Duke Ellington on Mercer Records

[ghost of miles]

While doing some background reading on Billy Strayhorn I came across mention of Duke's ill-fated Mercer Records venture (circa 1951 or so). Have those sides been reissued on CD? I think some of the piano numbers with Ellington & Strayhorn show up on that Strayhorn Storyville CD (it's at work right now, so I can't check).

[brownie]

Still hoping that Mosaic will tackle a Complete Mercer sessions box...

The Ellington/Strayhorn sides are available on this OJC:

Various other Mercer sessions with Strayhorn are included in that other OJC CD:

[jazzbo]

And yes, the duets also appear on the Storyville Strayhorn cd, along with the Capitol Paris session with string quartet and voices.

[EKE BBB]

There's an interesting article by Jack Chambers on the July-August 2006 issue of Coda (n. 328), called "Duke Ellington's Parallel Universe: The Secret Stockpile" where, besides a profound analysis on the so called "stockpile recordings", he tells the story of the Mercer Ellington-Leonard Feather owned label.

Small excerpt:

(...) Ellington's practice of recording his musicians at his own expense had its roots in a commercial venture called Mercer Records, a label owned by his son and Leonard Feather. The label existed as a public entity for only a couple of years starting in 1950, and after that it had a shadow existence as a tax heaven for Ellington. Its earliest recordings were destroyed by fire (...)

[ghost of miles]

Thanks, guys; I'm interested in that Hodges in particular. Came across mention of the Mercer label in Hadju's Strayhorn bio.

Speaking of other things Duke, I finally took the plunge and ordered DAY BY DAY, FILM BY FILM.

[Chuck Nessa]

And yes, the duets also appear on the Storyville Strayhorn cd, along with the Capitol Paris session with string quartet and voices.

The "Capitol Paris session" is really a United Artists session, first issued as a UAJ lp.

[EKE BBB]

February 11, 1950. New York.

Mercer recording session. Timner lists this session in his Ellingtonians section, so apparently Duke was not present.

Chubby Kemp with the Billy Strayhorn-Johnny Hodges Sextet: Johnny Hodges, as; Jimmy Hamilton, ts; Harry Carney, bs; Billy Strayhorn, p; Wendell Marshall, b; Sonny Greer, d.

4000 Mercer 1950 C49-50:10 {Hello Little Boy}

(Ellington-Kemp)

[Chubby Kemp, vocal]

4001 Mercer 1950 C49-50:11 {The Greatest There Is}

(Ellington)

[Chubby Kemp, vocal]

September 13, 1950. New York.

Mercer recording session. Untitled Blues appeared on some pressings of Mercer 1952 by mistake.

Oscar Pettiford, His Cello & Quartet: Duke Ellington, p; Billy Strayhorn, celeste; Oscar Pettiford, cello, Lloyd Trotman, b; Jo Jones, d.

4004 Mercer 1952 C49-50:14 Untitled Blues

(unknown)

4005 Mercer 1952 C49-50:12

GT:9 Perdido

(Tizol-Lengsfelder-Drake)

4006 Mercer 1959 C49-50:13

GT:10 Take The "A" Train

(Strayhorn)

4007-1 Mercer 1952 C49-50:15

GT:11 Oscalypso

(Pettiford)

4008 Mercer 1959 C49-50:16

GT:12 Blues For Blanton

(Ellington-MEllington)

September 21, 1950. New York.

Mercer recording session.

Chubby Kemp & Her All Stars/The Ellingtonians with Chubby Kemp: Red Rodney, t; Johnny Hodges, as; Harry Carney, bs; Duke Ellington, p; Oscar Pettiford, cello; Wendell Marhsall, b; Max Roach, d; Billy Strayhorn replaces Ellington on "How Blue Can You Get."

4010 Up-to-Date 2006 C49-50:17 Mean Ol' Choo Choo

(unknown)

[Chubby Kemp, vocal]

4013 Mercer 1971 C49-50:18 Me And My Wig

(Hodges-Palmer)

[Chubby Kemp, vocal]

4014 Mercer 1960 C49-50:19 How Blue Can You Get

(Feather)

[Chubby Kemp, vocal]

4015-2 Mercer 1971 C49-50:20 Juke Bop Boogie

(Ellington-Kemp)

[Chubby Kemp, vocal]

Sara Forde with Mercer Ellington & His Orchestra:

4016 Mercer 1960 C49-50:21 Set 'Em Up (Rack 'Em Back)

(Ellington)

[sara Forde, vocal]

The Ellingtonians:

4017 Mercer 1958 C49-50:22 The New Piano Roll Blues

(unknown)

Sara Forde with Billy Strayhorn at the Piano: Billy Strayhorn, p.

4018 Mercer 1958 C49-50:23 The Man I Love

(Gershwin)

[sara Forde, vocal]

October 3, 1950. New York.

Mercer recording session.

Billy Strayhorn Trio: Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, p; Wendell Marshall, b; unknown, d.

M5710 Mercer 1001 C50:1

GT:1 Cotton Tail

(Ellington)

M5711 Mercer 1964 C50:2

GT:2 The "C" Jam Blues

(Ellington)

M5712 Mercer 1964 C50:3

GT:3 Flamingo

(Grouya-Anderson)

M5713 Mercer 1001 C50:4

GT:4 Bang-Up Blues

(Ellington)

October, 1950. New York.

Mercer recording session.

Wild Bill Davis And His Real Gone Organ: Duke Ellington, p; Wild Bill Davis, org; Johnny Collins, g; Jo Jones, d. Ellington sits out on "Make No Mistake."

M4023 Mercer 1955 C50:5 Things Ain't What They Used To Be

(MEllington-Persons)

M4024 Mercer 1955 C50:6 Make No Mistake

(Davis)

November, 1950. New York.

Mercer recording session.

Billy Strayhorn Trio: Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, p; Joe Shulman, b.

M2479 Mercer 1963 C50:7

GT:5 Tonk

(Ellington-Strayhorn)

M2480 Mercer 1963 C50:8

GT:6 Johnny Come Lately

(Strayhorn)

M2481 Mercer 1001 C50:9

GT:7 In A Blue Summer Garden

(Ellington-Strayhorn)

M2482 Mercer 1001 C50:10

GT:8 Great Times

(Ellington)

April 17, 1951. New York.

Mercer recording session.

The Coronets: Cat Anderson, t; Juan Tizol, vtb; Willie Smith as; Paul Gonsalves, ts; Billy Strayhonr, p; Wendell Marshall, b; Louie Bellson, d.

4029 Mercer 1969 C50-51:3 Night Walk

(Anderson)

4030 Mercer 1967 C50-51:4 Moonlight Fiesta

(Tizol)

4031 Mercer 1967 C50-51:5 She

(Tizol-Bellson)

4032 Mercer 1969 C50-51:6 The Happening

(Gonsalves)

May 18, 1951. Boston.

Mercer recording session.

The Coronets/Billy Strayhorn's All Stars: Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman, tb; Juan Tizol, vtb; Willie Smith, as; Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn (on Indian Summer only), p; Wendell Marshall, b; Louie Bellson, d.

4033 Mercer 1005 C50-51:12 Swamp Drum

(Strayhorn)

4034 Mercer 1005 C50-51:13 Sultry Serenade

(Ellington-Glenn)

4035 Mercer 1968 C50-51:14 Indian Summer

(Herbert)

4036 Mercer 1005 C50-51:15 Britt And Butter Blues

(Ellington)

June 1, 1951. New York.

Mercer recording session.

Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn All-Stars: Willie Smith, as; Juan Tizol, vtb; Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, p; Wendell Marshall, b; Louis Bellson, d.

4039 Mercer 1968 C51:1

AS:14 Caravan

(Ellington-Tizol-Mills)

June 19, 1951. New York.

Mercer recording session.

Duke Ellington All-Stars: Jimmy Hamilton, cl, ts; Willie Smith, as; Juan Tizol, vtb; Duke Ellington, p; Wendell Marshall, b; Louis Bellson, d; Billy Strayhorn replaces Ellington on "Jumpin' With Symphony Sid."

4040 Mercer 1005 C51:2

AS:19 Alternate

(Ellington)

4041 Mercer 1973 C51:3

AS:15 Hoppin' John

(Clayton)

4042 Mercer 1973 C51:4

AS:20 Jumpin' With Symphony Sid

(Young)

February 29, 1952. Fresno, California.

Mercer recording session at the Rainbow Room. Produced by Duke and Mercer Ellington. Recorded by Bert Porter. Later purchased by Columbia. Listed on 8nov52 in the New Desor, but corrected in DEMS 03/2-22/1 and in Patricia Willard's new Uptown (Columbia CK 87066)liner notes.

Duke Ellington & His Orchestra: Cat Anderson, Willie Cook, Ray Nance, Clark Terry, t; Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman, tb; Juan Tizol, vtb; Willie Smith, as; Russell Procope, as, cl; Jimmy Hamilton, ts, cl; Paul Gonsalves, ts; Harry Carney, bs, bcl; Duke Ellington, p; Wendell Marshall, b; Louie Bellson, d.

CO48377-1 Columbia ML-4639 C52-53:2 Uptown:1 Skin Deep

November 8, 1952. New York.

Mercer recording session (later purchased by Columbia).

Duke Ellington & His Orchestra: Cat Anderson, Willie Cook, Ray Nance, Clark Terry, t; Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman, tb; Juan Tizol, vtb; Jimmy Hamilton, cl, ts; Hilton Jefferson, as; Russell Procope, as, cl; Paul Gonsalves, ts; Harry Carney, bs; Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, p; Wendell Marshall, b, Louis Bellson, d.

CO48640 Up-to-Date 2006 C52-53:3

CoCo:4/15 Ballin' The Blues

[Jimmy Grissom, vocal]

CO48641 Up-to-Date 2006 C52-53:4

CoCo:4/16 Body And Soul

[betty Roche, vocal]

Edited January 16, 2007 by EKE BBB

[jazzbo]

And yes, the duets also appear on the Storyville Strayhorn cd, along with the Capitol Paris session with string quartet and voices.

The "Capitol Paris session" is really a United Artists session, first issued as a UAJ lp.

You're right of course, I have the UA lp (Cuscuna says this is fake stereo but sounds like real stereo to me) and the Capitol cd and the Storyville cd.

Not sure why Storyville gets to reissue it.

[Swinging Swede]

All Mercer sessions were included on Chronological Classics' Ellington CDs.

[brownie]

To add to EKE BBB list of Mercer sessions, in his book 'The Jazz Years', Leonard Feather wrote about the Ellington/Strayhorn date:

'The eight duets have been reissued often. There could have been four more, but Duke insisted that we begin the first date by using the pianos to back his not very inspired vocal protégé, Jimmy McPhail, in four songs. They were never released; the masters, along with everything else we made for Mercer, were destroyed in a fire, though fortunately most survived because spare copies of the tapes had been sent overseas'

[EKE BBB]

There had been a previous attempt by Duke Ellington to run his own company: Sunrise Records (1947).

When it was created, Mercer Records fell heir to the Sunrise catalogue.

[romualdo]

Anybody have a list of the released Mercer 10" LPs - I'm having some difficulty finding this info online

was there a 1007?

[miles65]

Anybody have a list of the released Mercer 10" LPs - I'm having some difficulty finding this info online

was there a 1007?

I checked the Tom Lord online disco.

It mentions LP1007 with the following tracks: She, Indian Summer, Caravan, Hoppin' John.

No title of the LP given.

[romualdo]

Anybody have a list of the released Mercer 10" LPs - I'm having some difficulty finding this info online

was there a 1007?

I checked the Tom Lord online disco.

It mentions LP1007 with the following tracks: She, Indian Summer, Caravan, Hoppin' John.

No title of the LP given.

That's where I saw the 1007 info too but I can't find reference to that LP anywhere else - I've managed to locate images of all issues 1000 to 1006 (original LPs on ebay etc)

but there is no mention of Mercer 1007 on any searches (except for the Lord Discography - got a feeling this may be a mistake)

I've shot off an email to the Depanorama site & hopefully I'll get a reply from them