Carnegie Hall Concerts, January 1943 [LIVE]

Duke Ellington

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 1, 1991)
• Original Release Date: 1977
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Prestige
• ASIN: B000000ZFV
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #144,206 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

Though the audio quality of this, the first of Ellington's annual Carnegie Hall concert presentations, is not the greatest, the music is utterly extraordinary. Beginning, appropriately enough for a wartime concert, with "The Star Spangled Banner" and moving through a cavalcade of the band's greatest arrangements and solo features (including an uncommonly brisk, virtuoso turn for Ben Webster and company on "Cotton Tail"), The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943 is a stunning portrait of America's greatest orchestra at the peak of its powers. As was his wont, the Duke used these concerts as a springboard for the premiere of an extended work, and what really makes this an essential item for fans and collectors is the only complete recorded document of Ellington's "Black, Brown and Beige" (Duke later recorded a very moving but incomplete version featuring Mahalia Jackson for Columbia). A sweeping, ambitious long form, "Black, Brown and Beige" traces the history of African Americans from slavery days onward, alternating between the celebratory and the reflective. It features some of Duke's most inspired writing and one magnificent solo spot after another, but none so grand as Johnny Hodges's stunning testimonial on "Come Sunday." --Chip Stern

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I agree -- essential., July 28, 2005

By	Steve Schwartz (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews

Ellington's large works have usually been slammed by classical music critics, who apparently expected him to produce Beethovenian sonata-allegros. Furthermore, they had very little idea of the popular models Ellington took off from. "Black, Brown, and Beige" in particular suffered from this kind of ignorant dismissal. Ellington's dearest ambition was to be taken seriously as a composer, in the sense that Bartok and Stravinsky were, rather than as a "mere" bandleader and songwriter, and these criticisms made him insecure and extremely defensive. After his critical mauling, Ellington withdrew "Black, Brown, and Beige" for a time and jettisoned at least two movements. When BB&B returned, it had been substantially rethought. Fortunately, all the original had been recorded (although not all of it at the Carnegie Hall concert), and that's what this CD gives us here. This is a highpoint of Ellington, which means a highpoint of American music (popular or classical), and for that reason alone, this CD justifies its existence. In addition, you get the Ellington band of the Forties in performances of classics like "Ko-ko," "Rockin' in Rhythm," the portraits of Bert Williams, Florence Mills, and Bojangles, "Cotton Tail," "Black and Tan Fantasy," "Boy Meets Horn," and many more Ellington standards, as well as "Rose of the Rio Grande," to remind you that the band wasn't in it just for the art. The sound isn't the best, even for recordings of the period, but that consideration is absolutely irrelevant for people who actually listen to music, rather than to engineering.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Including some of the greatest music of the 20th century, February 27, 2002

By	JEAN-MARIE JUIF (BESANCON France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This set is extraordinary.Of course,the sound quality is not hi-fi,but it's very acceptable for a live recording of the war days.But more than this,like Duke's magnificent live recording in Fargo,1940,this concert includes some of the greatest music ever played.First, a look on the players: Rex Stewart,Shorty Baker,Wallace Jones,Ray Nance,trumpets;Lawrence Brown,Juan Tizol,Tricky Sam Nanton,trombone;Johnny Hodges,Harry Carney,Ben Webster,Otto Hardwicke,Chauncey Haughton,saxes;Fred Guy,guitar;Junior Raglin,bass;Sonny Greer,drums;Betty Roché,vocals;and of course,Duke on piano.The highlights ? All the tunes! But mostly,and incredible,more than six minutes long version of the old "Black and tan fantasy",with superlative playing by Hodges (did he ever played something that wasn't superlative?),great,very great growl and muted trombone by Sam Nanton (1904-1946),maybe the greatest master on this very difficult instrument;listen to his almost human voice when he plays trombone;this is truly overwhelming.Nobody never played trombone that way."Moon mist",a Billy Strayhorn (1919-1967) original,is a perfect vehicle for the violin of Ray Nance (1913-1976)."Jumping punkins" features Sonny Greer,Duke's greater drummer with Sam Woodyard (1925-1988).Then,the portraits: "Portrait of Bert Williams",featuring Sam Nanton in another extraordinary wah-wah intervention;"Portrait of Bojangles",one of the immense masterpieces from 1940,with a furious tenor sax solo by Ben Webster(1909-1973),maybe one of the greatest things ever blown;"Portrait of Florence Mills",aka "Black beauty",features the underrated Shorty Baker.Then comes THE masterpiece,the tune that will urge you to buy the set: "Koko",another 1940 gem.Don't miss it,this is one of a handful of masterpieces in the history of jazz.Nanton is sublime,and the arrangement is completly out of this world.Two minutes and twenty seconds of pure madness.I really wonder who many hours it took them to rehearse this amazing,short piece of music."Stomp",or "Johnny come lately",is a very difficult composition by Strayhorn,with great band playing."Black,brown and beige",an almost 50 minutes long suite,is a masterpiece which was very rarely played by Duke's band.It features,among others,some unreal playing by Sam Nanton.Then,another gem from 1940,"Jack the bear" and "Cotton tail",played at an incredible tempo by Ben Webster.The relaxed an melancholic "Day dream",in which Johnny Hodges swings one of the greatest things ever played on alto sax;"Boy meets horn",featuring Rex Stewart (1907-1967),another underrated master.And finally,"Mood indigo",one of the most beautiful tunes ever composed.Please,don't miss this very important concert,because it includes some of the greatest things ever played.Just forget the sound quality (which is not so bad),and let Duke's band seduce you .

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Category, January 24, 2007

By	Joe Richards (Belgium) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If the performance of Black, Brown and Beige were the only thing on this CD, it would be cheap at ten thousand dollars. BB&B was not just a premiere of a new work but the start of a new direction for Ellington's composing. Sadly, the critics of the day weren't happy with it and this had a negative effect on the Duke. Objectively, the performance does have some weak points and most of the second half of the third (last) movement is spent aimlessly wandering around before coming to a pompous closing. Ellington was a procrastinator and it sounds that he left the third movement for too late and hurriedly threw something together at the last minute. To be fair, in spite of its unhappy ending, the first part of the third movement is absolutely beautiful, without paralell and beyond category. Also worth mentioning is that Ellington was in constant activity with travelling, playing live performances, radio shows and making recordings. He did not have the luxury of being able to take some time off and work exclusively on this project until it reached a satisfactory conclusion.

The other side here is that both serious and jazz critics seemed to have completely missed the bus on this composition. They did not see the significance of the fact that for the first time someone had written an entire jazz concert piece that lasted three quarters of an hour. At least one critic complained that it was not made for dancing. Better yet, it was initially presented as part of the composer's first concert in the most hallowed venue of serious music in the USA, which upset some critics who didn't believe that a dance or jazz orchestra should be playing serious music. Some critics said the story that Ellington was trying to tell was much too big for the time allotted, that it was too ambitious and maybe a little beyond his abilities as a composer. Perhaps there is some validity in these points, especially given that Ellington had never done anything so large before and there were absolutely no precedents to refer to. There were also no references that the critics could use for their evaluations, which may explain some of the negative reviews. BB&B was about three times longer than anything he had done previously.

I do know that BB&B came right from Ellington's heart as he was deeply concerned about the poor situation of black people in the USA back then. It was music, but the purpose was more than just entertainment or pushing the musical envelope. It made a statement, a statement that was really more positive than the actual situation in those days warranted. This positive attitude was based on Ellington's optimism that the situation would get better. It did, but it took 21 more years for the Civil Rights Act to become the law of the land. BB&B also took jazz to a new level (not the first time the Duke had done this and not the last) both as a composition and for the many beautiful individual performances that it contains.

As to the sound quality, there were two microphones used. One was for the band, the other for the spoken announcements and the soloists. They were fed into a speaker backstage and the output went to a recording studio by telephone... We are very lucky indeed to be able to enjoy this historic performance today, sixty-plus years later.

I have the entire DE series on the Classics label from France, the Alternative Takes series, all six of the Carnegie Hall Concerts from the forties, Fargo, and many other DE items in my collection. BB&B has been one of my top DE favorites since I first heard it on LP over thirty years ago. I think it is one of the most important pieces of American music ever written, in any genre. Don't hesitate over buying this CD. It will be the best musical investment you will ever make.