Customer Reviews

Very Best of Duke Ellington

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is of course impossible to produce a one CD "best of" Duke Ellington without a certain degree of arbitrariness and inevitable key omissions, but leaving that aside, this is a delightful compilation, one of the best one CD compilations available. One has to make some allowances too for the age of the recordings (for some reason old Ellington recordings never sound quite as clean as Armstrong recordings from the same time period), but RCA has done a very good job with the remastering and the CD by and large sounds better than, for example, the Ken Burns compilation.

Once again, I am back with a Duke review. And I say, "SUPERB!" My favorite is, "Take the A train" among others. The level of the bass on this song must have been heart pounding when heard live, judging from this CD; I'd say it was very noticeable. There was a hint of old recording crackling in the background when heard through earphones, but the recordings really were very clear. I could listen to this CD all day long. Another great CD I recommend.

This CDs recordings span 40 years, and that should account for some of the difference in sound quality. However, I have some of these same records in my collection, which sound better and cleaner than the transfers here. "Warm Valley" is particularly disappointing; there is substantial swish and crackle throughout which could have been minimized very easily. Some of the work is wonderful, some is awful. I would expect better from BMG.

There's some slight crackling on this disc, but it's not bad at all, just enough to add some extra ambience to all those freezing winter evenings spent at home on your couch under the toasty glow of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra. The recordings on this compilation date from between 1928 and 1966, so the sound quality varies, but it's never annoying. As for the Duke's music, if you ever get tired of "Take The 'A' Train", "Cotton Tail", or "Isfahan", you're nuts.

An excellent variety of Duke Ellington's music which includes both vocals and instrumentals. While the quality of each recording is not perfect, the imprefections add to the ambience associated with listening to the originals on the radio.

I sought out this disk as an intro to Duke Ellington's work and to acquire a recording of "Take the 'A' Train." "'A' Train" is without vocals on this disk, which was disappointing for me. Guess I'll have to look elsewhere for a vocal rendition of that piece. ("I Got It Bad...", "Don't You Know...", "Come Sunday" all have excellent vocals on this disk)

Also dissapointing is the quality of many of the recordings. Perhaps this is as good as it gets in terms of what survives today. If so, that's a shame. Hiss and scratches are prominent, particularly in "Mood Indigo" and "Creole Rhapsody." Also, many of the solo instruments seem overdriven (I might even say too loud for their respective mixes), causing distortion in the early songs on the disk -- "Warm Valley", "Jack The Bear", and "Rockin' In Rhythm" in particular. In general, sound quality does improve as you get deeper into the CD and encounter the more recent recordings.

My Duke Ellington knowledge is limited, but if asked if I would recommend this disk as a way of introduction, I would say no. There must be something better out there.

I bought this for my mom, she really enjoyed the old tunes. The seller delivered as promised.

Duek Ellington was my first introduction to Jazz Music and in truth after him and no offense to anyone else,but his standards of Music and overall Composition, arragements and his Band were set so high that you could forever be lost in his groove and never want to come out. he had a classy flair for playing and a vibe that matched it. "take the A train" was the first cut that got me hooked with him. it's hard to just put all of his best on one disc let alone 5, but this is a strong sampler and a good place to start. he had incredible talent all around him and he made it swing because his music always had that thing.

Love listening to this Duke Ellington collection of tunes. I could listen to it every day and never tier of it. This is great background music for my home office, since it's not distracting. Uplifting and fun for anyone who enjoys music of this time.

Just receive this CD, and it is great. Nice variety of the Duke's music. Could listen to it all day and not get tired of it.