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Ellington Is Forever 1&2


Noj

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As far as Duke Ellington goes, I know nossink. However, I really dig the few Kenny Burrell albums I have. AMG gives these high ratings, do y'all think these would be a good intro to Ellington? Any advice would be appreciated.

Edited by Noj
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Hi noj-

I have both of these and enjoy them a lot. It's hard to go wrong with a stellar cast like JoeHen, Thad Jones, Jimmie Smith, Snooky Young, Nat Adderley et al. Although these two sides play like a recital of tunes associated w/Duke (personnel changes from cut to cut) I think they rise above other often-mediocre all-star jams. I might give a slight nod to volume one over volume two, but they're both great. And who among us completists could buy just one volume of a two volume set? I saw these in a store and they were a little pricey, but I found them online for a much better deal. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

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As far as being an intro to Ellington, they're a great collection of tunes, but of course you should at some point go to the source and check out some actual Ellington recordings! I think having first heard Duke's versions of these tunes helps to appreciate the interpretations on the Burrell CDs. Get these, find the tunes you like the most and seek out Duke's version.

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Noj, you're on emusic, aren't you? Why don't you just download them to try them out? They're both there.

FWIW, I think an ideal intro to Ellington would be getting discs from a few different periods that Ellington is actually on. It's really hard for me to recommend specific discs since they're, for the most part, all really good in their own way and I think it takes many albums to really paint a full picture. The 40CD History set is only about $75 and covers the 1910s to early-mid-40s really well. For the 60s and beyond, I like Money Jungle, New Orleans Suite, Latin-American Suite and And His Mother Called Him Bill. I'm a bit weak on the late-mid-40s, 50s and early 70s, but I think the 70s material might ultimately suit you the best. Just a hunch.

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JLarsen,

Yup, emusic is where I'm looking at them. I have a lot of stuff that is available there in mind, and I'm always looking to expand my tastes.

My latest downloads: 5 Joe Hendersons, 5 Art Blakey & the JMs, 2 Cannonball Adderleys, 4 Oliver Nelsons...I love that place.

So many of these are so good I want to purchase real cds to own the liner notes and better quality audio (guilty downloader conscious). :unsure::g

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Just in case that "expert" guy doesn't check in, I'll share a few thoughts too. ;) The Burrell "Ellington Is Forever" recordings were among the first KB that I heard, the first of Duke's music that I heard, the first large ensemble recordings that I heard, and my first exposure to Ernie Andrews (his version of "Don't get around much..." is still among my all-time favorite vocal performances in jazz). Considering how much impact these had on me, I might go so far as to call these "forgotten classics" (after all, they don't get much attention, even when Burrell's discog is brought up as a specific topic).

I don't have a thorough recollection of Jimmy Smith's performances, but I do recall a very nice trio version of "Solitude" with Jimmy, Kenny, and Jimmie Smith. The wonderful thing about these sessions, besides the overwhelming respect and passion they had for Duke's music, is the variety of groupings used. Solo KB, solo piano, duos, trios, vocals, etc. It makes for a very interesting and attention-grabbing listening experience. The fact that the cast is made up of all-stars is just icing on the cake. I'm glad these are still available. :tup

Edited by Jim R
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Both these albums are excellent. Everyone plays very well including J.S. There was a lot of love and respect in the room when these songs were recorded. Hard to go wrong.

As an aside, I read recently that the "Ellington Is Forever" concept was originally suppose to feature annual releases. Unfortunately, only two albums ever came out. At least we have those!

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