Ellington at Newport

Last updated
Ellington at Newport
EllingtonAtNewport.jpg
Live album by
Duke Ellington
ReleasedNovember 1956
RecordedJuly 7–8, 1956
Genre Jazz
Length43:53 (original release)
129:57 (1999 expanded and remastered edition)
Label Columbia
Producer 1956 LP: George Avakian
1999 CD: Phil Schaap
Duke Ellington chronology
Duke Ellington Presents...
(1956)		Ellington at Newport
(1956)		Duke Ellington and the Buck Clayton All-Stars at Newport, Vol. 2
(1956)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [1]
Tom Hull A+ [2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]

Ellington at Newport is a 1956 live jazz album by Duke Ellington and his band of their 1956 concert at the Newport Jazz Festival, a concert which revitalized Ellington's flagging career. Jazz promoter George Wein describes the 1956 concert as "the greatest performance of [Ellington's] career... It stood for everything that jazz had been and could be." [5] It is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die , which ranks it "one of the most famous... in jazz history". [6] The original release was partly recreated in the studio after the Ellington Orchestra's festival appearance.

Contents

Ellington released a follow-up album also recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival, Newport 1958 , two years later.

In 2022, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". [7]

Context

Many big bands folded by the mid-1950s, but Ellington kept his band working, occasionally doing shows in ice-skating rinks to stay busy. The Duke Ellington Orchestra did European tours during the early 1950s, and Ellington was chiefly supporting the band himself through royalties earned on his popular compositions of the 1920s to the 1940s. At the time of the festival, the band did not even have a record deal. [5] Afterwards, Ellington once again had a contract with Columbia Records.

Performance

Beginning

Duke and his orchestra arrived to play at the Newport Jazz Festival at a time when jazz festivals were a fairly new innovation. Ellington's band was the first and last group to play at the Newport Festival. [5] The first, short set began at 8:30 and included "The Star-Spangled Banner", "Black and Tan Fantasy" and "Tea for Two". This set was played without a few of the band's members as they were unable to be found at the start of the show.

After performances by the other groups, the remainder of the band was located and the real performance began. Duke led off with "Take the 'A' Train", followed by a new composition by Duke and Billy Strayhorn, a suite of three pieces: "Festival Junction", "Blues to Be There", and "Newport Up". This suite was intended to be the showstopper, but the reception was not as enthusiastic as was hoped.

Following the Festival suite, Duke called for Harry Carney's baritone saxophone performance of "Sophisticated Lady". Then the orchestra played "Day In, Day Out". Following this, Duke announced that they were pulling out "some of our 1938 vintage": "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" joined by an improvised interval, which Duke announced would be played by tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves.

The Gonsalves solo

Ellington had been experimenting with the reworking for several years before the Newport performance; a release of one of his Carnegie Hall concerts of the 1940s presented the two old blues joined by a wordless vocal passage, "Transbluecency," but in time he chose to join the pair by a saxophone solo, handing it to Gonsalves, experimenting with it in shorter performances before the Newport show, where Ellington is believed to have told Gonsalves to blow as long as he felt like blowing when the solo slot came. It came after two choruses of an Ellington piano break at what was formerly the conclusion of "Diminuendo in Blue."

As performed at Newport, the experiment ended up revamping the Ellington reputation and fortune for the rest of Ellington's life. The previous experiments culminated in a 27-chorus solo by Gonsalves — simple, but powerful — backed only by bassist Jimmy Woode, drummer Sam Woodyard, and Ellington himself pounding punctuating piano chords and (with several audible band members as well) hollering urgings-on ("Come on, Paul — dig in! Dig in!") to his soloist. The normally sedate crowd was on their feet dancing in the aisles, reputedly provoked by a striking platinum blonde woman in a black evening dress, Elaine Anderson, getting up and dancing enthusiastically. [8] [9] [10] When the solo ended and Gonsalves collapsed in exhaustion, Ellington himself took over for two choruses of piano solo before the full band returned for the "Crescendo in Blue" portion, finishing with a rousing finale featuring high-note trumpeter Cat Anderson.

Ending

After that performance, pandemonium took over. Duke calmed the crowd by announcing: "If you've heard of the saxophone, then you've heard of Johnny Hodges." Duke's best known alto saxophonist then played two of his most famous numbers in "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" followed by "Jeep's Blues". Still the crowd refused to disperse so Duke called for Ray Nance to sing "Tulip or Turnip". The festival's organizers tried to cut off the show at this point but once again were met with angry refusals to end the evening.

Duke told the announcer that he would end the show and wanted to thank the audience but instead announced he had a "very heavy request for Sam Woodyard in 'Skin Deep'", a number written by former Ellington drummer Louie Bellson. This drum solo feature was the final number featured, followed by a farewell from Duke over "Mood Indigo". In his farewell, he thanked the crowd for the "wonderful way in which you've inspired us this evening." He then finished with his trademark statement: "You are very beautiful, very sweet and we do love you madly." With that, the historic show concluded.

Recordings

Columbia Records recorded the concert and an album soon followed. Duke appeared soon after on the cover of Time , and his resurgent popularity lasted throughout the rest of his life. Some of his most critically acclaimed albums occurred during the next decade and a half, until age and illness began to claim some of Duke's band members and, in 1974, Ellington himself.

In 1996, a tape discovered in the Voice of America's archive of its radio broadcasts revealed that the 1956 album had indeed been fabricated with studio performances mixed with some live recordings and artificial applause. Only about 40 percent of the 1956 recording was actually live. [11] The reason for this was that Ellington felt the under-rehearsed Festival suite had not been performed up to recording release standards, and he wished to have a better version on tape if it was to be issued on record. Producer George Avakian did as Ellington asked and the band entered the studio immediately after the festival. Avakian mixed in the studio version with portions of the live performance. The applause was dubbed onto the original release to cover up the fact that Gonsalves had been playing into the wrong microphone and was often completely inaudible.

On the 1999 reissue, the Voice of America live recording and live Columbia tapes were painstakingly pieced together using digital technology to create a stereophonic recording of the best-known Ellington performance of the past 50 years, this time with Gonsalves' solo clearly heard, though the beginning of the audience cheering and noise at around the seventh or eighth chorus of the solo can still be heard as well. [12] (Stereophonic LP records were not mass-produced until 1957, the year after the recording.) [13]

Track listing

Original 1956 LP: Ellington at Newport

Side A

  1. "Festival Junction" - 10:08
  2. "Blues to Be There" - 8:04
  3. "Newport Up" - 5:33

Side B

  1. "Jeep's Blues" - 5:12
  2. "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" - 14:56

Remastered 1999 CD: Ellington at Newport (Complete)

Disc one

  1. "The Star-Spangled Banner" - 1:10
  2. Father Norman O'Connor Introduces Duke & the Orchestra / Duke Introduces Tune & Anderson, Jackson & Procope - 3:36
  3. "Black and Tan Fantasy" - 6:21
  4. Duke Introduces Cook & Tune - 0:26
  5. "Tea for Two" - 3:34
  6. Duke & Band Leave Stage / Father Norman Talks About The Festival - 2:30
  7. "Take the 'A' Train" - 4:27
  8. Duke Announces Strayhorn's A Train & Nance / Duke Introduces Festival Suite, Part I & Hamilton - 0:41
  9. "Part I - Festival Junction" - 8:10
  10. Duke Announces Soloists; Introduces Part II - 0:38
  11. "Part II - Blues to Be There" - 7:09
  12. Duke Announces Nance & Procope; Introduces Part III - 0:19
  13. "Part III - Newport Up" - 5:33
  14. Duke Announces Hamilton, Gonsalves & Terry / Duke Introduces Carney & Tune - 0:25
  15. "Sophisticated Lady" - 3:52
  16. Duke Announces Grissom & Tune - 0:17
  17. "Day In, Day Out" - 3:50
  18. Duke Introduces Tune(s) and Paul Gonsalves Interludes - 0:23
  19. "Diminuendo and Crescendo In Blue" - 14:20
  20. Announcements, Pandemonium - 0:44
  21. Pause Track - 0:06

Disc two

  1. Duke Introduces Johnny Hodges - 0:18
  2. "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" - 3:38
  3. "Jeep's Blues" - 4:36
  4. Duke Calms Crowd; Introduces Nance & Tune - 0:42
  5. "Tulip or Turnip" - 2:49
  6. Riot Prevention - 1:08
  7. "Skin Deep" - 9:13
  8. "Mood Indigo" - 1:30
  9. Studio Concert (Excerpts) - 4:01
  10. Father Norman O'Connor Introduces Duke Ellington / Duke Introduces New Work, Part I & Hamilton - 1:02
  11. "Part I - Festival Junction" - 8:46
  12. Duke Announces Soloists; Introduces Part II - 0:32
  13. "Part II - Blues To Be There" - 7:48
  14. Duke Announces Nance & Procope; Introduces Part III" - 0:16
  15. "Part III - Newport Up" - 5:20
  16. Duke Announces Hamilton, Gonsalves & Terry / Pause / Duke Introduces Johnny Hodges - 0:41
  17. "I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)" - 3:47
  18. "Jeep's Blues" - 4:31
  19. Pause Track - 0:06

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Hodges</span> American alto saxophonist (1907–1970)

John Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano saxophone, but refused to play soprano after 1946. Along with Benny Carter, Hodges is considered to be one of the definitive alto saxophone players of the big band era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Nance</span> American jazz musician (1913–1976)

Ray Willis Nance was an American jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer. He is best remembered for his long association with Duke Ellington and his orchestra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Gonsalves</span> American saxophonist and jazz musician

Paul Gonsalves was an American jazz tenor saxophonist best known for his association with Duke Ellington. At the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, Gonsalves played a 27-chorus solo in the middle of Ellington's "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue," a performance credited with revitalizing Ellington's waning career in the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Procope</span> American clarinetist and saxophonist

Russell Keith Procope was an American clarinetist and alto saxophonist who was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra.

"Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue" is a jazz composition written in 1937 by Duke Ellington and recorded for the first time on May 15, 1937 by the Duke Ellington Orchestra with Wallace Jones, Cootie Williams (trumpet), Rex Stewart (cornet), Barney Bigard (clarinet), Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwick, Laurence Brown, Joe Nanton (trombone), Harry Carney, Sonny Greer (drums), Wellmann Braud (bass), Freddie Guy (guitar), and Duke Ellington (piano). No tenor saxophone was present in this recording section, nor in "Crescendo in Blue," which was recorded the same day. In its early form, the two individual pieces, "Diminuendo in Blue" and "Crescendo in Blue," were recorded on opposite sides of a 78 rpm record. The 1956 performance at the Newport Jazz Festival revitalized Ellington's career, making newspaper headlines when seated audience members chaotically began rising to dance and stand on their chairs during Paul Gonsalves's tenor saxophone solo.

<i>Diminuendo, Crescendo and Blues</i> Studio album by Paul Gonsalves

Diminuendo, Crescendo and Blues is an album recorded in 1958 by the C Jam All-Stars led by Paul Gonsalves.

This is the discography of recordings by Duke Ellington, including those nominally led by his sidemen, and his later collaborations with musicians with whom Ellington had generally not previously recorded.

<i>Blue Rose</i> (album) 1956 studio album by Rosemary Clooney and Duke Ellington and His Orchestra

Blue Rose is the debut studio album by Rosemary Clooney, in collaboration with Duke Ellington and his orchestra, released in mono on Columbia Records, catalogue CL 872. Although she had appeared on albums before, it had been in the context of either a musical theater or multiple artist recording. The album also marked the return of Ellington to Columbia after an absence of four years, and was one of the first examples of overdubbing being used as an integral part of the creation, rather than for effects or to correct mistakes.

<i>Soul Call</i> 1967 live album by Duke Ellington

Soul Call is a 1967 live album by Duke Ellington and his orchestra, recorded live at the Juan-les-Pins/Antibes Jazz Festival on the Côte d'Azur. Ella Fitzgerald appeared with Ellington and his band at the same festival, and a more complete version of Ellington's appearance at the festival is documented on the 1998 album Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur.

<i>New Orleans Suite</i> 1970 studio album by Duke Ellington

New Orleans Suite is a studio album by the American pianist, composer, and bandleader Duke Ellington, recorded and released on the Atlantic label in 1970. The album contains the final recordings of longtime Ellington saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who died between the album's two recording sessions. The album won a Grammy Award in 1971 for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band.

<i>Happy Reunion</i> 1985 studio album by Duke Ellington

Happy Reunion is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded in 1956 and 1958 but not released on the Doctor Jazz label until 1985. The album features two small group sessions led by Ellington and recorded in Chicago.

<i>First Time! The Count Meets the Duke</i> 1961 album by Duke Ellington

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.

<i>Live at the Blue Note</i> (Duke Ellington album) 1959 live album by Duke Ellington

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.

<i>Duke Ellington at the Alhambra</i> 2002 live album by Duke Ellington

Duke Ellington at the Alhambra is a live album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded in 1958 at the Alhambra Theater, Paris and released on the Pablo label in 2002.

<i>Featuring Paul Gonsalves</i> 1985 album by Duke Ellington

Featuring Paul Gonsalves is an album by American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader Duke Ellington. Without new material to work with, Ellington recorded the album with his orchestra and saxophonist Paul Gonsalves in 1962 during a four-hour recording session. It was not released until 1985 by Fantasy Records.

<i>Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956</i> 1987 studio album by Duke Ellington

Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956 is the first volume of The Private Collection a series documenting recordings made by the American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington for his personal collection which was first released on the LMR label in 1987 and later on the Saja label.

<i>Studio Sessions New York 1963</i> 1987 album by Duke Ellington

Studio Sessions New York 1963 is the fourth volume of The Private Collection a series of recordings made by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington for his personal collection which was first released on the LMR label in 1987 and later on the Saja label.

<i>All Star Road Band</i> 1983 live album by Duke Ellington

All Star Road Band is a live album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded at Sunset Ballroom in Carrolltown, Pennsylvania for radio broadcast and first released as a double LP on Bob Thiele's Doctor Jazz label in 1983. The album was rereleased on CD under the title All Star Road Band Volume One.

<i>All Star Road Band Volume 2</i> 1985 live album by Duke Ellington

All Star Road Band Volume 2 is a live album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded at the Holiday Ballroom in Chicago for radio broadcast and first released as a double LP on Bob Thiele's Doctor Jazz label in 1985.

<i>Hot Summer Dance</i> 1991 live album by Duke Ellington

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.

References

  1. ↑ AllMusic review
  2. ↑ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Essential Jazz Albums of the 1950s". tomhull.com. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  3. ↑ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 434. ISBN   978-0-141-03401-0.
  4. ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide . USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. pp.  69. ISBN   0-394-72643-X.
  5. 1 2 3 Wein, George; Chinen, Nate (2003). Myself Among Other: A Life in Music. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. pp. 151–156. ISBN   0-306-81352-1 . Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  6. ↑ Dimery, Robert, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2008 edition), p. 30.
  7. ↑ Ulaby, Neda (13 April 2022). "The Library of Congress adds 25 titles, including Alicia Keys and Ricky Martin". NPR. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  8. ↑ Levene, Andrea (April 21, 2004). "Elaine Anderson, 80; activist, ex-dancer". Boston Globe . Retrieved July 26, 2015. Before Elaine (Zeitz) Anderson became an influential activist in Boston's Back Bay, she made her mark in jazz by dancing near the stage as Duke Ellington's band performed at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956. A photograph from this event would later become the cover of one of Ellington's most popular albums. ...
  9. ↑ Morton, John Fass (2008). Backstory in Blue: Ellington at Newport '56. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. ISBN   978-0-8135-4282-9 . Retrieved April 4, 2010.
  10. ↑ Avakian, George. Liner notes to original release of Ellington at Newport, Columbia Records CL 934, 1956.
  11. ↑ Bailey, C. Michael (August 10, 2005). "Duke Ellington: The Complete Live at Newport 1956". All About Jazz . Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  12. ↑ Schaap, Phil. Liner notes to Ellington at Newport (Complete), Columbia Records / Legacy C2K 64932, February 1999.
  13. ↑ "Mass Produced Stereo Disc is Demonstrated," Billboard, December 16, 1957, p. 27.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.