Duke Ellington discography

Last updated

This is the discography of recordings by Duke Ellington, including those nominally led by his sidemen (mainly in the 1930s and early 1940s), and his later collaborations (mainly in the 1960s) with musicians with whom Ellington had generally not previously recorded.

Contents

Discography

Studio albums

YearTitleLabelYear recordedNotes
1947 [1] Duke Ellington Plays the Blues10-inch LP; [na 1]
1948 Liberian Suite Columbia 10-inch LP
1951 Masterpieces by Ellington Columbia [nb 1]
1952 Ellington Uptown Columbia1952
1953 Premiered by Ellington Capitol 1953
1953 The Duke Plays Ellington Capitol1953
1954 Dance to the Duke! Capitol1954
1955 Ellington '55 Capitol1955
1955 Ellington Showcase Capitol1955
1956 Blue Rose Columbia1955
1956 Historically Speaking Bethlehem
1956 Duke Ellington Presents... Bethlehem1955with Rosemary Clooney
1957 A Drum Is a Woman Columbia1955
1957 Such Sweet Thunder Columbia1955
1957 Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book Verve 1955with Ella Fitzgerald
1958 Black, Brown and Beige Columbia1955
1958 Ellington Indigos Columbia1955
1958 Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque Columbia1955
1958 The Cosmic Scene Columbia1955
1959 Jazz Party Columbia1955
1959 Back to Back: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges Play the Blues Verve1955with Johnny Hodges
1959 Side by Side Verve1955with Johnny Hodges
1959 Anatomy of a Murder Columbia1955soundtrack album
1959 Festival Session Columbia1955
1960 Blues in Orbit Columbia
1960 The Nutcracker Suite Columbia
1960 Piano in the Background Columbia [nc 1]
1961 Swinging Suites by Edward E. and Edward G. ColumbiaAKA Peer Gynt Suite/Suite Thursday
1961 Piano in the Foreground Columbia
1961The Great Reunion Roulette with Louis Armstrong
1961Together AgainRoulettewith Louis Armstrong
1961 Paris Blues United Artists Paris Blues soundtrack
1961 First Time! The Count Meets the Duke Columbiawith Count Basie
1962 All American in Jazz Columbia
1962 Midnight in Paris Columbia
1963 Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins Impulse! with Coleman Hawkins
1963 Duke Ellington & John Coltrane Impulse!1962with John Coltrane
1963 Money Jungle United Artists with Charles Mingus and Max Roach
1963 Afro-Bossa Reprise
1964 The Symphonic Ellington Reprise
1965 My People Red Baron
1965 Ellington '65 Reprise
1965 Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins Reprise
1965 Ellington '66 Reprise
1965 Ella at Duke's Place Vervewith Ella Fitzgerald
1966 Serenade to Sweden Reprise1965with Alice Babs
1967 Far East Suite RCA
1967 The Popular Duke Ellington RCA
1968 ...And His Mother Called Him Bill RCA1967
1968 Francis A. & Edward K. Reprise1967with Frank Sinatra
1968 Second Sacred Concert Prestigestudio recording, despite the title
1969 North of the Border in Canada Decca 1967with the Ron Collier Orchestra
1970 New Orleans Suite Atlantic
1970 Orchestral Works Decca
1972 Latin American Suite Fantasy 1968 & 1970
1973 This One's for Blanton! Pablo with Ray Brown
1973 It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing Flying Dutchman with Teresa Brewer
1974 Recollections of the Big Band Era Atlantic1962–63recorded for Reprise
1974 Duke's Big 4 Pablo
Posthumous albums
1974 The Pianist Fantasy1966 & 1970
1975 The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse Fantasy1971
1976 Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session Atlantic1963
1976 The Ellington Suites Pablo 1959–72
1977 The Intimate Ellington Pablo1969–71
1979 Unknown Session Columbia1960
1979 Up in Duke's Workshop Pablo1969–72
1985 Featuring Paul Gonsalves Fantasy1962
1986 The Intimacy of the Blues Fantasy1967–70
2004 The Jaywalker Storyville 1966–1967

Live albums

YearTitleLabelYear recordedNotes
1946 Black, Brown, and Beige Victor2 × 12" 78 rpm
1954The Seattle Concert RCA Victor
1956 Ellington at Newport Columbia
1956 [2] Duke Ellington and the Buck Clayton All Stars at NewportColumbia
1958 Newport 1958 Columbialive concert with studio work, later full concert released as Live at Newport 1958
1959 Live at the Blue Note Roulette
1965 Concert in the Virgin Islands Reprise
1966 The Duke at Tanglewood RCA Victorwith the Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler
1966A Concert of Sacred Music from Grace CathedralStatusSee: Sacred Concert (Ellington)
1967 Soul Call Verve
1967 The Stockholm Concert, 1966 Pablowith Ella Fitzgerald
1967 Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur Vervewith Ella Fitzgerald
1970 70th Birthday Concert Solid State
1971 Togo Brava Suite United Artists
1973 Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II Columbia1958
1973 The Great Paris Concert Atlantic1963
1973 Yale Concert Fantasy1968
Posthumous live albums
1975 The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World Pablo1967Various artists
1975 Third Sacred Concert RCA1973
1975 Eastbourne Performance RCA1973
1977 The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1947 Prestige 1947
1977 The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943 Prestige1943
1977 The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1944 Prestige1944
1977 The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1946 Prestige1946
2001 Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live Storyville 1940
1983 All Star Road Band Doctor Jazz 1957
1985 All Star Road Band Volume 2 Doctor Jazz1964
1986 In the Uncommon Market Pablo1963–66
1991 Hot Summer Dance Red Baron 1960
1995 Live at the Whitney Impulse!1972
2002 Duke Ellington at the Alhambra Pablo1958

Compilations

Listed here are all compilations released during Ellington's lifetime, in addition to all significant compilations, excluding the aforementioned [na 1] box sets.

YearTitleLabelDate recordedNotes
1943 Ellingtonia, Vol. One Brunswick 1927–19314 × 78 RPM
1944 Ellingtonia, Vol. Two Brunswick1928–19314 × 78 RPM
1955The Duke and His Men
1955Here's the DukeColumbia
1955Duke's MixtureColumbia
1956In a Mellotone RCA Victor 1940–1942
1959 [3] Ellington MoodsJazz Legacy
The Duke's D.J. SpecialFresh Sound Records
1964Daybreak Express
1964 Great Times! Riverside with Billy Strayhorn
1965Jumpin' PunkinsRCA Victor1940–1941
1967 [4] Johnny Come Lately
1968Duke Ellington's Greatest HitsColumbia
Posthumous compilations
1982 The Girl's Suite and The Perfume Suite Columbia1957 & 1961
1985 Happy Reunion Sony 1958two sessions from 1958
1986 [5] The Blanton–Webster Band RCA/Bluebird1940–1942
1987 Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956 LMR1956The Private Sessions Volume One
1987 Dance Concerts, California 1958 LMR1958The Private Sessions Volume Two
1987 Studio Sessions, New York, 1962 LMR1962The Private Collection Volume Three
1987 Studio Sessions New York 1963 LMR1963The Private Collection Volume Four
1987 Dance Dates, California 1958 LMR1958The Private Sessions Volume Six
1987 Studio Sessions 1957 & 1962 LMR1957, 1962The Private Collection Volume Seven
1987 Studio Sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, San Francisco, Chicago, New York LMR1957, 1965–1967The Private Collection Volume Eight
1987 Studio Sessions New York, 1968 LMR1968The Private Collection Volume Nine
1987 Studio Sessions New York & Chicago, 1965, 1966 & 1971 LMR1965–1967, 1971The Private Collection Volume Ten
1988 The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970 LMR1968, 1970The Private Collection Volume Five
1991 Braggin' in Brass: The Immortal 1938 Year Portrait 1938
1993Duke Ellington's Incidental Music for Shakespeare's Play Timon of Athens adapted by Stanley Silverman; posthumous recordings of previously unreleased compositions
2003 Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band Bluebird 1940–1942from the Centennial set of 1999
The Duke Box 2 [6] 1952–1972Storyville7-CD/1-DVD set
The Private Collection (1956–1971)1956–1971 Saja 10-CD set

Session appearances

Hit records

YearSingleChart positionsFootnotes
US US
R&B 		UK
1927"East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"10 [na 2]
1928"Black and Tan Fantasy"15
"Creole Love Call"19
"Doin' the New Low Down"20
"Diga Diga Doo" [7] 17
"The Mooche"16
1930"Three Little Words"1
"Ring Dem Bells"17
1931"Blue Again"12
"Mood Indigo"3
"Rockin' in Rhythm"19
"Creole Rhapsody Parts 1 & 2"18
"Limehouse Blues"13
1932"It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"6
"Creole Rhapsody" (new version)19
"Rose Room (in Sunny Roseland)"15
"Moon over Dixie"14
"Blue Ramble"16
1933"Drop Me Off in Harlem"17
"Sophisticated Lady"3
"Stormy Weather"4
"I'm Satisfied"11
"In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree"13
1934"Daybreak Express"20
"Cocktails for Two"1
"Moon Glow"2
"Solitude"2
"Saddest Tale"9
1935"Merry-Go-Round"6
"In a Sentimental Mood"14
"Accent on Youth"6
"Cotton"4
1936"Isn't Love the Strangest Thing?"12
"Love Is Like a Cigarette"8
"Clarinet Lament"12
"Echoes of Harlem"19
"Oh Babe! Maybe Someday"8
"Jazz Lips"20
"Yearning for Love"16
1937"The New East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"16
"There's a Lull in My Life"12
"Scattin' at the Kit Kat"9
"Caravan"4
"Azure"13
"All God's Chillun Got Rhythm"14
1938"Harmony in Harlem"15
"If You Were in My Place (What Would You Do?)"10
"I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart"1
"The Gal from Joe's"20
"Lambeth Walk"7
"Prelude to a Kiss"18
1940"You, You, Darlin'"28 [na 3]
"Ko Ko"25
"At a Dixie Roadside Diner"27
"Sepia Panorama"24
1941"Flamingo"11
"Take the 'A' Train"11
"I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good"13
1942"Hayfoot, Strawfoot"10 [na 4]
1943"Don't Get Around Much Anymore"81
"Perdido"21
"Take the 'A' Train" (re-entry)19
"Bojangles"19
"A Slip of the Lip"191
"Sentimental Lady"191
1944 "Do Nothin' till You Hear from Me" 101
"Main Stem"231
"My Little Brown Book"4
"Someone"7
"I Don't Mind"9
1945"I'm Beginning to See the Light"64
"Don't You Know I Care"10
"I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues"4
1946"Come to Baby, Do"13
1948"Don't Be So Mean to Baby"15
1953"Satin Doll"
"Boo Dah"30
1954"Skin Deep"7

Singles

Footnotes

Early years: 1920–1940s

  1. 1 2 As the long-player format didn't become a significant part of the industry until the late 1940s, Ellington's record output before 1947 consisted largely of singles, from labels such as RCA Victor, Okeh, and Brunswick. They represent the bulk of his work that has been collected in box sets, while material from other labels is scattered. The most comprehensive source for Ellington's early work are the multi-volume The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra Classics releases, although that series omits alternate takes, which can be found in other collections.
  2. ↑ During the 1920s and 1930s, Ellington and his band recorded for almost every label (BluDisc, Pathé, Perfect, Victor, Brunswick, Columbia Records, Okeh, Vocalion, Cameo, Romeo, Lincoln, Banner, Domino, Jewel, and Hit of the Week).
  3. ↑ By the 1940s, Ellington's recordings featuring Jimmy Blanton and Ben Webster, garnered praise of his work as being "the best Ellington", according to critic Bob Blumenthal. [8]
  4. ↑ Activity in the commercial recording industry was restricted during the 1942–1944 musicians' strike which including a recording ban, but Ellington did make annual visits to Carnegie Hall. In the January 1943 concert, Ellington introduced his first extended suite, "Black, Brown and Beige".

1950s

  1. ↑ Ellington began the 1950s with his career seemingly in decline with several musicians leaving, Lawrence Brown, Sonny Greer, and Johnny Hodges, although Brown and Hodges later rejoined. After the orchestra's appearance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, with Paul Gonsalves running through 27 choruses of "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", Ellington's profile revived.

1960s

  1. ↑ In the 1960s, Ellington made recordings with Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, and Frank Sinatra, among others. He continued to write and record extended suites, such as his religious "Sacred Concerts", the "Perfume Suite", and the "Latin American Suite".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke Ellington</span> American jazz pianist and composer (1899–1974)

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life.

<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">Barney Bigard</span> American jazz clarinetist

Albany Leon "Barney" Bigard was an American jazz clarinetist known for his 15-year tenure with Duke Ellington. He also played tenor saxophone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coleman Hawkins</span> American jazz saxophonist (1904–1969)

Coleman Randolph Hawkins, nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. One of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument, as Joachim E. Berendt explained: "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn". Hawkins biographer John Chilton described the prevalent styles of tenor saxophone solos prior to Hawkins as "mooing" and "rubbery belches". Hawkins denied being first and noted his contemporaries Happy Caldwell, Stump Evans, and Prince Robinson, although he was the first to tailor his method of improvisation to the saxophone rather than imitate the techniques of the clarinet. Hawkins' virtuosic, arpeggiated approach to improvisation, with his characteristic rich, emotional, and vibrato-laden tonal style, was the main influence on a generation of tenor players that included Chu Berry, Charlie Barnet, Tex Beneke, Ben Webster, Vido Musso, Herschel Evans, Buddy Tate, and Don Byas, and through them the later tenormen, Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, Flip Phillips, Ike Quebec, Al Sears, Paul Gonsalves, and Lucky Thompson. While Hawkins became known with swing music during the big band era, he had a role in the development of bebop in the 1940s.

Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be standards changes over time. Songs included in major fake book publications and jazz reference works offer a rough guide to which songs are considered standards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Brown (jazz trombonist)</span> American jazz trombonist

Lawrence Brown was an American jazz trombonist from California best remembered for his work with the Duke Ellington orchestra. He was a session musician throughout his career, and also recorded albums under his own name.

<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">Harry Carney</span> American jazz saxophonist and clarinettist

Harry Howell Carney was a jazz saxophonist and clarinettist who spent over four decades as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He played a variety of instruments, but primarily used the baritone saxophone, being a critical influence on the instrument in jazz.

<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">Irving Mills</span> American music publisher and lyricist (1894–1985)

Irving Harold Mills was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz promoter. He often used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose.

<i>Ellington at Newport</i> 1956 live album by Duke Ellington

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." 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". The original release was partly recreated in the studio after the Ellington Orchestra's festival appearance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild Bill Davis</span> American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger

Wild Bill Davis was the stage name of American jazz pianist, organist, and arranger William Strethen Davis. He is best known for his pioneering jazz electric organ recordings and for his tenure with the Tympany Five, the backing group for Louis Jordan. Prior to the emergence of Jimmy Smith in 1956, Davis was the pacesetter among organists.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cat Anderson</span> American jazz trumpeter

William Alonzo "Cat" Anderson was an American jazz trumpeter known for his long period as a member of Duke Ellington's orchestra and for his wide range, especially his ability to play in the altissimo register.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Hamilton</span> American jazz musician (1917–1994)

Jimmy Hamilton was an American jazz clarinetist and 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taft Jordan</span> Musical artist

Taft Jordan was an American jazz trumpeter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlo-e (Song of the Swamp)</span>

"Chlo-e " (1927) is a show tune with music by Charles N. Daniels, writing under the pseudonym of "Neil Morét," and lyrics by Gus Kahn. It is now regarded as a jazz standard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyd Trotman</span> American musician (1923–2007)

Lloyd Nelson Trotman, born in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, was an American jazz bassist, who backed numerous jazz, dixieland, R&B, and rock and roll artists in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He resided in Huntington, Long Island, New York between 1962 and 2007, and prior to that in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York from 1945 to 1962. He worked primarily out of New York City. He provided the bass line on Ben E. King's "Stand by Me".

<i>The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz</i> 1973 compilation album

The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz is a six-LP box set released in 1973 by the Smithsonian Institution. Compiled by jazz critic, scholar, and historian Martin Williams, the album included 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.

References

  1. ↑ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1947-08-23.
  2. ↑ Duke Ellington - Duke Ellington and the Buck Clayton All-Stars at Newport Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic , retrieved 2023-02-12
  3. ↑ Duke Ellington - Ellington Moods , retrieved 2023-02-12
  4. ↑ Duke Ellington - Johnny Come Lately , retrieved 2023-02-12
  5. ↑ Gold, Gerald (December 7, 1986). "Bluebird Flies Once More". The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  6. ↑ Mosey, Chris (December 14, 2016). "Duke Elllington And His Orchestra: The Duke Box 2". All About Jazz. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  7. ↑ Brothers, Thomas (2018). Help!: The Beatles, Duke Ellington, and the Magic of Collaboration. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN   978-0393246247.
  8. ↑ The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide, p. 70.
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.