Okeh Ellington

Duke Ellington | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 26, 1991)
• Original Release Date: March 26, 1991
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00000274L
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #163,931 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

Digesting the music of Duke Ellington's revolutionary "jungle" period is a complicated pursuit because he recorded multiple arrangements for a number of labels between 1927 and 1932. Sony owns his OKeh and Columbia cuts (found on these two CDs), BMG owns his Victor sides, and Decca owns his Brunswick and Vocalion work (issued on the three-CD Early Ellington). All of them contain readings of standout compositions like "Black and Tan Fantasy," "East St. Louis Toodle-oo," "Black Beauty," "The Mooche," "Mood Indigo," and "Rockin' in Rhythm." The OKeh package lacks versions of "Solitude" and "Creole Love Call," but offers some noteworthy exclusives: superb solo stride-piano versions of "Black Beauty" and "Swampy River"; Jabbo Smith's wonderful trumpet solo on a 1927 version of "Black and Tan Fantasy" as a game-day replacement for "indisposed" co-composer Bubber Miley; and the first recording of "The Mooche," with Miley in control and guitarist Lonnie Johnson augmenting an already formidable lineup that includes Tricky Sam Nanton, Barney Bigard, Harry Carney, and Johnny Hodges. Even when a star like trumpet-growl pioneer Miley moved on, Cootie Williams would more than fill the gap. Musically, Ellington brought jazz to new levels of sophistication, complexity, and emotional depth during this first great period, synthesizing the classic New Orleans sound with a vibrant theatrical element and a dynamic rhythmic impulse. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description

Duke's complete and chronologically ordered output for Okeh and Columbia from 1927 to 1930! Includes The Mooche; Rockin' in Rhythm; Mood Indigo, and more prime Jungle Band material.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous music-wretched engineering, December 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Okeh Ellington (Audio CD)

Unfortunately, Sony engineers Tim Geelan and Larry Keyes take the old school approach to 78s, and amputate the treble along with the noise in these reissues. Once you've heard what really is stored on old 78s -- e.g. in Steven Lasker's superb digital restorations on The Best Of The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition -- sound on "The Okeh Ellingon" is intolerable. One can only hope that these fabulous Ellington tracks get reissued again with different engineers. To hear just how good 78 sound can be, check out Bessie Smith 1925-1933 Hermes label, and The Very Best of Ella Mae Morse.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great music, but I hate this sound., September 6, 2005

By 

Slaninka Frantisek "Fero" (Bratislava Slovakia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Okeh Ellington (Audio CD)

This 2Cd contains some great performances of this absolutely best orchestra ever. I love first version of The Mooche with Baby Cox and Hot & Bothered too. Harlem twist not first but one of the best versions of East St. Louis Toodle-oo. Great version of Mood Indigo and Black and Tan fantasy without Bubber Miley.
And first version of great Rockin'in Rhythm.
This is a essential music for every fans of early jazz.
But!!! sound on this double cd is one of the worst I ever heard.
Absolutely muted, no clarity, no high tones, no drums.
I recorded some songs (Rockin'in Rhythm, The Mooche, Harlem Twist) in Austrian radio station and sound on my cassette is 100% better than on this 2Cd.
I hope then this recordings in future will be release in better form than on this Cd.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Atrocious Noise Reduction Job, October 5, 2005

By 

Smilin' Jack "N/A" (Carrizozo, New Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Okeh Ellington (Audio CD)

I'm appalled this CD is still in print using the same horrid transfers Sony made in 1991. The major label philosophy at that time was, "Eliminate any and all trace of hiss or crackle from the original 78, no matter if it totally kills the music in the process." Great progress has been made since that time in the development of technology to transfer 78s without destroying the music, but has Sony bothered to create a new remaster? No. They are still pressing new CDs from the original 1991 transfers and they sound HORRID. Save your money, I beg of you, and wait for somebody to do this material correctly. This release is a disgrace.