[Dixielandjazz] Duke Ellington reviewed - All About Jazz, June 14, 2014

[Robert Ringwald]

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra: The Treasury Shows, Volume 18 (2014)
by Chris Mosey
All About Jazz, June 14, 2014
As Duke Ellington leads his band into the opening bars of "Take The A Train," a mighty
roar goes up from the radio audience. The moment comes four tracks into the first
CD of this double Storyville release, after a somewhat shaky start.
With it there's a marvellous feeling of being back in 1946 at the height of Ellington's
popularity.
The experience is worth having to put up with the patronising ABC Radio master of
ceremonies, the now dated love songs Ellington included for dancers and incessant
kowtowing to James C. Petrillo, then President of the American Federation of Musicians.
The war is over and a bright new future beckons. In one of his plugs for Treasury
bonds, Ellington actually predicts the age of mass air travel.
But what is really important about this Treasury Show as far as jazz fans are concerned
is his inclusion of two sections from "Black, Brown and Beige," his first major extended
work, premiered to mixed reviews at Carnegie Hall three years earlier.
The criticism, especially that of John Hammond, made Ellington wonder whether he
was taking the right path in putting the emphasis on longer "works" as opposed to
the catchy three-minute singles favored by his record producers.
Jazz was changing. The bebop revolution was extending the music's horizons, taking
it away from the ballrooms of the swing era into smaller, more intimate clubs where
audiences actually listened.
History vindicated Ellington. His orchestra would have gone the way of all the other
big bands but for its leader's dogged pursuit of greater artistic freedom. The broadcasts
on these disks find Ellington at a crossroads and -- conscious of the mass market
radio gave him -- he refrains from pushing the envelope too hard. This is just as
well. Hammond wasn't all wrong. Ellington described "Black, Brown And Beige" as "A
Tone Parallel To The History Of The Negro In America." Given his head, the Duke could
be more than a mite pretentious-moi.
Radio brought him back down to earth. "Stompy Jones," and "Three Cent Stomp" were
aimed at those who voted for his orchestra in the "swing" section of Down Beat polls.
"Don't Take Your Love From Me" and "I'm Just A Lucky So And So" were for those who
favored the band in the "sweet" category. Daft though such labels seem nowadays,
Ellington needed to heed them to stay ahead commercially (though he was perhaps making
a point when he titled one number "Stomp, Look And Listen").
There's the familiar -- versions of "Sophisticated Lady," "Perdido" and "Concerto
For Cootie." But there's also the unexpected, including Ellington's takes on Buck
Clayton's "Hollywood Hangover" and "Poinciana," which Ahmad Jamal would later make
his own.
But the highlights are the two sections from "Black, Brown And Beige." Kay Davis
handles "The Blues" extremely well and "Come Sunday" on the second CD allows Ray
Nance to parade his sensitivity on violin, in stark contrast with the knockabout
"Riff Staccato" on the first disk.
Warning: Ellington's version of Count Basie's "One O'Clock Jump," hyped by the oh-so-hip
MC as "just about as solid as you can possibly get," actually isn't a patch on the
original, featuring the contrasting tenors of Lester Young and Herschel Evans.
Basie had no ideas above his station -- he didn't write tones parallel to anything
-- which endeared him to John Hammond. Ellington was a far trickier customer; one
who didn't like being told to what he should or should not aspire.
__________
Track Listing: CD1: Jam-A-Ditty; Blue Is The Night; Passion Flower; Take The A Train;
Mood To Be Wooed; Caravan; Bond Promo; Don't Take Your Love From Me; Take The A Train;
The Blues; Bond Promo; Sono; One O'Clock Jump; I'm Just A Lucky So And So; Riff Staccato;
Just A-Sittin'And A-Rockin'; Rockabye River; Jumping Frog Jump; Do Nothin' Till You
Hear From Me; Johnny Come Lately; Poinciana; On The Alamo; Three Cent Stomp; I Didn't
Know About You. CD2: Take The A Train; Stompy Jones; Moon Mist; Bond Promo; Just
A- Sittin' And A-Rockin'; I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me; Sophisticate
Lady; Bond Promo; Jennie: I'm Just A Lucky So And So; Come Sunday; Light; Bond Promo;
We'll Be Together Again; Hollywood Hangover; Subtle Slough; Bond Promo; Perdido;
Time Alone Will Tell; San Fernando Valley; Stomp, Look And Listen; Concerto For Cootie;
Long Ago And Far Away; Someone; Suddenly It Jumped; Things Ain't What They Used To
Be.
Personnel: Shelton Hemphill, Rex Stewart, Taft Jordan, Francis Williams, Reunald
Jones, Cat Anderson, Bernard Flood, Ray Nance: trumpets; Tricky Sam Nanton, Lawrence
Brown, Claude Jones, Wilbur De Paris: trombones; Jimmy Hamilton, Al Sears, Johnny
Hodges, Otto Hardwick, Russell Procope; Harry Carney: reeeds; Duke Ellington, Billy
Strayhorn: piano; Fred Guy: guitar; Oscar Pettiford, Junior Raglin: bass; Sonny Greer:
drums; Kay Davis, Al Hibbler: vocals.
Record Label: Storyville Records
-30


-Bob Ringwald K6YBV
www.ringwald.com
916/ 806-9551

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