''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 label in 1953.
[A Duke Ellington Panorama](_blank)
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 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) - 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
*
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 ...
–
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