The Duke The Lady

This collection of Ellington's Thirties recordings is generous in that it offers 95 selections and meagre in that there is no discographical information at all (no recording dates, no personel, no matrix numbers). The liner notes give some information but leave one pining for more too. There the criticism ends. Audio restoration by Dutchman Harry Coster (who is attached to the Dutch Jazz Archive and has an outstanding reputation for painstaking restoration of old material) is beyond reproach and the recordings never sounded so good before. And of course there is the music itself, which is formidable, both in musical content and in execution by that peerless group of proud individuals that constituted the Duke Ellington orchestra…

Tapping into the deep vaults of Blue Note and Capitol Records, the compilers of this Duke Ellington tribute deliver both classic vocal sides and hard bop instrumentals. Kicked off, appropriately enough, with Ellington's own version of "Rockin' in Rhythm," the mix includes the A-list likes of Nat King Cole ("Mood Indigo"), Kenny Burrell ("Caravan"), Nina Simone ("It Don't Mean a Thing"), and Clifford Jordan ("Sophisticated Lady"). Shifting between vintage tracks from the '50s and '60s and more modern turns cut during the '80s, the disc also features big band favorite Stan Kenton; Ellington's writing partner, Billy Strayhorn; Hammond B-3 great Jimmy McGriff; and multi-style singer Lou Rawls. A well-balanced and fetching compilation.

Ella Fitzgerald - Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Song Book (1957) {3CD Set Verve Master Edition 559 248-2 rel 1999}
XLD rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 715 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 503 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 540 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1957, 1999 Verve / PolyGram | 559 248-2 | Verve Master Edition Series
Jazz / Vocal Jazz / Standards

This release comes in a cardboard box which houses a 4-panel Digisleeve and a 66-page booklet. Ella Fitzgerald's outstanding songbook series has become an institution unto itself. This 1957 effort is distinguished from Fitzgerald's other songbooks in that it is the only album in which the composer whose work she is singing actively participates. In fact, these recordings are packed with some of the key figures in 20th century jazz. As if Ella and Duke weren't enough, Ellington's arranger/composer Billy Strayhorn, guest musicians Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson, and brilliant record producer Norman Granz all have a hand in the proceedings.

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life…

This admittedly pricey - but by all means mandatory - Grammy Award-winning box set is the final word on the "songbooks" recorded by Ella Fitzgerald between 1956 and 1964. The audio contents have been completely remastered and each title has been expanded - wherever possible - to include previously unissued material. In terms of packaging, the producers went to extreme lengths to create exact reproductions of all the vintage LP jacket artwork. Even going so far as to precisely miniaturize the entire hardbound text The Gershwins: Words Upon Music that accompanied their 1959 collection as well as the booklet that came with the Ellington anthology…

Georgiana Spencer became Duchess of Devonshire on her marriage to the Duke in 1774, at the height of the Georgian period, a period of fashion, decadence, and political change. Spirited and adored by the public at large she quickly found her marriage to be a disappointment, defined by her duty to produce a male heir and the Duke's philandering and callous indifference to her.