The Duke Box

The Duke Box

by Duke EllingtonDuke Ellington

Overview

During the 1940s, the Duke Ellington and Count Basie orchestras were the medulla oblongata in the central nervous system of jazz throughout the United States of America. The evolution of Duke's unparalleled orchestra during that very transitional decade is etched in commercially issued phonograph records; when the listener is able to follow this progress using lesser-known air check acetates and hand-made field recordings, the plot thickens as tempos relax and soloists are allowed more space for improvisation. It's a lot like hearing the music live through a large antique radio full of bulbous vacuum tubes with orange filaments aglow. Storyville's eight-CD Duke Box is a treasure chest of live location and broadcast studio performances originally preserved for posterity on privately produced platters and radio transcription discs. Announcers pop up everywhere -- even in the studios -- and some of them garble song titles or blab right over the music. Alistair Cooke even narrates a "staged rehearsal" as if covering a cricket match. It's an invaluable lesson in the combined histories of jazz and radio. For those who crave such information, here's a quick rundown of dates and locations. On January 9, 1940 the band broadcast over NBC from the Southland, a venue at 76 Warrenton Street in Boston, MA variously described as Café, Casino and Ballroom. On June 10, 1940 they broadcast from the CBS Studios in New York. On November 7, 1940 the Ellington orchestra played the Crystal Ballroom in Fargo, ND; the music played on that night was captured on a portable recording unit using 78 rpm discs. On April 3 and 4, as well as on June 6, 1943, Duke's band played the Hurricane Club in Times Square at Broadway and West 51st Street. On December 8, 1943, Ellington's orchestra entertained armed forces personnel at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, VA; three days later they gave a full-length concert at Carnegie Hall. On July 8, 1944, Duke took his band to the Naval Training Center in Bainbridge, MD. A performance in the New Zanzibar at West 49th and Broadway in New York City was recorded on September 26, 1945. In a rather unusual set of circumstances, Duke Ellington and his orchestra performed a contrived rehearsal at New York's World Studios on August 3, 1945; with announcements by Alistair Cooke, this material was broadcast only once, over the BBC network, on December 28, 1945. This stunning collection of uncommon recordings ends with live broadcasts from the Howard Theatre in Washington D.C. on April 20, 1946 and the Hollywood Empire Ballroom in Los Angeles during February 1949. Proof again that Duke Ellington spent most of his life on the road.

Product Details

Release Date: 03/06/2007
Label: Storyville Records
UPC: 0717101860029
catalogNumber: 1088600
Rank: 71533

Tracks

Disc 1

  1. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
  2. Me and You
  3. Grievin'
  4. Little Posey
  5. My Last Goodbye
  6. The Gal from Joe's
  7. Tootin' Through the Roof
  8. Day in, Day Out
  9. Merry-Go-Round
  10. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
  11. Ko Ko
  12. Blue Goose
  13. So Far, So Good
  14. Cotton Tail
  15. Concerto for Cootie
  16. Jack the Bear
  17. Boy Meets Horn
  18. The Sergeant Was Shy
  19. Never No Lament

Disc 2

  1. It's Glory
  2. The Mooche
  3. The Sheik of Araby
  4. Sepia Panorama
  5. Ko Ko
  6. There Shall Be No Night
  7. Pussy Willow
  8. Chatterbox
  9. Mood Indigo
  10. Harlem Airshaft
  11. Ferryboat Serenade
  12. Warm Valley
  13. Stompy Jones
  14. Chloe
  15. Bojangles
  16. On the Air
  17. Rumpus in Richmond
  18. Chaser
  19. The Sidewalks of New York
  20. The Flaming Sword
  21. Never No Lament
  22. Caravan
  23. Clarinet Lament

Disc 3

  1. Slap Happy
  2. Sepia Panorama
  3. Boy Meets Horn
  4. Way Down Yonder in New Orleans
  5. Oh Babe, Maybe Someday
  6. Five O'Clock Whistle
  7. Fanfare
  8. Call of the Canyon/Unidentified Title/All This and Heaven Too
  9. Rockin' in Rhythm
  10. Sophisticated Lady
  11. Cotton Tail
  12. Whispering Grass
  13. Congo Brava
  14. I Never Felt This Way Before
  15. Across the Track Blues
  16. Honeysuckle Rose
  17. Wham
  18. Star Dust
  19. Rose of the Rio Grande
  20. St. Louis Blues
  21. Warm Valley
  22. God Bless America

Disc 4

  1. Take the 'A' Train
  2. Hayfoot Strawfoot
  3. It Can't Be Wrong
  4. What Am I Here For?
  5. Mainstem (Altitude)
  6. Could It Be You?
  7. Goin' Up
  8. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
  9. Nevada
  10. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
  11. Take the 'A' Train
  12. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
  13. Mainstem (Altitude)
  14. I Don't Want Anybody at All
  15. Johnny Come Lately
  16. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
  17. Moon Mist
  18. You'll Never Know
  19. Tonight I Shall Sleep
  20. I Don't Know What Kind of Blues I Got
  21. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
  22. Moon Mist
  23. Introduction
  24. I Wonder Why
  25. Goin' Up

Disc 5

  1. Star Spangled Banner
  2. Introduction by Duke Ellington
  3. Take the 'A' Train
  4. Moon Mist
  5. Tea for Two
  6. Honeysuckle Rose
  7. Star Dust
  8. The C Jam Blues
  9. West Indian Influence
  10. Lighter Attitude
  11. New World A-Coming
  12. Floor Show
  13. Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Disc 6

  1. Introduction by Duke Ellington
  2. Ring dem Bells
  3. Medley: In a Sentimental Mood/Mood Indigo/Sophisticated Lady/Caravan/So
  4. Jack the Bear
  5. Do Nothing 'Till You Hear from Me
  6. Summertime
  7. Cotton Tail
  8. Black and Tan Fantasy
  9. Rockin' in Rhythm
  10. Sentimental Lady
  11. Trumpet in Spades
  12. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
  13. Announcer and Duke Ellington Introduction
  14. G.I. Jive
  15. Amor, Amor
  16. Frankie and Johnny

Disc 7

  1. Take the 'A' Train
  2. Suddenly It Jumped
  3. Laura
  4. Kissing Bug
  5. Stompy Jones
  6. Solid Old Man
  7. Carnegie Blues
  8. In a Mellotone
  9. Fancy Dan
  10. Things Ain't What They Used to Be
  11. Black and Tan Fantasy
  12. Mood to Be Wooed
  13. Frantic Fantasy
  14. The C Jam Blues
  15. Air Conditioned Jungle
  16. On the Sunny Side of the Street
  17. Rockin' in Rhythm
  18. Take the 'A' Train
  19. The Blues
  20. Sono

Disc 8

  1. Solid Old Man
  2. Singin' in the Rain
  3. Three Cent Stomp
  4. Tulip or Turnip
  5. Take the 'A' Train
  6. Hy'a Sue
  7. The C Jam Blues
  8. Passion Flower
  9. Clementine
  10. Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'
  11. One O'Clock Jump
  12. Unbooted Character
  13. Paradise
  14. How You Sound
  15. It's Monday Every Day
  16. Caravan
  17. Cotton Tail

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Duke Ellington   Primary Artist,Piano
Hibbler   Vocals
Cat Anderson   Trumpet
Johnny Hodges   Clarinet,Alto Saxophone,Soprano Saxophone
Ray Nance   Trumpet,Violin,Vocals
Oscar Pettiford   Bass
Betty Roché   Vocals
Sears   Tenor Saxophone
Rex Stewart   Trumpet,Cornet
Ben Webster   Clarinet,Tenor Saxophone
Cootie Williams   Trumpet
Lawrence Brown   Trombone
Tyree Glenn   Trombone
Herb Jeffries   Vocals
Taft Jordan   Trumpet
Joya Sherrill   Vocals
Russell Procope   Alto Saxophone
Ivie Anderson   Vocals
Quentin Jackson   Trombone
Jimmy Blanton   Bass
Sonny Greer   Drums
Harold Baker   Trumpet
Barney Bigard   Clarinet,Tenor Saxophone
Harry Carney   Clarinet,Bass Clarinet,Alto Saxophone,Baritone Saxophone
Kay Davis   Vocals
Fred Guy   Guitar,Human Whistle
Jimmy Hamilton   Clarinet,Tenor Saxophone
Shelton Hemphill   Trumpet
Claude Jones   Trombone
Nat Jones   Clarinet,Alto Saxophone
Reunald Jones   Trumpet
Killian   Trumpet
Wendell Marshall   Bass
Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton   Trombone
Billy Strayhorn   Piano
Juan Tizol   Trombone
Elmer "Skippy" Williams   Clarinet,Tenor Saxophone
Wilbur De Paris   Trombone
Wallace Jones   Trumpet
Alvin Raglin   Bass
Oett "Sax" Mallard   Clarinet,Alto Saxophone
Sandy Williams   Trombone
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra   Track Performer
Francis Williams   Trumpet
Otto Hardwick   Clarinet,Alto Saxophone

Technical Credits

Irving Berlin   Composer
Hoagy Carmichael   Composer
Count Basie   Composer
Johnny Hodges   Composer
Rex Stewart   Composer
Fats Waller   Composer
Jimmy Mundy   Composer
Joya Sherrill   Composer
W.C. Handy   Composer
Jimmy McHugh   Composer
Vincent Youmans   Composer
Ernest Tubb   Composer
Bubber Miley   Composer
Andy Razaf   Composer
Nacio Herb Brown   Composer
Barney Bigard   Composer
Harry Carney   Composer
Duke Ellington   Composer
Dorothy Fields   Composer
Kim Gannon   Composer
Ira Gershwin   Composer
Eddy Howard   Composer
Gus Kahn   Composer
Herbert Magidson   Composer
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Dan Morgenstern   Liner Notes
Hans Nielsen   Engineer
Cole Porter   Composer
David Raksin   Composer
Max Steiner   Composer
Billy Strayhorn   Composer,Assistant Arranger
Jule Styne   Composer
Juan Tizol   Composer
Mike Hennessey Chastet   Biographical Information
Anders Stefansen   Producer
Don George   Composer
Neil Moret (Chas. N. Daniels)   Composer
Francis Scott Key   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Eldo di Lazzaro   Composer

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