Elmo Posted July 19 Report Posted July 19 (edited) The general public's modernist view of the Duke Ellington Orchestra was greatly formed at Newport in 1956 with Paul Gonsalves’ 27 choruses and Elaine Anderson's flying blonde hair and little black dress convincing many that if Ellington's music was cool enough for the “jet set" then it was cool enough for them. With Newport as the catalyst, a reexamination of Ellington’s work began in academia as well as within the world of jazz criticism. As Ellington’s musical stature increased, it opened new venues for his orchestra to appear—many where few Afro-American jazz contingents had ever had access to. In the coming years it meant appearing less at high school auditoriums, American Legion halls and county fairs and more often at jazz festivals, places of worship, concert halls and clubs... https://jazzprofiles.blogspot.com/2024/07/dancing-with-duke-ellingtons-live-dance.html?m=1 Edited July 20 by Elmo need link Quote
hopkins Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 (edited) I wrote a modest article about the Sunset Ballroom recording a few years ago; https://paulstephane.github.io/music/2021/10/01/Sunset-Ballroom.html Good album. Edited July 20 by hopkins Quote
jazzbo Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 The live California dance dates issued in the Private Collection are excellent recordings and fun listens. Quote
hopkins Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 21 minutes ago, jazzbo said: The live California dance dates issued in the Private Collection are excellent recordings and fun listens. Yes, these two: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_Dates,_California_1958 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_Concerts,_California_1958 Quote
l p Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 even if the author of that article doesn't have them, he, and we, would be remiss not to mention all the unissued recorded duke dance dates listed at tdwaw (the duke where and when), and at https://ellingtonia.com/discography/ the 68-73 is where it's all happening. notice that it's almost entirely u.s. shows. a couple of the very early shows listed here, are (or used to be) available for members at https://ellingtongalaxy.org/ albuquerque, nm (dance date) 3/22/1953 seattle (dance date) 5/1/1954 mentor, mn (dance date) Jun-54 portland (dance date) 11/13/1954 portland (dance date) 6/11/1955 chicago (dance date) 11/10/1957 sacramento (dance date, complete) 3/5/1958 chicago (dance date) 8/20/1961 houston (dance date) 9/7/1961 washington d.c. (dance date) 3/31/1963 wiesbaden, ger. (dance date) 5/25/1963 atlantic city, nj (dance date, issued on bootleg) Jul-64 washington d.c. (dance date) 12/13/1964 washington d.c. (dance date) 4/24/1966 norwalk, ca (dance date) 6/2/1966 washington d.c. (dance date) 3/11/1967 merrick, ny (dance date) 9/16/1967 glen burnie, md. (dance date) 1/25/1968 baltimore (dance date) 1/27/1968 glen burnie, md. (dance date) 1/30/1968 hayward, wi. (dance date) 7/11/1968 atlantic city, nj (dance date) 8/19/1968 union city, nj (dance date) 10/14/1968 washington d.c. (dance date) 1/20/1969 annapolis, md. (dance date) 5/30/1969 atlantic city, nj (dance date) 7/21/1969 chicago (prob. dance date) 3/25/1970 washington d.c. (dance date) 2/14/1971 newark, nj (dance date) 4/12/1971 paramus, nj (dance date) 6/18/1971 atlantic city, nj (dance date) 7/27/1971 portland (dance date) 2/21/1972 berkeley (dance date) 2/25/1972 wayne, pa (dance date) 4/14/1972 newton square, pa (dance date) 4/19/1972 fenton, mo. (dance date) 5/9/1972 east meadow, nj. (dance date) 8/27/1972 baltimore (dance date) 12/17/1972 kenosha, wi. (dance date) 5/11/1973 erie, pa (dance date) 7/21/1973 reading, pa (dance date) 8/3/1973 washington d.c. (dance date) 8/25/1973 wayne, pa (dance date) 9/20/1973 Quote
hopkins Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 Thanks for the links. Another interesting one, is the Rainbow Grill briadcasts in August 1967. Though not a dance date, I am sure there was some dancing involved. Quote
JSngry Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 WGN- TV, Chicago 1965. This was a local series and footage has survived. For some reason it's never been released on anything but VHS. Quote
hopkins Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 Thanks. One thing leading to another..his 1963 Helsinki concert is now available on YouTube and streaming services as a "restored version" (?). It has "Tutti..." Quote
JSngry Posted July 20 Report Posted July 20 Tutti was a regular part of the book in those days. Remember he didn't come back to the band until 1962! That Helsinki date is very good! Quote
l p Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 (edited) video 65 01 12 CHICAGO UNIVERSAL STUDIOS ND6502 "BigBandSounds" duke discographies don't consider this to be a dance date. something to do with it all being 'staged' for the tv program. the only dance date video footage is like 30 seconds from erie, pa. 1973, from an obscure french documentary. Edited July 21 by l p Quote
JSngry Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 The WGN show was a staged dance show, so yes and yes. Staged or not, people definitely danced. It was. TV dance show. Quote
l p Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 in a sense, the dancers were pretty much just extras in a tv show. none of the discographies refer to this as a dance date. i tried to argue the point myself, at one time. but the discographies are correct. Quote
JSngry Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 I'd not try to argue one way or another, but it was a TV dance show, not a TV concert show. Past that, any quibbles are not mine Maybe it's no longer obvious, but there used to be a segment of the public for whom "big band" and "dance band" we synonymous. This show (a series, actually) is a tangible reminder of that. Like Lawrence Welk's show without the staged numbers. I've got a few episodes on VHS, and it's interesting that Duke made very few accomodations to the dancers. They tried, and on something like Tutti they had it, but a lot of the other tubes were like, ok,I guess we'll just stand here and listen. He was the only one to play it like that. This shows should have been more available than the have been. I wonder what the block has been. Quote
Teasing the Korean Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 Are certain of his studio albums considered "dance albums?" I'm thinking Bal Masque, at least. Quote
JSngry Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 The original liner notes to Ellington Indigos go all in on the "dance album" concept. Quote
Teasing the Korean Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 59 minutes ago, JSngry said: The original liner notes to Ellington Indigos go all in on the "dance album" concept. That's right, thank you. This one is overdue for a spin. I have mono copy, which I think has different takes of a couple of tunes compared to the stereo. Quote
JSngry Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 It has "The Sky Fell Down", which got lost from the stereo version for years. It's a gorgeous piece. Quote
Teasing the Korean Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 29 minutes ago, JSngry said: It has "The Sky Fell Down", which got lost from the stereo version for years. It's a gorgeous piece. Yes, that's on my mono copy. But isn't there at least one track that uses different takes between the mono and stereo? I want to say "Solitude," but I may be wrong. Quote
JSngry Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 That I don't recall, maybe? The first CD issue just bimboppled everything for me. Quote
jazzbo Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 32 minutes ago, Teasing the Korean said: Yes, that's on my mono copy. But isn't there at least one track that uses different takes between the mono and stereo? I want to say "Solitude," but I may be wrong. The stereo versions of "Mood Indigo" and "Willow Weep for Me" are different from their mono counterparts. "The Sky Fell Down" was originally only on the mono, not the stereo, LP. Quote
Teasing the Korean Posted July 21 Report Posted July 21 17 minutes ago, jazzbo said: The stereo versions of "Mood Indigo" and "Willow Weep for Me" are different from their mono counterparts. "The Sky Fell Down" was originally only on the mono, not the stereo, LP. Thanks! 👍 Quote
Big Beat Steve Posted July 22 Report Posted July 22 (edited) 12 hours ago, Teasing the Korean said: Are certain of his studio albums considered "dance albums?" I'm thinking Bal Masque, at least. The tune programming alone of his "Ellington 55" album on Capitol would make this a "dance album" IMO. I find the "Ellington touch" given to these relatively atypical tunes rather interesting. Edited July 22 by Big Beat Steve Quote
gmonahan Posted July 24 Report Posted July 24 As I watched that vid of the James band with Buddy Rich, it struck me once again what a great trumpeter Harry James was. He had such great power and range. A box set of all of James's recordings with Rich (for Capitol and Verve, I think) would make for a great listen. Quote
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