medjuck

I've read "Sweet Man" and enjoyed it, though it is frowned on by most EKE scholars because it spends so much time on Duke's and George's sexual exploits. More anecdotal than scholarly and apparently not reliable. (He talks a lot about Duke's last live appearance which no one else seems to be able to verify.) Actually since I first posted this I've verified this last live appearance myself.

Funny, I was listening to it at the gym this morning for the same reason.

If you can find it (and afford it) the 2 volume New DESOR lists nearly every known extant recorded performance by Ellington and breaks down each song while naming each soloist. Timner is not as complete but is cheaper and I believe easier to find.

What's "Urban Jungle"? A Squatty Roo Ellington release?

This description from an Amazon review of New Mood Indigo makes it sound like it's the same recordings: This CD was put out by CBS's special project label: Signature. It is economically priced, and features cuts from four different sessions, all recorded in the 60's. One of the sessions was a project Duke never completed - an album featuring Ray Nance as a soloist, in the same vein as the album he did that featured Paul Gonsalves. That session is only made up of three tunes, with Nance singing "Jump for Joy," and a rousingly comic version of "Mack the Knife." Another session is made up of three tunes played by a sextet led by Mercer Ellington with Nance, Hodges, Carney, Louis Bellson, Aaron Bell and Chick Corea.

What?! Who? What's the source of this?

I can't find the long discussion about music streaming but I thought I'd pass along the latest manifestation of the move to bytes rather than atoms. I got an-email from Smithsonian Folkways advertising an up-coming release of a box set of music from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. When I clicked on the order link https://orcd.co/jazzfest it offered not only the box set and various places to download it but links to reserve it on streaming services!

I have Harper with Gil and saw him with The Cookers in London a couple of years ago. But I have no other cds. From what's readily available what should I get? Black Saint? Since I first posted this I discovered that I can sample various Harper records on Spotify.

I 'm not sure I've even ever heard Kay Kyser but he's an interesting example of cultural amnesia. In his book "Jammin' at the Margins (Jazz and the American Cinema)" Krin Gabbard devotes several pages to Kyser pointing out that he was incredibly popular right up there with Goodman and Dorsey and sold way more records than Ellington but he's usually dismissed as not only not swinging but not even playing jazz. However after generally denigrating him, Gunther Schuller in "The Swing Era" does admit that the band "could, when required, play with an infectious rhythmic swing". BTW I used to be an academic and the book this thread is about is a good example of why I'm glad I'm not anymore.

I just watched it too. I don't think I'd ever seen all of it before. It is indeed wonderful.

Thanks so much.

Does anyone here have information about who plays on "Josephine" by Jimmy Babyface Lewis?

Wow Thanks. This isn't even in The New DESOR. IS it ok to share this with the Duke Ellington List-Serve?

Do you think Alan Furst's books capture it well?

WOW. It's in Santa Barbara, where I live, and I've never heard of it.

Could you explain the difference please. I guess you mean "transcriptions" were made at the club itself and "airshots" were taken at a remotes place having been sent over telephone wires-- which apparently Savory did for a living.)

In '42 they were broadcast by NBC.

There are several air checks of Ellington from the Hotel ShermanChicago.

IIRC (and I often don't) shortly after the film opened there was an article in Time or Newsweek citing all the P&B records that had been released and saying that the Miles/Gil was the best or perhaps that it was even the best selling.

I forgot. I have it too. It's interesting (I mean that in a good way.) Summertime by the Ellington band is out of place but otherwise it is a pretty good attempt at presenting the entire show with an a narrator and a variety of singers playing roles: there's Mel Torme and Francis Faye in the titles roles but also Johnny Hartman, Betty Roche and even (briefly) Bob Dorough.

I have Miles, Ella and Louis, Bill Potts, The Clark Terry doing Gil's arrangements, the Pete Jolly, and Ray & Cleo. Once owned Belafonte & Lena Horne-- didn't care for it.

Was there once a thread about all the jazz versions Porgy and Bess? I just found another: In the Charlie Parker Records box set that came out a few years ago there's a record called Pete Jolly Gasses Everybody where all of the songs are from P&B. I think that makes about the 6th version I have. I don't know if it counts as jazz but one of my favorites is the Norman Granz produced one with Ray Charles and Cleo Lane.

Hmmm. I wonder if they'll use any of Renaldo and Clare? And IIRC Joni Mitchell played more than one show. (I saw the Revue in Toronto and even saw Renaldo and Clare, though I don't remember much about it.) And BTW there's already a bootleg series box-- vol 5-- from 1975 and the Rolling Thunder Review.

Uhhh..... What Netflix documentary?

Creedance Clearwater couldn't have hurt.