Playlist: The Very Best of Duke Ellington

by Duke Ellington

Overview

As a pianist, composer, and bandleader, Duke Ellington was simply one of the most important musicians of the 20th century. Utterly American, he infused jazz with gospel emotions, the structural simplicity of the blues, and the epic reach of classical music to create a monumental body of work. This 14-track set can only touch the surface of that legacy, and it concentrates on two phases of Ellington's long career -- his late-'20s recordings when he had his band working at New York's Cotton Club ("Take the 'A' Train" and "Creole Love Call") and his later film and television work in the late '40s and early '50s ("The Asphalt Jungle Theme"). It makes for a somewhat sideways, skewed look at Ellington, but it still features excellent tracks and that it all flows together in spite of coming from two different eras is a measure of Ellington's timelessness. ~ Steve Leggett

Product Details

Release Date:	09/14/2010
Label:	Legacy / Masterworks / Masterworks Jazz
UPC:	0886977559723
Rank:	230827

Tracks

1. Diga Diga Doo
2. I Can't Give You Anything But Love
3. Three Little Words
4. Love Is Like a Cigarette
5. New East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
6. Solitude
7. I'm Beginning to See the Light [Take 2]
8. Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me
9. Creole Love Call
10. Take the "A" Train
11. Blue Rose
12. Love (My Everything)
13. Malletoba Spank
14. The Asphalt Jungle Theme
15. [CD-ROM Track]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Duke Ellington   Primary Artist