''Ellington '55'' 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 piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
recorded for the
Capitol label in 1953 and 1954 and released in 1955. The album features the Ellington Orchestra's performances of popular
big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
compositions and was reissued on CD with two bonus tracks in 1999.
Reception
The
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
review by Bruce Eder awarded the album 3 stars and stated: "The tunes represented on this album were precisely what the band was playing at its dance dates... and it was material like this that was keeping the band going, filling those dates. So it is hard to argue with the album's programming, which reflected the taste of the most visible part of Ellington's audience. Additionally, what's here is quite fine in the playing".
Track listing
''All compositions by Duke Ellington except as indicated''
# "Rockin' in Rhythm" (Ellington,
Harry Carney,
Irving Mills) – 4:30
# "Black and Tan Fantasy" (Ellington,
James "Bubber" Miley) – 5:10
# "
Stompin' at the Savoy" (
Benny Goodman,
Andy Razaf,
Edgar Sampson,
Chick Webb) – 5:04
# "
In the Mood" (
Joe Garland, Razaf) – 5:59
# "
One O'Clock Jump" (
Count Basie,
Eddie Durham) – 5:12
# "
Honeysuckle Rose" (Razaf,
Fats Waller) – 4:17
# "Happy Go Lucky Local" – 5:33
# "
Flying Home" (Goodman,
Lionel Hampton, Eddie Delange) – 6:08
# "
Body and Soul" (
Edward Heyman,
Robert Sour,
Frank Eyton,
Johnny Green) – 4:47
Bonus track on CD reissue
# "
It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" – 10:17
Bonus track on CD reissue
*Recorded at Capitol Studios, New York on December 21, 1953 (tracks 6 & 8), December 28, 1953 (track 3), December 29, 1953 (track 2) and at Universal Studios, Chicago on January 1, 1954 (track 4), January 2, 1954 (track 5), January 17, 1954 (tracks 1 & 7), June 17, 1954 (track 10) and May 18, 1955 (track 9).
Personnel
*
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
–
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
*
Cat Anderson,
Willie Cook,
Ray Nance,
Clark Terry –
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
*Alfred Cobbs (tracks 6 & 8),
, George Jean (tracks 1–5 & 7),
Britt Woodman –
trombone
*John Sanders –
valve trombone (tracks 9 & 10)
*
Russell Procope –
alto saxophone,
clarinet
The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
*
Rick Henderson – alto saxophone
*
Paul Gonsalves –
tenor saxophone
*
Jimmy Hamilton – clarinet, tenor saxophone
*
Harry Carney –
baritone saxophone,
bass clarinet
*
Wendell Marshall –
bass
*Dave Black –
drums
The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
*Jimmy Grissom –
vocal (track 3)
*
Billy Strayhorn –
celeste (track 2)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellington '55
Capitol Records albums
Duke Ellington albums
1955 albums