Customer Reviews

The Private Collection, Vol. 8: Studio Sessions 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967: San Francisco, Chicago, New York

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"The Private Collection" refers to a series of 10 CD's that were literally privately created and produced by Ellington for his own personal use. After he died they became public (first in Denmark, if you can believe, because his son Mercer married a citizen). Anyway, it is hard to fathom that such an amazing collection of work, spanning decades, could be "discovered" after the death of such an amazingly prodigious artist such as Ellington, but they do exist and you certainly can listen to them! The 10 CDs are mostly studio sessions. Discs 2 and 6 are of live dance dates.

They are all worthwhile, but disc 8 is where I would begin. It consists of 16 tracts, most of which were never before released, recorded in 1957, 1965, 1966 and 1967. The tracts that were released in different versions are certainly worthwhile. "Moon Mist", as an example, contains a fine solo by Ellington stallworth, Paul Gonsalves.

The highlight of the CD are the 1967 sessions "Lele", "Lady","Rondolet" and "Ocht O'Clock Rock". (Later somewhat revised and known as "Acht O'Clock Rock" on the excellent The Afro-Eurasian Eclispe album released in 1971). Supposedly they were created by Ellington as a response to the growing popularity of rock music. Whether that is true or not, they definetly are atypical attempts by the Duke to really push the limits of swing in his band. The brass arrangements are absolutely sensational. The Duke's piano playing, pitch perfect.

The Private Collection sessions are not where I would start as a beginer of Ellington. It is an excellent album, but the Duke has literally a dozen albums that were released during his lifetime that are not merely classic, but indispensable to the history of Jazz. But... if you already have the classic albums, or just want to broaden your horizons with the Duke, you will definetly not be disapointed. I suspect that once you start with this one, you will wind up getting all the Private Collection Cds. (Like I did!)

Duke Ellington's small group ensemble recordings ,are intimate and introspective.A special feel , a special sound.Relaxed and satisfying. Duke's perfect piano flourishes are precise and magical.Charles Mingus, Max Roach and many others work with him on this multi CD private collection , but always small group settings. This volume, number 8 is my personal favorite, of this 10 CD box set. It seems easier to obtain the disks individually. You will love this !!