St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1951-08-31
r Atm 9 THE
R & G Q r D S
BY j. Henry Randall
COLLECTORS ITEMS
DUKE ELLINGTON


he has, since establishing his repu-
tation some 20 years ago, enjoyed
a dual career--that of band leader
and composer.
one is hard put to say in which
category he excels, for the two
spheres are so thoroughly diffused
into each other that any line of
demarcation drawn is purely
guesswork.
on one hand he is designer of
hits to be played and popularized
not only by his group but by
others. On the other, he takes
musical works, whether they be
his own or of other origin and
whips up an arrangement which is
designed strictly for his assoc
iates.
An example of such is to be
found in a new album of Filing
ton oldies, or as the title goes,
"Ellington's Greatest" This is
part of a six-album set in the
| second series of a Treasury of
Immortal Performances" which is
being released by RCA Victor.
Like its predecessor, the set is
really one for the books.
The Ellington album offers
seven of the cream of the COM
pOser-ork leaders works. An
eighth, commonly thought of as an
Ellington original. is an item
written by Juan TizOL
The album contains items which
were written as early as 1927 and
as late as 1888.
The oldest one is Black and Tan
Fantasy, an item which Ellington
Co-authored with the late Rubber
Biley, first "growl" trumpet spec
ialist. Dressed up in 1945ish style,
this side pairs Harry Carney's
baritone sax and the muted from
bone work of the late Joseph
Tricky Sam" Nanton. Everyone
who has heard the original item
will Immediately discover that the
original flavor and minor mood of
the tune have meen retained, but
that the bands greater and more
advance tonal resources have
made it richer in one quality.
The mate is the vintage 1885 In
"A Sentimental Mood. as revamped
in 1915 by the Ellington-Billy
Strayhorn tune. Here Otto Hard
wick displays his alto sax techni-
que in an unusual but pretty fash
ion, with Harry Carney at the
baritone sax giving out with
full bodied tone color; and from
bonist Lawrence Brown, Trumpet
er Rex. Stewart and Ellington
rounding out.
Perhaps the greatest of all Ell
lington works is Solitude, first re-
corded in 1884 as an instrumental
Included in the album in its 1945
vocal speciality version, it features
four singers, Kay Davis, Joya
| Cla,;n Mor;, LTll;putrp apH Al
bert George" Hibbler. The new
version is a Strayhorn arrange
ment on the flip is the catchily
Ellington-Strayhorn treatment of
the 1888 Cotton Club show tune.
I Let "A Song Go Out of My Heart,
a song" which swept the coun-
try like many another Ellington
top-notcher. Miss Sheriff. takes the
vocal here. Carney weaves an ex-
citing passage via bass clarinet
while Ellington plays a counter
melody suspiciously like MY
Blue Heaven"
The solo item not authored by
Ellington, but for which he always
receives credit by reason of his
distinctive arrangement, is Cara
van, the much vocalized and in
strumentalized item penned by
Juan Tizol, valve trombonist, once
with Ellington, then with Harry
James and then back to Ellington
A 1887 tune, it is now dressed up
in rhumba tempo. featuring Law
renee Brown, Jimmy Hamilton,
clarinetist; and Ray Nance on
violin. Paired with it is Sophisti-
Gated Lady. a choice moody item
which had it's debut in 1888. For
the newer version, Duke arranged
the first half while Strayhorn
takes the latter half
A novelty speciality 1t Don't
Mean a Thing, originally handled
by the late Ivy Anderson who also
did a solitude" vocal in its 1881
debut, makes use of three girl
singers with the band in 1876
the Misses Ellington, Sheriff. and
Davis, and finally, there is Pre-
Jude to a Kiss, a 1888 item which
displays the Carney baritone sax
in one of its loveliest and most
colorful solos on record.
This album spotlights the saga
of Ellington from his beginnings
as a name" in the jazz world up
to the present. One outstanding
feature Of all his works is that
they never dies, nod do they fade
away True, there are a host Of
other works which could and
should be included, but these eight
sides are representative of the
Ellington Of the late POS. the 30's
and the early 40's. With these,
you have a good start toward a
collection NJ EIliuotopia