On Duke Ellington’s birthday

Duke Ellington was born on April 29, 1899.

Here are two recordings made not long before I began listening. They’re from “the stockpile,” the trove of recordings Ellington made at his own expense, unreleased in his lifetime.

From Black, Brown and Beige (1943), “Symphonette.”

Cootie Williams, Money Johnson, Eddie Preston, Richard Williams, trumpets; Booty Wood, Malcolm Taylor, Chuck Connors, trombones; Norris Turney, Buddy Pearson, Paul Gonsalves, Harold Ashby, Harry Carney, reeds; Joe Benjamin, bass; Rufus Jones, drums. Recorded May 6, 1971 and released on The Intimate Ellington (Pablo, 1977). The soloist is Harry Carney on baritone sax.

The UWIS Suite (1972), written for a week-long Ellington festival at the University of Wisconsin-Madison: “The Anticipation,” “Uwis,” “Klop,” and “Loco Madi.”

Duke Ellington, piano; Cootie Williams, Mercer Ellington, Money Johnson, Johnny Coles, trumpets; Booty Wood, Vince Prudente, Chuck Connors, trombones; Russell Procope, Harold Minerve, Norris Turney, Harold Ashby, Russ Andrews, Harry Carney, reeds; Joe Benjamin, bass; Rufus Jones, drums. On “Loco Madi,” Wulf Freedman, electric bass.

“The Anticipation,” for piano alone, was recorded on August 25, 1972 and released on Duke Ellington: An Intimate Piano Session (Storyville, 2017). The other sections were recorded on October 5, 1972 and released on The Ellington Suites (Pablo, 1976). The soloists on “Uwis”: Carney, baritone; Turney, alto; Procope, clarinet; Ashby: tenor. The closing bit: Turney, flute; Minerve, piccolo; Carney, bass clarinet; Ashby, tenor. On “Loco Madi”: Ashby, tenor; Johnson, trumpet; Turney, alto.

The Ellington band premiered The UWIS Suite on July 21, 1972 in Madison. To my knowledge, that was the single public performance.

Related reading
All OCA Ellington posts (Pinboard)