On January 23, 1943, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall for the first time. The success of this concert led to an annual series of Carnegie Hall concerts by Ellington and his band; at these concerts, Ellington always premiered at least one new work. (The concert also marked the first jazz concert in Carnegie Hall since Benny Goodman's appearance in 1938.)
The resulting album, The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943, is one of the albums featured in Len Lyons, The 101 Best Jazz Albums. The CD can be purchased from Amazon.com, and the vinyl and MP3 versions are also available there.
The band includes trumpeters Rex Stewart, Ray Nance, and Shorty Baker; trombonists Tricky Sam Nanton and Lawrence Brown; and saxophonists Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, and Harry Carney.
Among the tunes on the album are Ellington's "Black, Brown and Beige" suite, performed here in the only full-length version ever recorded by his orchestra. Also of note are "Rockin' in Rhythm," "Bojangles," "Ko Ko," "Jack the Bear," "Cotton Tail," "Mood Indigo," and "Black and Tan Fantasy."
As critic Scott Yanow puts it, "Every serious jazz library should contain this set."
Robert
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