Jazz Party

Duke Ellington | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000026AY
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #25,420 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ellingtonia at it best, June 12, 1998

By 

Emmett T. McQueen (Occupied Calif) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jazz Party (Audio CD)

This is one wild session. Recorded live in the studio (I'm guessing mid sixties) after the band had been on the road. A small coterie of Ellington nuts just happened to show up to hear one of Duke's most creative performances. Guest artists include Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Rushing, Ray Nance, Clark Terry along with regulars Cat Anderson, Johnny Hodges, etc. and nine, count them nine percussionists! Vibraphonists, xylophonists, marimbaists and a glockenspiel.

The first side of this album is played as a suite each tune blending with the next.

Underrated clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton wails on "Red Shoes" adding that great personal touch Duke's groups are known for. The sax section lays down a groove for "Butter" Jackson's and Ray Nance's raw plunger solos, a style rarely used these days. The finale to the suite is called "Ready, Go!" and features the indefatigable Paul Gonsalves in one of the stellar performances of his career.

Dizzy delivers a fine muted then open solo on "Upper Manhattan Medical Group", and Johnny Hodges takes on "All Of Me" next and nails it beautifully. The most avant garde selection follows. "Tymperturbably Blue" features (what else) nine tympani with a commanding ensemble puntuating this furtive and dark melody with occasional stabs from the screaming trumpet section.

Pianist Jimmy Jones plays an adroit intro to "Hello Little Girl" a blues for which Jimmy Rushing is well suited. Dizzy plays on this and drummer Sam Woodyard propels Rushing with well placed bass drum "bombs".

This CD has a lot to offer the "intellectual" jazz listener, but if hearing this session doesn't want to make you get up and dance around the living room I recomend therapy. A desert island pick for sure.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If it's Duke, it's got to be good..., March 22, 2003

By 

William E. Adams (Midland, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jazz Party (Audio CD)

There are scores of Ellington CD's listed by Amazon, but most of them are compilations and many have not been reviewed much. It's hard for the newcomer to know the best values, the best sound, the important tunes in the best versions. "Jazz Party" is a studio date from the latter stage of the Ellington Orchestra's career. Recorded in early 1959, this album pleased Duke and his producer Irving Townsend, and it is quite likely to please you, too. The only really famous Ellington standard on here is "Satin Doll" and this version is not as good as the one you'll find on the CD "Compact Jazz--Duke Ellington and Friends." I recommend that collection highly. "Jazz Party" is valuable for its own sake, however in several ways. First, there is the 20-minute "Toot Suite" which features fine solos by several of the Ellington regulars. Next, there are two percussion-laden tunes with guest artists from classical orchestras. Third, Dizzy Gillespie brings his upswept trumpet to two numbers. Fourth, the great Johnny Hodges solos on sax on "All of Me" and it is short but sweet. Finally, guest Jimmy Rushing does a gravelly vocal on "Hello Little Girl." This CD re-release gives us nearly 50 minutes of good large group jazz in an amazing variety of styles. If you already like Ellington, you'll enjoy this one a lot. If you are not very familiar with his recordings, this will start off your collection at a nice price, although you will definitely want to own additional releases. I advise listening to it a couple of times with the earphones on first. There is a lot going on here, and the greatest touches are easier to discern if you give the disc undivided and intimate attention at first. Since this was a stereo session from '59, the sound quality is excellent throughout.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Duke and friends, February 7, 2003

By 

Steve Thomas (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jazz Party (Audio CD)

Duke and his orchestra are joined in this 1959 session by jazz luminaries Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Rushing and Jimmy Jones as well as an elaborate percussion section including xylophone, vibraphone and marimba.

Lest you worry that the orchstra doesn't get it's fair share of time, the centerpiece of the album is one of Duke's better suites, "Toot Suite" and all the solos on this piece are handled by regulars including Britt Woodman, Russell Procope, Quincy Jackson and Paul Gonsalves. Paul's solo on the last part of the suite, "Ready Go!", is somewhat reminiscent of his famous performance at Newport a few years earlier. Later on, Johnny Hodges does his thing on "All of Me".

The percussion section is featured on a couple of tracks, Malletoba Spank and Tymperturbably Blue, which are as exotic and delightful as their names. Dizzy's contributions come on Strayhorn's UMMG and on the final track, "Hello, Little Girl". The latter also feature Rushing's vocals. Needless to say, Dizzy is fantastic.

My only gripe is that for some reason, "Toot Suite" is tracked as one title, though clearly it is four (at least) separate pieces. I'd like to be able to select some of the pieces individually, but oh, well. I have no other complaints with the CD, which features nice stereo sound.