Masterpieces by Ellington
Encyclopedia
Masterpieces by Ellington is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington
recorded for the Columbia
label in 1950 as Ellington's first LP album
. The album was re-released in 2004 with additional bonus tracks recorded at later sessions.
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
recorded for the Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
label in 1950 as Ellington's first LP album
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
. The album was re-released in 2004 with additional bonus tracks recorded at later sessions.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Bruce Eder awarded the album 4½ stars and stated "For the first time in his recording career, Ellington was able to forego the three-minutes-and-change restrictions in running time of the 78-rpm disc — he and the band rose to the occasion".Track listing
:All compositions by Duke Ellington except as indicated- "Mood IndigoMood Indigo"Mood Indigo" is a jazz composition and song, with music by Duke Ellington and Barney Bigard with lyrics by Irving Mills.-Disputed authorship:In a 1987 interview, Mitchell Parish claimed to have written the lyrics:...
" (Ellington, Barney BigardBarney BigardAlbany Leon Bigard, aka Barney Bigard, was an American jazz clarinetist and tenor saxophonist, though primarily known for the clarinet....
, Irving MillsIrving MillsIrving Mills was a jazz music publisher, also known by the name of "Joe Primrose."Mills was born to Jewish parents in the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. He founded Mills Music with his brother Jack in 1919...
) - 15:27 - "Sophisticated LadySophisticated Lady"Sophisticated Lady" is a jazz standard, composed as an instrumental in 1932 by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills, to which words were added by Mitchell Parish. The words met with approval from Ellington, who described them as "wonderful—but not entirely fitted to my original conception".That...
" (Ellington, Mills, Mitchell ParishMitchell ParishMitchell Parish was an American lyricist.-Early life:Parish was born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky to a Jewish family in Lithuania. His family emigrated to the United States, arriving on February 3, 1901 on the SS Dresden when he was less than a year old...
) - 11:29 - "The Tattooed Bride" - 11:43
- "Solitude(In My) Solitude" Solitude" is a 1934 jazz standard, composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics by Eddie DeLange and Irving Mills.- Notable recordings :* Paul Robeson, bass with orchestra. Recorded in London on October 18, 1937...
" (Ellington, Mills, Eddie DeLangeEddie DeLangeEddie DeLange was an American bandleader and lyricist. Famous artists who recorded some of DeLange's songs include Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, and Benny Goodman.-Biography:...
) - 8:26 - "Vagabonds" (Ellington, Juan TizolJuan TizolJuan Tizol was a Puerto Rican trombonist and composer.He was born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. Music was a large part of his life from an early age. His first instrument was the violin, but he soon switched to valve trombone, the instrument he would play throughout his career...
, Johnny BurkeJohnny BurkeJohnny Burke was a Newfoundland songwriter and musician. He was nicknamed the 'Bard of Prescott Street'. He wrote many popular songs that artists in the 1930s and 1940s released.Popular songs by Burke include:* The Night Paddy Murphy Died...
) - 3:11 Bonus track on CD reissue - "Smada" (Ellington, Billy StrayhornBilly StrayhornWilliam Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
) - 2:48 Bonus track on CD reissue - "Rock Skippin' at the Blue Note" (Ellington, Strayhorn) - 2:27 Bonus track on CD reissue
- Recorded in New York on December 18, 1950 (tracks 1-4) and August 7 (tracks 6 & 7), & December 11 (track 5), 1951.
Personnel
- Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Billy StrayhornBilly StrayhornWilliam Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
– pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Cat Anderson (tracks 1-4, 6 & 7), Shorty BakerShorty BakerHarold "Shorty" Baker was a jazz trumpeter.Baker started on drums, but switched to trumpet in his teens. He began on riverboats and played with Don Redman in the mid-1930s. He also worked with Teddy Wilson and Andy Kirk before his more noted association with Duke Ellington...
, Mercer EllingtonMercer EllingtonMercer Kennedy Ellington was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger.Ellington was born in Washington, DC, the son of famous composer, pianist, and bandleader Duke Ellington...
(tracks 1-4), Fats Ford (tracks 1-4), Ray NanceRay NanceRay Willis Nance was a jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer.Nance is best known for his long association with Duke Ellington through most of the 1940s and 1950s, after he was hired to replace Cootie Williams in 1940...
, Nelson WilliamsNelson WilliamsNelson "Cadillac" Williams was an American jazz trumpeter.Williams began playing piano at age 13 and settled on trumpet soon afterwards; he may have played with Cow Cow Davenport while still a teenager...
- trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Lawrence Brown (tracks 1-4), Tyree GlennTyree GlennEvan Tyree Glenn was an American trombone player.-Biography:...
(tracks 1-4), Quentin JacksonQuentin JacksonQuentin "Butter" Jackson was an American jazz trombonist. In the early stage of his career he worked with Cab Calloway and was in the Duke Ellington Orchestra...
, Britt WoodmanBritt WoodmanBritt Woodman was a jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known for his work with Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus....
(tracks 5-7) - tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Jimmy HamiltonJimmy HamiltonJimmy Hamilton was an American jazz clarinetist, tenor saxophonist, arranger, composer, and music educator, best known for his twenty-five years with Duke Ellington....
- clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Johnny HodgesJohnny HodgesJohn Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for his solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years, except the period between 1932–1946 when Otto Hardwick generally played first chair...
(tracks 1-4), Willie SmithWillie Smith (alto saxophonist)William McLeish Smith was one of the major alto saxophone players of the swing era. He also played clarinet and sang. He is generally referred to as Willie Smith.-Biography:...
(tracks 5-7) - alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions... - Russell ProcopeRussell ProcopeRussell Procope , an American clarinettist and alto saxophonist, was known best for his long tenure in the reed section of Duke Ellington's orchestra, where he was one of its two signature clarinet soloists....
- alto saxophone, clarinet - Paul GonsalvesPaul GonsalvesPaul Gonsalves, was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"...
- tenor saxophone - Harry CarneyHarry CarneyHarry Howell Carney was an American swing baritone saxophonist, clarinetist, and bass clarinetist mainly known for his 45-year tenure in Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Carney started off as an alto player with Ellington, but soon switched to the baritone. His strong, steady saxophone often served as...
- baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece... - Wendell MarshallWendell MarshallWendell Marshall was an American jazz double-bassist.Marshall was Jimmy Blanton's cousin. He studied at Lincoln University, then served in the Army during World War II. Following his discharge, he played with Stuff Smith, then relocated to New York City, where he began playing with Mercer Ellington...
- bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Sonny GreerSonny GreerSonny Greer was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with Duke Ellington.Greer was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and played with Elmer Snowden's band and the Howard Theatre's orchestra in Washington, D.C. before joining Duke Ellington, who he met in 1919...
(tracks 1-4), Louis Bellson (tracks 5-7) - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Yvonne Lanuaze - vocals