Jungle Nights in Harlem

Duke Ellington | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 9, 1991)
• Original Release Date: April 23, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000002W3Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #327,124 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Night at the Cotton Club, Pt. 1

2. A Night at the Cotton Club, Pt. 2

3. Harlem River Quiver (Brown Berries)

4. I Can't Give You Anything But Love

5. Bandanna Babies

6. I Must Have That Man!

7. Harlemania

8. Hot Feet

9. Arabian Lover

10. The Duke Steps Out

11. Haunted Nights

12. Jazz Lips

13. Sweet Dreams of Love

14. Jungle Nights in Harlem

15. Sweet Jazz O' Mine

16. Mystery Song

17. Medley No. 1: Mood Indigo/Hot and Bothered/Creole Love Call

18. Medley No. 2: East St. Louis Toodle-Oo/Lot O' Fingers/Black and ...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Duke In The Jazz Age, May 4, 2010

By 

Alfred Johnson (boston, ma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jungle Nights in Harlem (Audio CD)

As I have mentioned in previous reviews of various classical jazz artists I came to an appreciation of that musical art from one source, and one source only- Lady Day, Billie Holiday. Along the way I started to get interested in her various back-up musicians which led me to the likes of Lester Young, Johnny Hodges, Artie Shaw and others. And, of course, when you get to Johnny Hodges you naturally have to think of the Duke- Ellington that is. And there you have it, except, that I doubled, no I tripled, my appreciation of the Duke around the time of the centenary of his birthday in 1999.

And I was not wrong to do so, although the CD under review falls more into a piece of jazz history, black musical history, Jazz Age history, Harlem history and, most importantly, Cotton Club history than a source of understanding his huge place in the jazz pantheon. For those unfamiliar with that New York City venue, the Cotton Club, that is the place when all the jazz greats of the 1920s and 1930s aspired to perform- and whites, at least certain whites like those rich ones that the author F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about, went to "kick up their heels", "get their kicks", and, maybe, get "kicked" away from the downtown squares. And Duke and his orchestra (including the afore-mentioned Johnny Hodges, Barney Bigard, Harry Carney, and Cootie Williams among others) was the most serious feature in those days. Wouldn't you pay big money, and gladly, to hear that sound in those surroundings? I think so.

Now, just a note for history's sake, or for the sake of a nod to political correctness. The term "jungle music" has always, as far as I know, had negative connotations about black music or black-related music like rock and roll, and still does. But, my friends, these were the terms of usage for what was going on then so accept it as a piece of history. But, also know this do not miss out on a piece of our common history, jazz, racial, and social by missing Duke and the guys performing "Mood Indigo", "Black and Tan Fantasy", or "The Duke Steps Out" and the others here.