Francis A. & Edward K.

Francis A. & Edward K.
Studio album by Frank Sinatra & Duke Ellington
Released	1968
Recorded	December 11 – 12, 1967, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Vocal jazz
Length	35:14
Label	Reprise
Producer	Sonny Burke
Frank Sinatra chronology
The World We Knew (1967) Francis A. & Edward K. (1968) Frank Sinatra's Greatest Hits (1968)
Duke Ellington chronology
...And His Mother Called Him Bill (1967) Francis A. & Edward K. (1968) Yale Concert (1968)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Francis A. & Edward K. is an album by Frank Sinatra with Duke Ellington and his big band.

Recording and music

The original intention was to record a mix of standards and originals, but only one original, Ellington's "I Like the Sunrise", was used. ^[1] The arrangements were written by Billy May. ^[2] All of the performances are at a slow tempo except "Come Back to Me". ^[1]

Release and reception

Francis A. & Edward K. was released by Reprise Records. ^[2] The AllMusic reviewer wrote that both Sinatra and the Ellington band gave uneven performances; ^[1] however, HiFiStereo Review gave it a "Best Of The Month" review in the May 1968 edition, in which reviewer Peter Reilly observed, "Two fine musicians at the peak of their powers have made an album twice as youthful and carefree and unpretentious as most people less than half their age."

Track listing

1. "Follow Me" (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe) – 3:56
2. "Sunny" (Bobby Hebb) – 4:15
3. "All I Need Is the Girl" (Stephen Sondheim, Jule Styne) – 5:01
4. "Indian Summer" (Victor Herbert, Al Dubin) – 4:14
5. "I Like the Sunrise" (Duke Ellington) (from Ellington's Liberian Suite (1947)) – 5:02
6. "Yellow Days" (Álvaro Carrillo, Alan Bernstein) – 5:00
7. "Poor Butterfly" (Raymond Hubbell, John Golden) – 4:29
8. "Come Back to Me" (Burton Lane, Lerner) – 3:22

Personnel

• Frank Sinatra - vocals
• Billy May - arranger, conductor
• Duke Ellington - piano
• Cootie Williams - Trumpet
• Cat Anderson - Trumpet
• Jimmy Hamilton - Clarinet, tenor saxophone
• Paul Gonsalves - Tenor saxophone
• Johnny Hodges - Alto saxophone
• Russell Procope - Alto saxophone, clarinet
• Harry Carney - Baritone saxophone
• Lawrence Brown - Trombone
• Jeff Castleman - Double Bass
• Sam Woodyard - Drums

Among others, non-credited.

• Sonny Burke - Producer
• Lee Herschberg - Engineer
• Ed Thrasher - Art direction

Complete Personnel:

Cat Anderson, Herbie Jones, Cootie Williams, Mercer Ellington, Al Porcino (tpt); Buster Cooper, Lawrence Brown, Chuck Connors (tbn); Johnny Hodges (alt); Russell Procope (alt/clt); Jimmy Hamilton (ten/clt); Paul Gonsalves (ten); Harry Camey (bar/b-clt); Bill Miller, Duke Ellington, Jimmy Jones (p); Jeffrey Castleman (b); Sam Woodyard (d). Billy May (arr/cond).

Tracks 3, 4, 6, 8:

Recorded 11-December-1967 (Monday) - Hollywood. Western Recorders (from I to 6 P.M.).

Tracks 1, 2, 7, 5:

Recorded 12-December-1967 (Tuesday) - Hollywood. Western Recorders (from I to 5 P.M.). ^[3]

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Frank Sinatra / Duke Ellington: Francis A. & Edward K." AllMusic . Retrieved December 5, 2018.
2. Morgenstern, Dan (2014). "Ellington in the 1960s and 1970s: Triumph and Tragedy". In Green, Edward (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Duke Ellington. Cambridge University Press. p. 163. ISBN   978-0-521-88119-7.
3. Put Your Dreams Away: A Frank Sinatra Discography. ISBN   978-0274963768.