The Duke Plays Ellington

by Duke Ellington

Overview

THE DUKE PLAYS ELLINGTON, VOL. I spans the period between 1927 and 1938, a little less than half of which constituted the time when Duke Ellington's band was the house favorite at Harlem's Cotton Club. It kicks off with Ellington and his Kentucky Club Orchestra playing the infectious "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"-later covered by Steely Dan with a wah-wah guitar standing in for "Tricky Sam" Nanton's signature plungered trombone. According to the excellent liner notes by Tony Watts, this Ellington-Bubber Milley composition was Ellington's signature tune, until the bandleader adopted "Take the A Train" as his theme. Not surprisingly, the sound quality of the early recordings is decidedly humble--particularly the late 1920's and early 1930's cuts. (The earliest tracks sound as if they're being filtered through a balloon that's rapidly losing air.) Still, as a document of its time, THE DUKE PLAYS ELLINGTON, VOL. I won't disappoint those fans hungry for Ellington's earlier work.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/28/2022
Label:	Universal
UPC:	4988031525005
Rank:	75107

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Duke Ellington   Primary Artist,Orchestra,Piano
Duke Ellington & His Kentucky Club Orchestra   Primary Artist
Duke Ellington & His Cotton Club Orchestra   Primary Artist
Duke Ellington & His Jungle Band   Primary Artist
Ellington Twins   Primary Artist
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra   Primary Artist
Duke Ellington's Washingtonians   Primary Artist
Duke Ellington's Famous Orchestra   Primary Artist
Adelaide Hall   Featured Artist,Guest Artist
Wellman Braud   Bass
Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton   Trombone
Wendell Marshall   Bass
Lonnie Johnson   Guitar
Juan Tizol   Trombone (Valve)
Rudy Jackson   Clarinet,Sax (Tenor)
Otto Hardwick   Sax (Alto),Sax (Soprano),Sax (Baritone)
Johnny Hodges   Clarinet,Sax (Alto),Sax (Soprano)
Bubber Miley   Trumpet
Barney Bigard   Clarinet,Sax (Tenor)
Bass Edwards   Tuba
Louis Metcalf   Trumpet
Fred Guy   Banjo
Sonny Greer   Drums

Technical Credits

Juan Tizol   Composer
Bubber Miley   Composer
Mitchell Parish   Composer
Henry Nemo   Composer
Barney Bigard   Composer
Manny Kurtz   Composer
Mark Craney   Composer
Duke Ellington & His Kentucky Club Orchestra   Performer
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra   Performer
Duke Ellington & His Cotton Club Orchestra   Performer
Duke Ellington   Composer
Irving Gordon   Composer
Irving Mills   Composer
Eddie DeLange   Composer
John Redmond   Composer