''The Duke Plays Ellington'' is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

featuring trio sessions recorded for the

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

label in 1953.A Duke Ellington Panorama
accessed May 21, 2010 The album was rereleased with additional tracks on CD as ''Piano Reflections'' in 1989

Reception

The

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

review by

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles an ...

awarded the album 4½ stars and stated: "Ellington sounds modern (especially rhythmically and in his chord voicings) and shows that he could have made a viable career out of just being a pianist."Yanow, S.

AllMusic Review AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

accessed May 21, 2010

Track listing

'':All compositions by Duke Ellington except as indicated'' # "Who Knows?" - 2:37 # "Retrospection" - 3:58 # "B Sharp Blues" - 2:47 # "Passion Flower" (

Billy Strayhorn William Thomas Strayhorn (November 29, 1915 – May 31, 1967) was an American jazz composer, pianist, lyricist, and arranger, who collaborated with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington for nearly three decades. His compositions include "Take ...

) - 3:05 # "Dancers in Love" - 1:56 # "Reflections in D" - 3:35 # "Melancholia" - 3:20 # " Prelude to a Kiss" (Ellington,

Irving Gordon Irving Gordon (February 14, 1915 – December 1, 1996) was an American songwriter. Biography Irving Gordon was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family, and later lived on Coney Island. He was named Israel Goldener but later changed his na ...

Irving Mills Irving Harold Mills (born Isadore Minsky; January 16, 1894 – April 21, 1985) was an American music publisher, musician, lyricist, and jazz artist promoter. He sometimes used the pseudonyms Goody Goodwin and Joe Primrose. Personal Mills was ...

) - 3:04 # "

In a Sentimental Mood "In a Sentimental Mood" is a jazz composition by Duke Ellington. He composed the piece in 1935 and recorded it with his orchestra during the same year. Lyrics were written by Manny Kurtz; Ellington's manager Irving Mills gave himself a percent ...

" (Ellington, Mills,

Manny Kurtz Manny Curtis (born Emanuel Kurtz, Nov 15, 1911 – Dec 6, 1984) was an American songwriter. He wrote the lyrics for over 250 songs, including "In a Sentimental Mood" (1935) and " Let It Be Me" (1957). He was born in Brooklyn, New York, United ...

) - 2:30 # "

Things Ain't What They Used to Be "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" is a 1942 jazz standard with music by Mercer Ellington and lyrics by Ted Persons. Background In 1941 there was a strike against the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, of which Duke Ellington ...

" (

Mercer Ellington Mercer Kennedy Ellington (March 11, 1919 – February 8, 1996) was an American musician, composer, and arranger. His father was Duke Ellington, whose band Mercer led for 20 years after his father's death. Biography Early life and education Ellin ...

) - 2:56 # "All Too Soon" (Ellington,

Carl Sigman Carl Sigman (September 24, 1909 – September 26, 2000) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York to a Jewish-American family, Sigman graduated from law school and passed his bar exams to practice in ...

) - 3:08 # "Janet" - 2:15 # "Kinda Dukish" - 2:32 Bonus track on CD reissue # "Montevideo" - 2:33 Bonus track on CD reissue # "December Blue" - 2:40 Bonus track on CD reissue :*Recorded at Capitol Studios, Los Angeles on April 13 (tracks 1-8), April 14 (tracks 9-12), and December 3 (tracks 13-15), 1953.

Personnel

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Wendell Marshall Wendell Marshall (October 24, 1920 – February 6, 2002) was an American jazz double-bassist. Marshall was Jimmy Blanton's cousin. He studied at Lincoln University, then served in the Army during World War II. Following his discharge, he perfor ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

Butch Ballard George Edward "Butch" Ballard (December 26, 1918 – October 1, 2011) was an American jazz drummer who played with Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Duke Ellington. Biography Ballard was born in Camden, New Jersey and grew up in the Frankfo ...

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(tracks 1-12) *

Dave Black (drummer) David Black (January 23, 1928 in PhiladelphiaDecember 4, 2006) was an American jazz drummer who is most notable for his work with Duke Ellington from 1953 to 1955. Prior to that, Black had been the drummer in the house band at the Philadelphia ...

- drums (tracks 13-15) *Ralph Collier -

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

(track 14)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duke Plays Ellington, The Capitol Records albums Duke Ellington albums 1953 albums