# Duke Ellington discography

This is the discography of recordings by Duke Ellington, including those nominally led by his sidemen (mainly in the 1930s and early 1940s), and his later collaborations (mainly in the 1960s) with musicians with whom Ellington had generally not previously recorded.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Year | Title | Label | Year recorded | Notes |
| 1947 | Duke Ellington Plays the Blues | RCA Victor | | 10-inch LP; |
| 1947 | Ellington Special | Columbia | | 4 x 10" 78 rpm |
| 1948 | Liberian Suite | Columbia | | 10-inch LP |
| 1951 | Masterpieces by Ellington | Columbia | | |
| 1952 | Ellington Uptown | Columbia | 1952 | |
| 1953 | Premiered by Ellington | Capitol | 1953 | |
| 1953 | The Duke Plays Ellington | Capitol | 1953 | |
| 1954 | Dance to the Duke! | Capitol | 1954 | |
| 1955 | Ellington '55 | Capitol | 1955 | |
| 1955 | Ellington Showcase | Capitol | 1955 | |
| 1956 | Blue Rose | Columbia | 1955 | with Rosemary Clooney |
| 1956 | Historically Speaking | Bethlehem | | |
| 1956 | Duke Ellington Presents... | Bethlehem | 1955 | |
| 1957 | A Drum Is a Woman | Columbia | 1955 | |
| 1957 | Such Sweet Thunder | Columbia | 1955 | |
| 1957 | Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book | Verve | 1955 | with Ella Fitzgerald |
| 1958 | Black, Brown and Beige | Columbia | 1955 | with Mahalia Jackson |
| 1958 | Ellington Indigos | Columbia | 1955 | |
| 1958 | Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque | Columbia | 1955 | |
| 1958 | The Cosmic Scene | Columbia | 1955 | |
| 1959 | Jazz Party | Columbia | 1955 | |
| 1959 | Back to Back: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges Play the Blues | Verve | 1955 | with Johnny Hodges |
| 1959 | Side by Side | Verve | 1955 | with Johnny Hodges |
| 1959 | Anatomy of a Murder | Columbia | 1955 | soundtrack album |
| 1959 | Festival Session | Columbia | 1955 | |
| 1960 | Blues in Orbit | Columbia | | |
| 1960 | The Nutcracker Suite | Columbia | | |
| 1960 | Piano in the Background | Columbia | | |
| 1961 | Swinging Suites by Edward E. and Edward G. | Columbia | | AKA Peer Gynt Suite/Suite Thursday |
| 1961 | Piano in the Foreground | Columbia | | |
| 1961 | The Great Reunion | Roulette | | with Louis Armstrong |
| 1961 | Together Again | Roulette | | with Louis Armstrong |
| 1961 | Paris Blues | United Artists | | Paris Blues soundtrack |
| 1961 | First Time! The Count Meets the Duke | Columbia | | with Count Basie |
| 1962 | All American in Jazz | Columbia | | |
| 1962 | Midnight in Paris | Columbia | | |
| 1963 | Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins | Impulse! | | with Coleman Hawkins |
| 1963 | Duke Ellington & John Coltrane | Impulse! | 1962 | with John Coltrane |
| 1963 | Money Jungle | United Artists | | with Charles Mingus and Max Roach |
| 1963 | Afro-Bossa | Reprise | | |
| 1964 | The Symphonic Ellington | Reprise | | |
| 1965 | My People | Red Baron | | |
| 1965 | Will Big Bands Ever Come Back? | Reprise | | |
| 1965 | Ellington '65 | Reprise | | |
| 1965 | Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins | Reprise | | |
| 1965 | Ellington '66 | Reprise | | |
| 1965 | Ella at Duke's Place | Verve | | with Ella Fitzgerald |
| 1966 | Serenade to Sweden | Reprise | 1965 | with Alice Babs |
| 1967 | Far East Suite | RCA | | |
| 1967 | The Popular Duke Ellington | RCA | | |
| 1968 | ...And His Mother Called Him Bill | RCA | 1967 | |
| 1968 | Francis A. & Edward K. | Reprise | 1967 | with Frank Sinatra |
| 1968 | Second Sacred Concert | Prestige | | studio recording, despite the title |
| 1969 | North of the Border in Canada | Decca | 1967 | with the Ron Collier Orchestra |
| 1970 | New Orleans Suite | Atlantic | | |
| 1970 | Orchestral Works | Decca | | |
| 1972 | Latin American Suite | Fantasy | 1968 & 1970 | |
| 1973 | This One's for Blanton! | Pablo | | with Ray Brown |
| 1973 | It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing | Flying Dutchman | | with Teresa Brewer |
| 1974 | Recollections of the Big Band Era | Atlantic | 1962–63 | recorded for Reprise |
| 1974 | Duke's Big 4 | Pablo | | |
| Posthumous albums |||||
| 1974 | The Pianist | Fantasy | 1966 & 1970 | |
| 1975 | The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse | Fantasy | 1971 | |
| 1976 | Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session | Atlantic | 1963 | |
| 1976 | The Ellington Suites | Pablo | 1959–72 | |
| 1977 | The Intimate Ellington | Pablo | 1969–71 | |
| 1979 | Unknown Session | Columbia | 1960 | |
| 1979 | Up in Duke's Workshop | Pablo | 1969–72 | |
| 1985 | Featuring Paul Gonsalves | Fantasy | 1962 | |
| 1986 | The Intimacy of the Blues | Fantasy | 1967–70 | |
| 2004 | The Jaywalker | Storyville | 1966–1967 | |

### Live albums

| Year | Title | Label | Year recorded | Notes |
| 1946 | Black, Brown, and Beige | Victor | 1943 | 2 × 12" 78 rpm |
| 1954 | The Seattle Concert | RCA Victor | 1952 | |
| 1956 | Duke Ellington and the Buck Clayton All Stars at Newport | Columbia | 1956.07.06 | |
| 1956 | Ellington at Newport | Columbia | 1956.07.07 | |
| 1958 | Newport 1958 | Columbia | 1958.07 | live concert with studio work, later full concert released as Live at Newport 1958 |
| 1959 | Live at the Blue Note | Roulette | 1959 | |
| 1965 | Concert in the Virgin Islands | Reprise | 1965.03 | |
| 1966 | The Duke at Tanglewood | RCA Victor | 1965.12 | with the Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler |
| 1966 | A Concert of Sacred Music from Grace Cathedral | Status | 1965.07 | See: Sacred Concert (Ellington) |
| 1967 | Soul Call | Verve | 1966.07 | |
| 1967 | The Stockholm Concert, 1966 | Pablo | 1966.02 | with Ella Fitzgerald |
| 1967 | Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur | Verve | 1966.06 | with Ella Fitzgerald |
| 1970 | 70th Birthday Concert | Solid State | 1969 | |
| 1971 | Togo Brava Suite | United Artists | 1971 | |
| 1973 | Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II | Columbia | 1958.09 | |
| 1973 | The Great Paris Concert | Atlantic | 1963.02.01 | |
| 1973 | Yale Concert | Fantasy | 1968 | |
| Posthumous live albums |||||
| 1975 | The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World | Pablo | 1967 | Various artists |
| 1975 | Third Sacred Concert | RCA | 1973.10 | |
| 1975 | Eastbourne Performance | RCA | 1973.12 | |
| 1977 | The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1947 | Prestige | 1947 | |
| 1977 | The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943 | Prestige | 1943 | |
| 1977 | The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1944 | Prestige | 1944 | |
| 1977 | The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1946 | Prestige | 1946 | |
| 2001 | Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live | Storyville | 1940 | |
| 1983 | All Star Road Band | Doctor Jazz | 1957 | |
| 1985 | All Star Road Band Volume 2 | Doctor Jazz | 1964 | |
| 1986 | In the Uncommon Market | Pablo | 1963.02.06–1966 | |
| 1991 | Hot Summer Dance | Red Baron | 1960 | |
| 1995 | Live at the Whitney | Impulse! | 1972 | |
| 2002 | Duke Ellington at the Alhambra | Pablo | 1958.10 | |

### Compilations

Listed here are all compilations released during Ellington's lifetime, in addition to all significant compilations, excluding the aforementioned box sets.
| Year | Title | Label | Date recorded | Notes |
| 1940 | The Duke | Columbia | | |
| 1943 | A Duke Ellington Panorama | Victor | 1927–1940 | 4 x 78 RPM |
| 1943 | Ellingtonia, Vol. One | Brunswick | 1927–1931 | 4 × 78 RPM |
| 1944 | Ellingtonia, Vol. Two | Brunswick | 1928–1931 | 4 × 78 RPM |
| 1949 | Mood Ellington | Columbia | | 10-inch LP |
| 1955 | The Duke and His Men | | | |
| 1955 | Here's the Duke | Columbia | | |
| 1955 | Duke's Mixture | Columbia | | |
| 1955 | Blue Light | Columbia | 1934–1939 | |
| 1956 | The Music Of Duke Ellington Played By Duke Ellington | Columbia | | Unclear if all or only some tracks were previously released |
| 1956 | In a Mellotone | RCA Victor | 1940–1942 | |
| 1959 | Ellington Moods | Jazz Legacy | | |
| 1959 | The Duke's D.J. Special | Fresh Sound Records | | |
| 1964 | Daybreak Express | | | |
| 1964 | Great Times! | Riverside | | with Billy Strayhorn |
| 1965 | Jumpin' Punkins | RCA Victor | 1940–1941 | |
| 1967 | Johnny Come Lately | |
| 1968 | Duke Ellington's Greatest Hits | Columbia | | |
| Posthumous compilations |||||
| 1982 | The Girl's Suite and The Perfume Suite | Columbia | 1957 & 1961 | |
| 1985 | Happy Reunion | Sony | 1958 | two sessions from 1958 |
| 1986 | The Blanton–Webster Band | RCA/Bluebird | 1940–1942 | |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956 | LMR | 1956 | The Private Sessions Volume One |
| 1987 | Dance Concerts, California 1958 | LMR | 1958 | The Private Sessions Volume Two |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions, New York, 1962 | LMR | 1962 | The Private Collection Volume Three |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions New York 1963 | LMR | 1963 | The Private Collection Volume Four |
| 1987 | Dance Dates, California 1958 | LMR | 1958 | The Private Sessions Volume Six |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions 1957 & 1962 | LMR | 1957, 1962 | The Private Collection Volume Seven |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, San Francisco, Chicago, New York | LMR | 1957, 1965–1967 | The Private Collection Volume Eight |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions New York, 1968 | LMR | 1968 | The Private Collection Volume Nine |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions New York & Chicago, 1965, 1966 & 1971 | LMR | 1965–1967, 1971 | The Private Collection Volume Ten |
| 1988 | The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970 | LMR | 1968, 1970 | The Private Collection Volume Five |
| 1991 | Braggin' in Brass: The Immortal 1938 Year | Portrait | 1938 | |
| 1993 | Duke Ellington's Incidental Music for Shakespeare's Play Timon of Athens | | | adapted by Stanley Silverman; posthumous recordings of previously unreleased compositions |
| 2003 | Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band | Bluebird | 1940–1942 | from the Centennial set of 1999 |
| | The Duke Box 2 | 1952–1972 | Storyville | 7-CD/1-DVD set |
| | The Private Collection (1956–1971) | 1956–1971 | Saja | 10-CD set |

### Session appearances

* The Complete Porgy and Bess (1956) (Bethlehem) – limited involvement of "Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra"

### Hit records

| Year | Single | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Footnotes |
| Year | Single | US | US R&B | UK | Footnotes |
| 1927 | "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" | 10 | | | |
| 1928 | "Black and Tan Fantasy" | 15 | | | |
| 1928 | "Creole Love Call" | 19 | | | |
| 1928 | "Doin' the New Low Down" | 20 | | | |
| 1928 | "Diga Diga Doo" | 17 | | | |
| 1928 | "The Mooche" | 16 | | | |
| 1930 | "Three Little Words" | 1 | | | |
| 1930 | "Ring Dem Bells" | 17 | | | |
| 1931 | "Blue Again" | 12 | | | |
| 1931 | "Mood Indigo" | 3 | | | |
| 1931 | "Rockin' in Rhythm" | 19 | | | |
| 1931 | "Creole Rhapsody Parts 1 & 2" | 18 | | | |
| 1931 | "Limehouse Blues" | 13 | | | |
| 1932 | "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" | 6 | | | |
| 1932 | "Creole Rhapsody" (new version) | 19 | | | |
| 1932 | "Rose Room (in Sunny Roseland)" | 15 | | | |
| 1932 | "Moon over Dixie" | 14 | | | |
| 1932 | "Blue Ramble" | 16 | | | |
| 1933 | "Drop Me Off in Harlem" | 17 | | | |
| 1933 | "Sophisticated Lady" | 3 | | | |
| 1933 | "Stormy Weather" | 4 | | | |
| 1933 | "I'm Satisfied" | 11 | | | |
| 1933 | "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" | 13 | | | |
| 1934 | "Daybreak Express" | 20 | | | |
| 1934 | "Cocktails for Two" | 1 | | | |
| 1934 | "Moon Glow" | 2 | | | |
| 1934 | "Solitude" | 2 | | | |
| 1934 | "Saddest Tale" | 9 | | | |
| 1935 | "Merry-Go-Round" | 6 | | | |
| 1935 | "In a Sentimental Mood" | 14 | | | |
| 1935 | "Accent on Youth" | 6 | | | |
| 1935 | "Cotton" | 4 | | | |
| 1936 | "Isn't Love the Strangest Thing?" | 12 | | | |
| 1936 | "Love Is Like a Cigarette" | 8 | | | |
| 1936 | "Clarinet Lament" | 12 | | | |
| 1936 | "Echoes of Harlem" | 19 | | | |
| 1936 | "Oh Babe! Maybe Someday" | 8 | | | |
| 1936 | "Jazz Lips" | 20 | | | |
| 1936 | "Yearning for Love" | 16 | | | |
| 1937 | "The New East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" | 16 | | | |
| 1937 | "There's a Lull in My Life" | 12 | | | |
| 1937 | "Scattin' at the Kit Kat" | 9 | | | |
| 1937 | "Caravan" | 4 | | | |
| 1937 | "Azure" | 13 | | | |
| 1937 | "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" | 14 | | | |
| 1938 | "Harmony in Harlem" | 15 | | | |
| 1938 | "If You Were in My Place (What Would You Do?)" | 10 | | | |
| 1938 | "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" | 1 | | | |
| 1938 | "The Gal from Joe's" | 20 | | | |
| 1938 | "Lambeth Walk" | 7 | | | |
| 1938 | "Prelude to a Kiss" | 18 | | | |
| 1940 | "You, You, Darlin'" | 28 | | | |
| 1940 | "Ko Ko" | 25 | | | |
| 1940 | "At a Dixie Roadside Diner" | 27 | | | |
| 1940 | "Sepia Panorama" | 24 | | | |
| 1941 | "Flamingo" | 11 | | | |
| 1941 | "Take the 'A' Train" | 11 | | | |
| 1941 | "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" | 13 | | | |
| 1942 | "Hayfoot, Strawfoot" | | 10 | | |
| 1943 | "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" | 8 | 1 | | |
| 1943 | "Perdido" | 21 | | | |
| 1943 | "Take the 'A' Train" (re-entry) | 19 | | | |
| 1943 | "Bojangles" | 19 | | | |
| 1943 | "A Slip of the Lip" | 19 | 1 | | |
| 1943 | "Sentimental Lady" | 19 | 1 | | |
| 1944 | "Do Nothin' till You Hear from Me" | 10 | 1 | | |
| 1944 | "Main Stem" | 23 | 1 | | |
| 1944 | "My Little Brown Book" | | 4 | | |
| 1944 | "Someone" | | 7 | | |
| 1944 | "I Don't Mind" | | 9 | | |
| 1945 | "I'm Beginning to See the Light" | 6 | 4 | | |
| 1945 | "Don't You Know I Care" | | 10 | | |
| 1945 | "I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues" | | 4 | | |
| 1946 | "Come to Baby, Do" | 13 | | | |
| 1948 | "Don't Be So Mean to Baby" | | 15 | | |
| 1953 | "Satin Doll" | | | | |
| 1953 | "Boo Dah" | 30 | | | |
| 1954 | "Skin Deep" | | | 7 | |

### Singles

* "The Asphalt Jungle" (1961) (Columbia)

## Footnotes
### Early years: 1920–1940s

* 1 2 As the long-player format didn't become a significant part of the industry until the late 1940s, Ellington's record output before 1947 consisted largely of singles, from labels such as RCA Victor, Okeh, and Brunswick. They represent the bulk of his work that has been collected in box sets, while material from other labels is scattered. The most comprehensive source for Ellington's early work are the multi-volume The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra Classics releases, although that series omits alternate takes, which can be found in other collections.
* ↑ During the 1920s and 1930s, Ellington and his band recorded for almost every label (BluDisc, Pathé, Perfect, Victor, Brunswick, Columbia Records, Okeh, Vocalion, Cameo, Romeo, Lincoln, Banner, Domino, Jewel, and Hit of the Week).
* ↑ By the 1940s, Ellington's recordings featuring Jimmy Blanton and Ben Webster, garnered praise of his work as being "the best Ellington", according to critic Bob Blumenthal.
* ↑ Activity in the commercial recording industry was restricted during the 1942–1944 musicians' strike which including a recording ban, but Ellington did make annual visits to Carnegie Hall. In the January 1943 concert, Ellington introduced his first extended suite, "Black, Brown and Beige".

### 1950s

* ↑ Ellington began the 1950s with his career seemingly in decline with several musicians leaving, Lawrence Brown, Sonny Greer, and Johnny Hodges, although Brown and Hodges later rejoined. After the orchestra's appearance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, with Paul Gonsalves running through 27 choruses of "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", Ellington's profile revived.

### 1960s

* ↑ In the 1960s, Ellington made recordings with Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, and Frank Sinatra, among others. He continued to write and record extended suites, such as his religious "Sacred Concerts", the "Perfume Suite", and the "Latin American Suite".