| Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1958 | |||
| Recorded | March 20, 24, 26, 31 & April 1, 1958 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Duke Ellington chronology | ||||
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Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded in 1958 and released on the Columbia label. [1]
Most of the music on Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque consisted of older popular songs and operetta songs, including three songs first published before 1920, and eight songs that were first published between 1922 and 1937. "Satin Doll" (1953), was both the newest composition on the album and the only composition Ellington participated in the composition of. The music for "Satin Doll" was originally credited on the LP label to solely to Ellington. (After the deaths of composer/arranger Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington in 1967 and 1974 respectively, a lawsuit, Tempo Music v. Famous Music, resulted in the change of the composer credit to include Billy Strayhorn as co-composer. The Johnny Mercer lyric had not been written in 1958 when Ellington recorded "Satin Doll" for the album.) All of the performances on the album are instrumental only.
The album title alludes to the Bal Masque supper club at Miami Beach's Americana Hotel, where the Ellington band had played a residency in a few years prior to the recording of the album. According to Irving Townsend's liner notes on the original LP release, the Ellington band played mainly for dancers at the Bal Masque, and Ellington decided to include more songs by other composers during the residency than his performances at the time typically featured. Though Townsend's notes state that "this is the recording of that famous affair", the album was in fact recorded in Columbia Records' New York City studios.
The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow stated: "the music works quite well for Ellington and his all-star orchestra manage to transform what could be a set of tired revival swing into superior dance music and swinging jazz. While certainly not the most essential Ellington record, At the Bal Masque is a surprise success". [2]
| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [2] |
The Stockholm Concert, 1966 is a 1966 live album by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied in part by the Duke Ellington Orchestra. The recording remained unreleased until 1984.
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First Time! The Count Meets the Duke is an album by American pianists, composers and bandleaders Duke Ellington and Count Basie with their combined Orchestras recorded and released on the Columbia label in 1961.
Live at the Blue Note is a live album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded at The Blue Note nightclub in Chicago for the Roulette label in 1959.
Duke Ellington Presents... is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded for the Bethlehem label in 1956.
It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing is a studio album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington and singer Teresa Brewer originally released on Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman label in 1973. It features the final studio recordings by Ellington.
Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II is a live album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded in 1958 at a party for Columbia Records and released on the label in 1973. The Miles Davis Sextet was also recorded at the same event and released as the first volume of Jazz at the Plaza.
Midnight in Paris is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded in 1962 for the Columbia label. The album features performances of compositions inspired by or associated with Paris.
The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1944 is a live album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded at Carnegie Hall, in New York City in 1944 and released on the Prestige label in 1977.
The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943 is a live album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded at Carnegie Hall, in New York City in 1943 and released on the Prestige label in 1977.
The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1946 is a live album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded at Carnegie Hall, in New York City in 1946 and released on the Prestige label in 1977.
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The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World is a 1967 live album featuring Duke Ellington and his orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, T-Bone Walker, Coleman Hawkins, Clark Terry and Zoot Sims. It was released in 1975.
Ellington Is Forever Volume Two is an album by guitarist Kenny Burrell featuring compositions associated with Duke Ellington recorded in 1975 and released on the Fantasy Records label. Originally released as a double album set in 1977 it was rereleased on CD in 1994.
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Hot Summer Dance is a live album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded at Mather Air Force Base in California and first released as a CD on Bob Thiele's Red Baron label in 1983.