Live & Rare [Import]

Duke Ellington | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 8, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2003
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Import
• Label: Bmg Japan
• ASIN: B0000QWXE0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #904,320 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Piano Player

2. Creole Love Call

3. Don't You Know I Care (Or Don't You Care to Know)

4. I Can't Get Started

5. New York, New York

6. Pitter Panther Patter

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Ellington Speaks

2. Caravan

3. Ellington Speaks

4. Mood Indigo

5. Ellington Speaks

6. The Mooche

See all 27 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. La Dolce Vita

2. Alfie

3. Spanish Flea

4. Mañha de Carnaval

5. A Taste of Honey

6. Summer Samba (Samba de Verão)

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars If you don't have this CD set you're not missing much, June 21, 2002

By 

Michael J. Connor (Waltham, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live and Rare (Audio CD)

It's hard for me to work up much enthusiam for this 3 cd set. The first cd has excerpts from Ellington's two concerts in Eastbourne England on December 1, 1973. Except for a taping at the BBC a few days later, these were concerts were Ellington's last recorded concerts in Europe, and only a few months later he was dead. The band is still functioning, but it's just a shadow of the band it was even just a few years earlier. The Piano Player and Meditation, the two Ellington features are the highlights.

The second cd has The Duke at Tanglewood--Ellington's collaboration with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. This is the least successful of Ellington's crossover projects. Instead of performing the material that Ellington wrote with orchestration in mind, say, "Night Creature," we get some of Ellington's popular hits orchestrated for the Pops. Although Fiedler had great respect for Ellington, he found it very difficult to work with him. The producers have added promotional material to the orignial release. This interweaving doesn't add much to the material.

The third cd has the songs that Ellington recorded for Reader's Digest in 1969. "The whole set suggests the sound of the band at a sophisticated wedding party..." says the liner notes. That's not much of an endorsement. Of all of Ellington's recordings these interest me the least. Very few of these songs were ever performed by Ellington in public.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointing, November 7, 2002

By 

KS (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live and Rare (Audio CD)

I love Ellington... and I have about 20 CDs of his music. This set is only one which is a disappointment.

Disk 1 is the best of the three, and features some interesting stuff.

Disk 2 has recorded comments by Ellington. These are a one-sided conversation: the idea is that a local DJ would ask a question, and then run the recording of Ellington answering, simulating a conversation which never actually took place. It's kinda creepy. The 'interviews' are interspersed with music. Ellington's band plays with the Boston Pops, and its by far the worst, most square music Ellington ever recorded.

Disc 3 is a bit better, semi-kitschy arrangements of non-Ellington tunes recorded for Reader's Digest. Some interesting stuff, but not as good as Ellington's original tunes.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For fans and audiophiles., June 11, 2002

By 

chris tuttle (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live and Rare (Audio CD)

I've been an avid Ellington afficionado for quite some time, and I must say this collection is the holy grail for any Ellington collector. Aside from the historical significance of these selections, the expert musicianship and previously unavailable bonus material, the remastering is impeccable. I don't believe that any available material by Ellington exists with the sonic excellence of many of these selections. For those who have never heard the Duke live in person, here is the closest you are going to get. For beginners, there are other compilations(eg Sony's centennial 3CD set) that offer a better intro, but for fans of any intensity and audiophiles this is a must own.