Ellingtonia, Vol. Two | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | June 8, 1944 | |||
Recorded | 1928–1931 | |||
Genre | Early swing, Ellingtonian jazz | |||
Label | Brunswick | |||
Duke Ellington chronology | ||||
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Ellingtonia, Vol. Two is a compilation album of phonograph records assembled by Brunswick Records during the American Federation of Musicians strike, cataloguing the famed early recordings of Duke Ellington on Brunswick and Vocalion Records. During the later Swing era, the recordings were praised for accurately predicting the developments in the Big band genre several years in advance. [1]
A phonograph record is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near the periphery and ends near the center of the disc. At first, the discs were commonly made from shellac; starting in the 1940s polyvinyl chloride became common. In recent decades, records have sometimes been called vinyl records, or simply vinyl or even vinyls.
Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916.
On August 1, 1942, the American Federation of Musicians, at the instigation of union president James C. Petrillo, began a strike against the major American recording companies because of disagreements over royalty payments. Beginning at midnight, July 31 1942, no union musician could make commercial recordings for any commercial record company. That meant that a union musician was allowed to participate on radio programs and other kinds of musical entertainment, but not in a recording session. The 1942–44 musicians' strike remains the longest strike in entertainment history.
After Decca Records purchased the Brunswick and Vocalion metal master records, the first volume of Ellingtonia became the series' premiere release, and was well-reviewed by Billboard magazine. This second edition focuses more on Ellington's forays into longer-length pieces.
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, along with American Decca's first president Jack Kapp and later American Decca president Milton Rackmil. In 1937, anticipating Nazi aggression leading to World War II, Lewis sold American Decca and the link between the UK and U.S. Decca labels was broken for several decades. The British label was renowned for its development of recording methods, while the American company developed the concept of cast albums in the musical genre. Both wings are now part of the Universal Music Group, which is owned by Vivendi, a media conglomerate headquartered in Paris, France. The US Decca label was the foundation company that evolved into UMG.
Billboard is an American entertainment media brand owned by the Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group, a division of Eldridge Industries. It publishes pieces involving news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style, and is also known for its music charts, including the Hot 100 and Billboard 200, tracking the most popular songs and albums in different genres. It also hosts events, owns a publishing firm, and operates several TV shows.
Keeping in pattern with the first volume, again the labels replaced group names originally accredited instead of or alongside Ellington, such as the or his Kentucky Club Orchestra, Washingtonians, Cotton Club Orchestra, and the commonly used pseudonym The Jungle Band with simply Duke Ellington and His Orchestra.
The Cotton Club was a popular New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue, then briefly in midtown Theater District (1935-1940) The club operated during the United States' era of Prohibition and Jim Crow era racial segregation. Black People could not initially patronize the Cotton Club, but the venue featured many of the most popular black entertainers of the era, including musicians Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Fats Waller, Willie Bryant; vocalists Adelaide Hall, Ethel Waters, Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, Aida Ward, Avon Long, the Dandridge Sisters, the Will Vodery Choir, The Mills Brothers, Nina Mae McKinney, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, and dancers such as Katherine Dunham, Bill Robinson, The Nicholas Brothers, Charles 'Honi' Coles, Leonard Reed, Stepin Fetchit, the Berry Brothers, The Four Step Brothers, Jeni Le Gon and Earl Snakehips Tucker.
The first three discs' A-side and B-sides remain unchanged from their original pressings – Brunswick 6093, 4328 and 3987. "Jazz Convulsions" and "Awful Sad" originally appeared on Brunswicks 4705 and 4110. According to Joel Whitburn, only "Creole Rhapsody" charted, hitting number 18 over a two-week chart stay. [2]
These previously issued songs, were featured on a 4-disc, 78 rpm album set, Brunswick B-1011.
Disc 1: (80047)
Disc 2: (80048)
Disc 3: (80049)
Disc 4: (80050)
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra, which he led from 1923 until his death over a career spanning more than fifty years.
The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was a Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz record ever issued. The group composed and recorded many jazz standards, the most famous being "Tiger Rag". In late 1917 the spelling of the band's name was changed to Original Dixieland Jazz Band.
Paul Samuel Whiteman was an American bandleader, composer, orchestral director, and violist.
For Decca's Vocalion label, see Disques Vogue
Ivie Anderson was an American jazz singer. She enjoyed success during the 1930s, touring and recording with the band of Duke Ellington. She died in 1949, aged 45.
"Tiger Rag" is a jazz standard that was recorded and copyrighted by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in 1917. It is one of the most recorded jazz compositions. In 2003, the 1918 recording of "Tiger Rag" was entered into the U.S. Library of Congress National Recording Registry.
"Don't Get Around Much Anymore" is a jazz standard written by composer Duke Ellington. The song was originally entitled "Never No Lament" and was first recorded by Duke Ellington and his orchestra on May 4, 1940. "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" quickly became a hit after Bob Russell wrote its lyrics in 1942.
"Dinah" is a popular song published in 1925 and introduced by Ethel Waters at the Plantation Club on Broadway. It was integrated into the show Kid Boots. The music was written by Harry Akst and the lyrics by Sam M. Lewis and Joe Young. Hit versions in 1926 were by Ethel Waters, The Revelers, Cliff Edwards, and Fletcher Henderson.
"I Didn't Know About You" is a 1944 song composed by Duke Ellington, with lyrics written by Bob Russell.
"(In My) Solitude" is a 1934 jazz standard composed by Duke Ellington with lyrics by Eddie DeLange and Irving Mills.
This is the discography of Duke Ellington. Most of these recordings are listed by the year they were recorded rather than year released. Reissues are listed for most of the recordings released before the 1950s, as the original 78s are rare. The US chart listing information should be considered tentative because sources like the Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories does not take the cheaper dime-store records into account. During this period, records sold by song title, not by artist, although there are exceptions.
"Them There Eyes" is a jazz song written by Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber, and William Tracey that was published in 1930. One of the early recorded versions was performed by Louis Armstrong in 1931. It was made famous by Billie Holiday, who recorded her version in 1939 for Vocalion Records. A version by Emile Ford & The Checkmates reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart in 1960.
Between 1938 and 1944, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra released 266 singles on the monaural ten-inch shellac 78 rpm format. Their studio output comprised a variety of musical styles inside of the Swing genre, including ballads, band chants, dance instrumentals, novelty tracks, songs adapted from motion pictures, and, as the Second World War approached, patriotic music.
"Liza " is a song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn. It was introduced in 1929 by Ruby Keeler in Florenz Ziegfeld's musical Show Girl. The stage performances were accompanied by the Duke Ellington Orchestra. On the show's opening night in Boston on June 25, 1929, Keeler's husband and popular singer Al Jolson suddenly stood up from his seat in the third row and sang a chorus of the song, much to the surprise of the audience and Gershwin himself. Jolson recorded the song a few days later on July 6, 1929, and his rendition rose to number nine on the charts of the day.
Eastbourne Performance is a live album by American pianist, composer and band leader Duke Ellington featuring his final recorded concert at the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne, England in December 1973 and released on the RCA label in 1975.
"East St Louis Toodle-Oo" is a composition written by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley and recorded several times by Ellington for various labels from 1926-1930 under various titles. This song was the first charting single for Duke Ellington in 1927 and was one of the main examples of his early "jungle music". This composition was covered by Steely Dan on their 1974 album Pretzel Logic.
The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz is a six-LP box set released in 1973 by the Smithsonian Institution. Compiled by jazz essayist and historian Martin Williams, the album featured tracks from over a dozen record labels spanning several decades and genres of American jazz, from ragtime and big band to post-bop and free jazz. The compilation has been recognized as an invaluable document of jazz history and maintains a legacy as introductory listening for new jazz fans as well as scholarship due to its extensive liner notes.
"Blues in My Heart" is a 1931 jazz standard. It was written by Benny Carter and Irving Mills.
Harlem Jazz, 1930 is a compilation album of phonograph records assembled by Brunswick Records during the American Federation of Musicians strike, cataloguing the effect of the Harlem Renaissance on what was known as Dixieland, or "hot" jazz in New York City. The album features venues the orchestras played at the time of the recordings, such as Connie's Inn or The Cotton Club.
Ellingtonia, Vol. One is a compilation album of phonograph records assembled by Brunswick Records during the American Federation of Musicians strike, cataloguing the early, experimental Brunswick and Vocalion recordings of Duke Ellington in the middle of the Harlem Renaissance. During the later Swing era, the recordings were praised for accurately predicting the developments in the Big band genre several years in advance.