjoy!

Albums "Ellington 65" & "Ellington 66" were recorded in April, 15, 16 and 27 1964 (Ellington 65), and in May, 19 1964, January, 19 & 21 1965. Both of them

were released on Reprise in 1965 and 1966. Only "Satin Doll" on "Ellington 66" is well known melody played before by this great orchestra, but the rest is a rare

repertory for Ellington. Nearly all titles on both albums are well known melodies from musicals, films or simply well-known, good music of well-known composers.

Arrangements are excellent, and the orchestra sounds like it plays melodies written by Duke himself. And the quality of the sound is high too. The CDs are very good.