SAD NEWS

Oscar Peterson

DEMS 08/1-1

Oscar Peterson died in Toronto on 23Dec07. He did not have a prominent place in Duke's discography (he only played with the band on 14Apr and 1Jul67), but he had a very prominent place in the field of good music. A very nice video recording which we can recommend highly, titled "Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar" was issued in 1995 on tape and later (in 2004) as a DVD by View Video, Jazz Series 2351. Our copy is for NTSC. We hope that also a PAL version is available. Go to: <http://www.view.com>.
DEMS**

Good NEWS

 

The Treasury broadcasts

DEMS 08/1-2

See DEMS 6/3-16

2Jan08
Nice to hear from you — hope to see you at the Ellington Conference in May!
I can assure that we will continue the series - we plan to have the next ready for the Conference. I am in touch with Jerry Valburn and we hope to start the production soon.
Best regards and Happy New Year,
Mona Granager for Storyville Records

12Jan08
from a message by Jerry Valburn to Lance Travis:
I know you'll be pleased to know that DETS 9013 is in production (including your liner notes) and should be ready and on sale at the London conference in May.

Goodness me! This is indeed good news, if it is true!
Roger Boyes

From our Swedish friends

DEMS 08/1-3

Please note that the Duke Ellington Society of Sweden now has a new website address and its contents are also new throughout, with the ambition to also include some material in English. Therefore, please change the link to ellington.se
Key Jigerström

The Buryatia stamps

DEMS 08/1-4

See DEMS 07/3-4

The Buryat stamps are fakes according to Wikipedia: Quoted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buryatia>. Chapter "Miscellaneous"
The Republic uses the postage stamps of Russia, so it does not issue its own postage stamps. Stamps of Buryatia or Buriatia offered on eBay are fakes.
Peter K. Schulz, AICP

 

NEW FINDS

DEMS 08/1-5

The most important New FIND is undoubtedly the latest DVD from the Norman Grantz collection, showing us most of the recording session for the Album "Duke's Big Four".
For a detailed review of this DVD go to DEMS 08/1-9
DEMS**

More New FINDS

DEMS 08/1-6

Are you aware of the Paul Gonsalves website <www.paulgonsalves.org>? At present there is a lovely article by Art Luby which is worth checking out. Secondly there is a website called 'one night stand with the big bands' which has an archive of interviews with famous big band leaders one of which is Duke <www.goldenage-wtic.org>. The date of the interview is 3Jun71 but I can't find it in the discographies. Could you help?
Wayne Clutton**

Thank you for the tip. The Art Luby article is very good. The Ellington interview is indeed not mentioned in Duke's discographies. It must have been recorded on 7May71, backstage, when he played a benefit at the Bushnell Memorial Auditorium in Hartford, CT. The date of broadcast was 3Jun71. The greatest part of the broadcast is filled with commercials and with Ellington recordings. Duke made only a few short statements but it is "fresh". Not mentioned in any discography. Thanks!! If somebody wants to go directly to the interview, you should go to www.goldenage-wtic.org/BB06_Duke_Ellington.mp3
DEMS**

NEW BOOKS

"Duke Ellington's America"

DEMS 08/1-7

See DEMS 07/3-12

The author of this book, Harvey G. Cohen, is expected to give a presentation in London at the next Ellington Conference (22-26May08). We have spoken to a DEMS member who had the privilege to read Harvey's original dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 2002. Dr John Hasse was a member of the Advisory Committee. Our spokesman was excited about the book. It gives a clear picture of the overall importance of Ellington for the culture in the United States. Not only as a musician or composer but also as one of the most important figures in the US of the last century. We sincerely hope that the book will be published in time for the next conference. But if that deadline is not met, it will be worthwhile to wait for it until it will be available in the bookstores.
DEMS**

DVD REPORTS

Eagle Vision EREDV 431 (double DVD, 2008)
Duke Ellington at the Côte d'Azur with Ella Fitzgerald and Joan Miró
Duke: The Last Jam Session (see DEMS 08/1-9)

DEMS 08/1-8

This double DVD is a bargain. It is less expensive than most of my single DVDs. It contains a total of 74 minutes at the Côte d'Azur and even 106 minutes in the studio making the recordings for the album "Duke's Big Four". But it is not only a bargain. It is one of the most sensational documentaries of Ellington on screen.
The Côte d'Azur recordings were released earlier on videotape and on Laser Disc. Since all the old DEMS Bulletins are accessible now I do not have to write a full report of this DVD. I can direct you to the report by Klaus Götting and myself in 00/2-9 and 10. There is only one correction to be made. We have stated that the comments, spoken by Duke during the film are not mentioned in any discography. That is not true. The recording of his comments, made in Paris in Duke's hotel room is mentioned in session 6737, dated as March 1967. We have followed Klaus Stratemann, who mentioned on page 539 that the recording was made in January 1967 and we figured that it must have been some hours before his two evening concerts on 31Jan67 at the Salle Pleyel.
I have however some remarks to make about the liner-notes. Jacques Muyal suggests that Duke improvised The Shepherd at the Maeght Foundation on 27Jul66. That is not true. He recorded it on 18Jul66 in the studio. This recording was later released on the album "The Pianist", Fantasy 98.561, see DEMS 88/1-3. What seems even more untrue is the statement that Ella was informed only hours before the concert that her sister had passed away. One could ask: which concert? Not the one of 27Jul, when she only sang Let's Do It and Satin Doll. The numbers mentioned by Jacques are Something To Live For and So Danço Samba. These two numbers may have been filmed on 29Jul, the audio recording used for the film dates from 28Jul.
This is what we read in Derek Jewell's "A portrait of Duke Ellington" page 128. "….the project was threatened when Ella's sister, Frances, died in America. She cancelled her original booking for the Monday night concert of 25Jul and flew back to the States for the funeral, but returned quickly to pick up her Antibes concerts scheduled for 27, 28 and 29Jul, although plainly still very upset by the bereavement." This report by Jewell raises new questions. We know that Duke and the band were travelling on Monday the 25^th. What kind of a concert can Ella have cancelled for the 25^th? Maybe a performance without the Ellington band? If she was back for the concert on 27Jul, after the funeral (on the 26^th?), she must have heard of Frances death a few days before the 25^th. She must have been in Europe before the Ellington band. That can all have been the case, but the statement by Jacques Muyal cannot be true in the same time as the somewhat mystified report by Derek Jewell. Nat Hentoff apparently accepted Muyal's version. I don't. The Jewell report seems more plausible because as he continues about this matter, the facts support his version. He continued as follows:
"… the concert [of 27Jul] finally got under way. Duke and the band were playing well. Ella was not at her best and appeared at times to be crying. Duke cut in early with the band to end the first half, apparently trying to help, and returned for the final set under the impression that Ella probably wouldn't be in state to come back again. He was inspired. As the music built up to climax after climax, the audience lit up too, screaming for more. The more excited they got, the more Ellington played, until Granz was observed scowling up at the stage and calling out to Ellington. He was trying to get Duke to bring Ella back for her final appearance. Either Ellington didn't hear, or he chose not to hear — probably the former at first — but as Granz' voice grew louder, the message must have got through.

Duke's response was to play louder and louder, longer and longer, and he said afterwards he had been affronted by what he considered to be Granz' rudeness, as well as his lack of understanding of Ella's distress."
Well the fact is that Ella only did three numbers: Let's Do It, Satin Doll and Cotton Tail at the end of the first set. I wasn't there. But I think that Jacques Muyal wanted to dramatise his story a bit.
At the end of his article about Antibes, Jacques does not mention all the previous releases and the Verve 8 CD box did not feature the complete concerts. See DEMS 98/4-12.
My comment on the article by Claude Carrière is negligible. He wrote: "When the band had come the previous February, there were two drummers, Elvin Jones and Skeets Marsh." Claude should have written "previous January". When the band came back to Paris in February (on 11Feb66). Sam was already back (since 2Feb66 in Basel).
What puzzled me is the spelling of the name of Paul Gonsalves in the film. It is spelled several times as Gonzalves. In the booklet the spelling is right.

The Last Jam Session

DEMS 08/1-9

The second DVD is the greatest "New Find" since a long time. It contains almost completely the recordings for the album "Duke's Big Four" plus a lot more. One would expect that the recordings of the different selections on this DVD were more complete or at least exactly identical with the recordings on the Pablo album. But that is strangely enough not always the case. To start with the first selection used for the album, Just Squeeze Me, it is difficult to believe but still true: the recording on the DVD is not complete. For unknown and incomprehensible reasons the second half of chorus 3° and the first 8 bars of chorus 4° have been deleted. Maybe the camera fell on the floor, but that must have happened very quietly, because nothing can be heard on the album. If you do not believe me, you should listen to the replay after the recording was made. That replay is identical with the album track 6 with only the last 11 bars of chorus 5° and the only 6 bars of chorus 6° missing because the replay was interrupted in the studio, but choruses 3° and 4° are complete now! The "cut" is rather easy to spot. It is on the moment of the start of Ray Brown's solo. What you have on your CD between 2:48 and 3:40 is gone.
Something strange happens with the next tune, Carnegie Blues. After some rehearsal sounds comes the first and only take. But after that has been shown on screen we have another showing of the end of the recording starting at the 8° chorus (on the audio CD at 3:39). One wonders why the editor has repeated that sequence. It is followed by an audio replay in the studio that starts approximately in the middle of the 4° chorus and runs until the end.
Also with The Hawk Talks some editing was done. The description of the audio track 3 in the New DESOR starts with an intro of 4 bars by Joe Pass, followed by a not complete 1° chorus of 8bars by Joe Pass, 2 bars by Ray Brown and 14 bars by Joe Pass. During the 2 bars by Ray Brown, one can clearly hear Ray Brown's voice. This intro plus the not complete first chorus are missing on the DVD. Probably because of Ray Brown's voice this part of the recording has been deleted. What we have on the DVD starts with an intro of 8 bars by Ellington taken from somewhere else, followed immediately by the 2° chorus as described in the New DESOR. Duke's intro is not on the audio album. It must have been joined in front of the 2° chorus. The joint is hardly noticeable on the DVD. The first 0:30 on the CD have been replaced by 8 bars by Ellington.
There are three rehearsal takes of Prelude to a Kiss, followed by the first rehearsal of Cotton Tail. Now comes the recording of Prelude to a Kiss, which was used for the album. This is again followed by two takes of Cotton Tail from which the first was presented by Patricia Willard in Stockholm on 14May04 and the second was used for the Pablo album. The second was also used for the Philippe Koechlin & Dominique Cazenave documentary about Norman Granz made for Canal+ in 1993.
It seems that Everything But You was recorded in one take, but one cannot be sure since we know that there has been quite some editing done.
From Love You Madly the first part is missing, actually the first 50 bars on the album were deleted from the DVD. The DVD starts when the CD is on 1:30.
In the liner-notes it is suggested that "Duke and Ray Brown recreate[d] for their own pleasure their Fragmented Suite for Piano and Bass which they had invented together and entrusted to the microphones of the same producer one month before…" This is not true. They recorded the fourth movement at the end of this (8Jan73) session. Only the first two bars by Duke are missing on the DVD. This recording at the end of the session is probably the same as what in the old and in the New DESOR is indicated by the title Caravan. There is a slight resemblance between Caravan and the fourth movement.
Patricia Willard gave me a helping hand to identify some of the people in the audience. You see Stanley Dance, Bob and Evelyn Udkoff, Ray Brown's wife, Cecelia Brown. Next to Stanley during the taping of Prelude to a Kiss and following numbers is Joe Morgan, Duke's New York Press representative. Joe falls asleep during the taping and Stanley awakens him. This last occurrence is not on the DVD but it is on Patricia's tape.
I have not mentioned all the rehearsals and alternate takes. I hope that Luciano Massagli and Giovanni Volonté will supply us with a full description of the whole session and that we will be able to make correction-sheets for those friends who want to keep their New DESOR up to date.
I was again upset to see that the sequence of the recordings was disturbed by putting the selections on the CD, but who knows. Maybe we do not know the correct sequence since the material on the DVD has heavily been edited.
Sjef Hoefsmit**

The text on my Pablo 2310 721 dates everything on the CD to 5Dec73, which is clearly wrong, and a typo for 1972. It's a straight copy of the LP.
Bear in mind also that the track titled See See Rider is in fact Mr J B Blues.
Roger Boyes

The title of the third movement of "Fragmented Suite for Piano and Bass" is Pleadin' as on the album "Piano in the Foreground".
Sjef Hoefsmit**

The DVD session was filmed at a different location than the "Blanton" session. When I got the LP of the "Blanton" I got a large 12x12 booklet that contained notes and pictures, in black and white, some of the pictures were reproduced in sepia for the CDOJCCD-810-2. Duke was wearing a light colored sweater and Ray a dark. This is of course just the opposite of the clothing for the DVD. In addition Ray is shown at Duke's side, not at Duke's back as in the DVD, and the studio certainly looks different.
Bill Morton**

These were Duke's words after he finished the fourth movement: "It is a good abstract, ain't it?" One can hear these words just before the recordings ends. In this context it seems that the best "translation" of "abstract" is "summary". So Duke probably wants to say that he thinks that the fourth movement (as it was called later) is a good summary of ….? This can be the "Fragmented Suite", which contained only three movements on that moment, or this can be the whole session with Ray on 5Dec72. It is even possible that he wants to say that this was a good summary of the whole session of 8Jan73. Who knows? I suggest that we ask our English speaking friends what they think it means. It is fascinating!
Louis Tavecchio**

 

 

 

DISCUSSIONS - ADDITIONS - CORRECTIONS

Amsterdam 2Nov58

DEMS 08/1-10

See DEMS 07/3-17

Re:  Ray's Take the "A" Train and Just Squeeze Me, I asked the Jazz Icon people about Take the "A" Train and they said only that it did not exist on any footage acquired by them.  I have seen this delightful fragment of Just Squeeze Me, which just cuts off during the number. Since the Jazz Icon producers did not plan to edit Duke's reference at the end of the medley, I felt that an explanation was in order so I called it "camera failure." That was deleted from my notes.
Patricia Willard

Harold Baker

DEMS 08/1-11

See DEMS 07/3-17, P.S.2 at the end of the article.

I knew that I had consulted Stratemann on each sideman I wrote about so I replied to you from what I thought was "memory" that I got the six times Harold Baker stayed with Duke from Stratemann since my research notes were temporarily unavailable. You, of course are absolutely right about Stratemann citing only five periods for Shorty Baker. I now find in my notes where I got the six — the five Klaus has plus "Jan-Apr '38," which makes six.  That one from 1938 comes from Feather's first Encyclopaedia. I know how unreliable Feather frequently is but I found two more mentions of '38 in both Chilton (who also knows how unreliable Feather frequently is) and Kernfeld/New Grove so I went with it. Possibly I should not have. I should have consulted you about the discrepancy. Mea culpa. Thank you for offering me the opportunity to justify what I had written.
Patricia Willard

Dizzy on All of Me?

DEMS 08/1-12

I have just stumbled across an Ellington EP on Philips entitled "Ellingtonia Vol 4 - The Fifties" (429 810 BE) and comprising Things Ain't What They Used To Be; Malletoba Spank; All of Me; Up & Down, Up & Down.
According to the notes on the back cover, Dizzy Gillespie plays on Malletoba Spank and All of Me, but I have not seen this claim in any of the discographies (I am aware of Dizzy being on UMMG and Hello Little Girl from 19/2/59).
Have these apparently extra Dizzy appearances been overlooked or are they simply cover note mistakes?
Chris Sheridan

They are simply mistakes. Probably because on the LP sleeve of the CBS release S 63485 as well as on the sleeve of the Philips LP B 07515 L, Dizzy Gillespie was mentioned as the first one in the list of trumpet players. Elsewhere on these sleeves, under the titles, the credits are correct. The same was the case in the liner-notes for the CBS CD 460059 (see DEMS 87/4-2;88/2-3) and for the "Golden" Sony release UDCD 719 (see DEMS 98/2-12/2).
On the CBS double LP S 67285 (on which two albums were combined: "At the Bal Masqué" with "Jazz Party"} Dizzy Gillespie is mentioned in a separate group of three guest soloists: himself, Jimmy Rushing and Jimmy Jones. It is unlikely that this double LP was used to dub the CDs or to write the text for your EP.
Sjef Hoefsmit

Hello, Little Girl

DEMS 08/1-13

I hope this is a quickie.  Do you know whether "Duke Ellington and His Great Vocalists" (Columbia CK 66372) has Hello, Little Girl (19Feb59) on it?
Chris Sheridan

Yes. It is track 16 (the last one) on Col CK 66372. There were some discussions about this selection in DEMS Bulletins 98/2-12/2; 98/3-13/2&15/1.
DEMS

Taken from a message by Hans-Joachim Schmidt:

DEMS 08/1-14

1. Thanks for the complete back issues of the Bulletin. I managed to copy the years 1979 to 2005 on cd-r. Quite a resource that I hope to enjoy in the near future. I was not able to open page 1 of bulletin 1990-1. Is that an error on my PC or is it in the internet source?

2. I was surprised to see Angèle Durand pop up again (DEMS 07/3-32). The German text you quote relies on an article in "Stern", Hamburg, 20. August 1960. I am adding copies of the relevant pages in the attachment. It was written by one "Petronius" as part of a series "Deutschland deine Stimmchen". It is full of sarcasm, and though it gives room to her rambling about the Ellington connection, the author makes clear what he thinks about it. Angèle Durand claims that she had a rehearsal with Ellington und "seine Leute". It was in Studio II of the Brüsseler Funkhaus, she brought her arrangement of "C'est si bon". "Petronius" adds: "In diesen Stunden des 10. April 1950 - und nur in diesen - erlebte Angèle Durand einen Schimmer des großen, des ganz großen Erfolges." So there was an audition. Everything else is pure fiction. She must have been on Duke Ellington's heels during his tour, though. Her utterance about Swedish women sounds authentic: was she upset! But she never made it to the stage with Duke Ellington. She felt grossly frustrated and was not able to suppress her feelings. That alone should have made it impossible to believe in any success concerning Duke Ellington. The article analyses her methods of building up a reputation and a career. In the end Angèle Durand looks rather pathetic. But worshippers want myths, and Bear Family Records oblige. [Addition Jan. 3: It is possible - someone would have to check the local papers - that she sang one concert in Brussels with DE, where he let her sing her own popular songs.]

3. DEMS 07/3-21: "the announcement of C-Jam Blues, not by Mitch Miller but by Rex Stewart (and not by Oscar Pettiford)." So that is Rex. I thought I heard Oscar's voice. Rex would of course be more appropriate as he is the leader.
"the 18Jul58 concert: we believe, as you do, that Oscar Pettiford is present during the whole concert." Is there a tape of this concert? If you have it, may I ask for a copy? It would certainly be an asset to my Pettiford collection as it is obviously the last concert he played with Duke Ellington.

4. Ko-Ko. Years ago you sent me the recordings of Ko-Ko I asked you for, and finally I can offer the results of my research. The first section deals with the making of Ko-Ko.
I trust that in spite of Andrew Homzy's rude attack everyone will have Ken Rattenbury's book "Duke Ellington Jazz Composer".
In short: Ko-Ko is a head-chart. When Ben Webster came he had to make up his own part. Strayhorn added the climax, section G (p. 133ff in Rattenbury's book). Then it was recorded. AFTER the recording Tizol took the music down, as usual, and Duke Ellington himself wrote a part for Ben Webster (identified independently as Duke's hand by David Berger and Walter van de Leur). The parts are in the Ellington collection. What is new in Ben's part: sections A (p. 110ff in Rattenbury's book) and F (p. 130ff in Rattenbury's book). Part of this can be heard in later recordings (e.g. The Radio Years). After a while the whole thing was dropped. What survived is what was played on the first recordings.
I just got a mail from Michael Kilpatrick, and I asked Walter van de Leur for his opinion. This is the beginning of a discussion. I need to check my results. More to come.
Hans-Joachim Schmidt

1. The first page of 90/1 is missing indeed. I have sent you a hard-copy.

2. If anybody would like to see the attachment with the relevant pages from Petronius' article, please let me know.

3. My point was that Mitch Miller was no longer at the microphone, but as I figured it must have been Rex. I wasn't there. See for a description of the tapes of the radio broadcasts of this short concert DEMS 07/3-21. This concert by the Ellingtonians was recorded on 3Jul58 and not on 4Jul as was wrongly mentioned on the LP sleeve of CBS 38262 and accepted as the truth by Willie Timner on page 554 of his recently published 5^th edition of Ellingtonia.
A copy of the 18Jul58 concert at Stony Brook is on its way to you.

4. I hope that DEMS Bulletin may publish the findings of your continued research.
It might be useful for those who are looking for a copy of Rattenbury's book "Duke Ellington, Jazz Composer" to know that it is still available from Norbert Ruecker (paperback € 14.95)
nruecker@t-online.de
Sjef Hoefsmit

Zürich, Kongresshaus, 2May50

DEMS 08/1-15

See DEMS 07/3-10

Marcus Girvan has sent us the following article, which appeared in Jazz Journal of July 1950:

ELLINGTON AND GOODMAN VISIT SWITZERLAND
ARTHUR GOEPFERT.

No doubt you all know that Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman paid a visit to Switzerland in May. Since a lot has already been written about the stage shows of both these musicians, I'll touch only on matters that should be news to jazz enthusiasts in England. Little sidelights on the musicians and music, notes and comment, fact and figures. On the 2nd May I was at the station in Zurich, accompanied by Joe Turner, Glynn Paque, and some other friends. I wanted to greet the Duke's band as soon as they arrived, since I knew Quentin Jackson from his first visit to Switzerland with the Don Redman band. The boys all arrived safely, and I was gratified to find that Quentin hadn't forgotten me. In a few minutes he introduced me to Sonny Greer, Russell Procope, Harold Baker and Harry Carney. We took a taxi and went in search of a hotel. First surprising thing I learned was that although the boys were quite happy about the money, they earned, they were not so happy about working with the Duke. When I asked them why they stayed with him, the response was: "Where else can we go?" As we talked about the States, and various musicians, I discovered that Quentin Jackson is a great admirer of Tommy Dorsey – "not just as an instrumentalist, but also as a jazz musician," and that Harold Baker thinks Charlie Shavers the best trumpet player in the business just now – "apart from Louis, naturally!"
After we had inspected the hotel rooms, we adjourned to the bar, and continued our chat. I had noticed Don Byas at the station, complete with big horn, wife and baby, and enquired how this came about. They told me that the Duke had picked him up in France, and wanted to take him back to the States with the band. All of them, that is Baker, Jackson, Greer and Procope, were full of praise for Byas, and referred to him as "the best ever," and "far better than he used to be."
When I asked for the reason Tyree Glenn wasn't with the band, they all started to laugh. It appears that Tyree had struck up an acquaintance with a girl in Antwerp during his tour there with Don Redman, so Mrs. Glenn forbade a new trip to Europe. Quentin Jackson told me that for this reason he was playing all the wa-wa stuff with the band, since this was originally Tyree's department. Furthermore, he told me that he never liked his profession more than when he worked with McKinney's Cotton Pickers, which he described as: "The damned bestest band there ever was!"
Shortly before the start of the matinee we broke the party up. By this time Sonny Greer was in a somewhat elevated condition! Asked about the second drummer. he told me, with a twinkle in his glassy eye: "You know man, I like to take it easy!"
Just before the start of the concert I met Peanuts Holland, the coloured. trumpet player, who had come especially from Berne to hear the band (Joe Turner had come from Aarau, and Paque from Geneva). He was more a-twitter than all the fans around.
Then came the concert. The brasses were marvellous, the rhythm too. Hodges played one very sticky solo, Procope didn't have a single bar of solo, Hamilton was very "cool," Brown played too many notes in too little time, and the Duke ruled like a Duke in his Dukedom, looking exactly the part.
Harry Carney is top man for me. If some day Hodges, Brown and Greer leave, that will be a pity, but it ever Carney leaves it will be a catastrophe, because Carney makes "the sound." He is basis, fundament, and bulwark, and he handles his big horn like a flute. It's quite unbelievable!
After the concert we all (that is about 150 people) went to a dance hall rented especially for the night. Everybody had to pay 8 francs so that the musicians could drink free of charge. It was some party! Procope, Hamilton and Ernie Royal jammed for hours. It was easy to see that Procope leads a frustrated existence in Duke's band because of Hodges, although this is hard to understand because they play quite different styles, and would not collide, even if let loose after one another.
The same can be said of Ernie Royal. This quite marvellous trumpet player hasn't a chance in Duke's aggregation. He plays a moderate form of bop, and is far too good to get just one middle part in the show. Similarly, the whole trumpet section is too good to just have one tune, Blue Skies (alias Trumpet No End) allowed to itself.
Hamilton proved himself to be an exceptional instrumentalist again, but too brainy for my taste. Clear as crystal, a perfect master, talking musically quite a lot, but not saying much.
I had a long chat with Wendell Marshall, Duke's new bass player. He's quite young and very shy. Glad to be praised, but knowing that he has a long way to go before reaching the status of his cousin, Jimmy Blanton. Later on I found Sonny Greer, hanging at the brass rail (we have them too !) He was full of praise for Marshall, and asked me if I thought it was easy to play bass with a band that has two drums, but no piano, and no guitar. I must explain that the Duke spent only about half the concert at the piano, and that Greer was perched high up above the band, and played fill-ins. Personally, I was in constant fear that he would fall down, but his drum inventions had point, and were of great value to the show.
I had Ray Nance, AI Killian, Ernie Royal, Quentin Jackson, Harold Baker and Russ Procope at my table. Nance is a lovable clown, both on and off stage. AI Killian was very low down. He had lip trouble and a stomach ache. He was fed up with the whole music business. He swore he would get out of the mess as soon as he was back in the States. A nice fellow if ever there was one. I sincerely hope that his lip and stomach are better by now. He was discouraged because everybody identifies him with high notes. "I'm a jazz musician, you know, not a freak - I can do more than just blow my top!" Then he tipped me off that the brasses and rhythm had made some records in Paris.
As an afterthought, because I have just read L. Feather's piece about" Jim Crow" in the MELODY MAKER of 13th May. As usual at parties with colored musicians, there were a lot of fans and girls running after the boys. It was at the same time funny, yet sad, to see that the darkest musicians had the most success. Nobody gave Quentin Jackson and Harold Baker even a tumble - they are quite light you know. But people mobbed Alva McCain!

Theodore Kelly

DEMS 08/1-16

See DEMS 06/1-33

Pages 166 and 1475. We read in Kurt Dietrich's "Duke's 'Bones" on page 114 about Ted Kelly: "The beginning of the end of Glenn's tenure with Ellington came in 1950, when the band was to go to Europe. According to Raymond Horricks [Gammond p103], talk of a European tour with the full band in early 1950 had hastened [Glenn's departure]. Tyree had visited Europe in 1946 with Don Redman, and in Paris there had been a friendship with a French girl. The trombonist's wife announced that there would be no more European trips for him."
Kurt continued with his own text: "Ellington took trombonist Ted Kelly with him in Glenn's place. Kelly was in Europe for two weeks, returned to the States to marry, and never played with the Ellington band again." [Source was Kurt's interview with Quentin Jackson]

My text: If we take the first day of the trip as the first day that there was a concert (at Cinema Normandie in Le Havre on 5Apr50), the two weeks stay ended around 19Apr50 when the band played in Nancy in the Grand Theatre. We should not forget the Ernie Royal record date on 15Apr50 in Paris with Ted Kelly for Vogue.
We may easily assume that Kelly had gone before the band played in Hamburg on 29May50. The same (but shortened) story is told in Kurt Dietrich's latest book "Jazz 'Bones" p113. It is strange that Ted Kelly's name is now spelled as Kelley. We stick with the spelling Kelly since we had a letter from his daughter, published in DEMS Bulletin 05/1-20, who used that spelling.
I have looked for Kelly in the marriage registrations, but can't find a match for any date in 1950.

The line-up on the Zürich CD is as arriving in Paris but Killian also left the band during this European trip and Brown was hospitalized and out of the band for 9 days.
Arne Neegaard

Someone who was present at the concert [in Zürich] claims that the line-up is correct.
Best regards – TCB Music SA
Peter Schmidlin

Art Baron Master class

DEMS 08/1-17

I found an interesting article on http://www.trombone.org/articles/library/viewarticles.asp?ArtID=14.

It is rather technical but it describes the styles and techniques of Duke Ellington's specialists.

From the same web site address with ArtID=110, I found an article about Grover Mitchell.
Hans-Joachim Schmidt

It was mentioned in this article that Grover played with Ellington:
Question: You actually subbed in the Ellington saxophone section, didn't you? How did that come about?
Answer: The first time it was for Johnny Hodges. Johnny was sick in the hospital - he had ulcer problems - and they had just left either the first or second Monterey Jazz Festival. Instead of getting a saxophone player, [bassist] Aaron Bell told Duke to get me. I didn't attempt to play Johnny's solos, nothin' like that! I played alto parts, which is an easy transposition. All you do is change the clef from treble to bass, and the key signature. It's a major sixth or a minor third away, so as long as you know what key you're in, you're OK.
The next time I played in Duke's band, they couldn't find Paul Gonsalves. Duke remembered me playing in Johnny's place, so he asked me if I could play the tenor book. If you want to know the truth, I can actually play the tenor parts easier than I can play the alto parts. You just change the clef from treble to tenor, read the part as if it's in tenor clef, and get the key signature right. And the timbre of the two instruments is similar, so it was much easier. But you know, Duke and them, they were really fascinated by this type of thing - I was a big deal. So I didn't tell them that it was simple for me. I took advantage of playing the hero.
Question: How did you manage to blend with the saxophones?
Answer: Trombone, if you will listen, is a very good blend in a saxophone section. And that's another thing about Duke. He was probably more curious about it than anything else. Rather than solving any kind of personnel problem, it was just an opportunity for him to hear what that sounded like. And later on, in Basie's band, Thad Jones wrote a lot of things with bucket-mute trombone playing lead over the saxophones, and it was beautiful. You see, the trombone, it's a big-looking instrument and everybody thinks you're gonna come up with some kind of big brassy sound. But when it's in the reed section, especially when you've got a bucket on it, it's a very mellow instrument. It's very much like the French horn - it blends with reeds very, very, very well. Even in small groups the trombone-alto or trombone-tenor front-line is a good sounding thing. If anything gets hairy technically you can get into trouble, but there's a lot of - nowadays anyway, man - real machine-gun players. I always had pretty good technique, but I never tried to out-trumpet the trumpets or out-saxophone the saxophones. I like the characteristics of the trombone.

Take The A Train in Early 1946

DEMS 08/1-18

The routines on Take The A Train at this time are of special interest because of Ray Nance's absence from the band until the beginning of April.
New DESOR lists four known recorded performances. They are:
Carnegie Hall, 4 January (DE4601o);
the Ritz Theatre NYC, 16 January (DE4605b);
the Chicago Civic Opera House, 20 January (DE4606o);
and the first Capitol Radio Transcriptions studio session, 28 March (DE4609n).
All four have been issued on LP or CD (or both). I don't know the one from the Ritz. Eddie Lambert mistakenly locates this venue in Los Angeles (DE - A Listener's Guide, page 129).
According to New DESOR the routine at Carnegie Hall is that Taft Jordan takes the break in the middle 8 of the first (band) chorus. Duke at the piano takes over Ray's old solo chorus extending it for a second chorus. In the next chorus, which follow the band's fanfare passage, Cat Anderson takes the solo trumpet breaks, with Al Sears coming in for the final eight bars. Taft returns for the last few bars of the abbreviated theme ride out.
The routine is broadly the same at the Ritz and in Chicago, though with one chorus of solo piano instead of two. But on the Capitol version from the end of March, Chorus 2 becomes a trumpet solo once more, taken (says New DESOR) by Cat. Cat continues to solo in the next chorus, with Al Sears taking over as usual for the final eight. Thus, Taft is heard at the beginning and end of the performance only, exactly as in January.
But Patricia Willard's note for the LP issue of the Capitol Transcriptions version says that Taft is the soloist, and she doesn't mention Cat. Other commentators and sleeve note writers tend to be reticent about the identity of the trumpet soloist(s) on all these performances, their reticence perhaps reflecting their uncertainty.
I am uncertain too, though to my ear the trumpet breaks in Chorus 3 (Chorus 4 at Carnegie Hall because of the extended piano solo) sound less Cat-like on the Capitol than they do on the January versions from Carnegie Hall and Chicago. But the Ellington trumpeters could be famously chameleon-like, able to assume each other's roles, and something of each other's musical personae, as required. So I'm jumping to no conclusions.
Does anyone feel confident enough to identify the trumpet soloists on these performances with certainty, and so clear up the discrepancy between Patricia's note about the Capitol recording and the routine described in New DESOR?
While his presence in the band is not likely to be relevant here, I should mention that New DESOR also lists a fifth trumpeter, Bernard Flood, for this period (page 1460).
Roger Boyes

I think you should have a copy of the 16Jan46 recording. I was going to copy it on a CD, but because I hate empty space on a CD I also copied the three other candidates you mentioned. I also added (at the start) two recordings from 1945. The first one is from 25Aug45, 4558j. The trumpet solo was credited to Ray Nance until Giovanni Volonté and Luciano Massagli changed their minds and the initials RN with those of Rex Stewart, see DEMS 05/3-57, DESOR small corrections, page 1173. The second is the recording of 24oct45 (4583g), a short one which only showed the usual 8 bars by Taft Jordan with the band in the first chorus.
When I arrived at the recording of 16Jan46, I decided to copy the whole recording of the Third Esquire All American Concert. The sound quality is not bad at all and the concert itself is remarkable. You hear not only Duke Ellington with his orchestra but also the Woody Herman band with among others Pete Candoli, Bill Harris, Flip Phillips, Chubby Jackson and Frances Wayne. In addition there is the Nat King Cole trio with Oscar Moore and Johnny Miller. Orson Welles was MC. Leonard Feather presented the Esquire awards and George Wein organized this concert.
I kept the original CD and made you a first copy. There might be some interest for having a copy of this new Azure CD 82 among other readers of DEMS Bulletin, for identifying the trumpet players or for the Esquire Concert (or both).
Sjef Hoefsmit

Some "fresh" DEMS CDs

DEMS 08/1-19

It happens that old or "new" DEMS members have a special desire for an unissued recorded concert or broadcast. In some of these cases we keep a master-CD available to make more copies for other candidates. Lately there has been a heavy (as Duke used to say) demand for more recordings of the 1950 tour. The only alternate recording is from the 29May50 Hamburg concert (see DEMS 92/2-5; 97/3-18; 01/1-11; 01/2-21/1;01/3-10/1; 02/1-5/2; 04/1-21; 04/2-28 and 05/1-20). It is rather poor and should not be compared with the Zürich CD. Still there are a few selections among the 17 tracks on the Hamburg CD, which were not played in Zürich: The Mooch; Y'oughta; On a Turquoise Cloud; Mood Indigo; Caravan and the closing Blue Skies.
For another old and loyal DEMS member, who is especially interested in Oscar Pettiford, we made a double CD with the Stony Brook 18Jul58 concert, because that was the last time Oscar played in the Ellington orchestra [see DEMS 08/1-14/3]. We agree with Giovanni Volonté and Luciano Massagli and consequently we do not agree with Willie Timner, who believes that Oscar only played in Autumn Leaves. The fact that this was acknowledged by Duke does not mean that Jimmy Woode played the remaining portion of the concert. It is obviously Oscar Pettiford all the way through. We filled the second Pettiford CD with the Civic Opera Chicago broadcast of 2Feb47 and the Band Box NYC broadcast of 4Feb53.
DEMS

Laserlight CD "Duke Ellington Christmas"

DEMS 08/1-20

I have just bought (thankfully very cheaply) the Laserlight CD "Duke Ellington Christmas" with most of the tracks not appearing in my own Ellington database. The CD has no personnel details or recording dates, but (of course) featuring photos of a smiling Duke. I searched through DEMS and found [06/2-50] that the majority of tracks date from the 1980s, and consequently are not performances by the maestro. I must say I find this deplorable. If the CD were called "The Duke Ellington Orchestra directed by XXX" there wouldn't be a problem. But in its present state, surely this is legally a fake?
Or am I getting steamed up over nothing very much? !
If you have any information about the personnel, it would be useful, as my CD has no detail at all. But the CD should have been labelled "The Duke Ellington Orchestra directed by Mercer Ellington" and not "Duke Ellington Christmas" without any details at all!
John Wilson Smith

We can tell you that on the LP cover it says on the front: "The Duke Ellington Orchestra Take the Holiday Train" and on the back it says: "The Duke Ellington Orchestra directed by Mercer Ellington." The order in which the titles are on the LP is a bit different from that on the CD. On the LP sleeve the following names have been mentioned:
Arrangements: Onzy P. Matthews, Jr.; Lloyd Mayers; Barrie Lee Hall Jr.
Personnel: Mercer Ellington, leader; Anita Moore, vocalist; Ron Carter, bass; Charles Connors, trombone; Kenneth Garrett, alto saxophone, flute and clarinet; Barrie Lee Hall, Jr., trumpet; Marvin Holladay, baritone saxophone and baritone clarinet; John Longo, Sr., trumpet; Onzy P. Matthews, Jr., piano; Lloyd Mayers, piano; Harold Minerve, alto saxophone, clarinet, flute and piccolo; Vincent Prudente, trombone; Youssef Rahka, trumpet and flugelhorn; Rufus Reid, bass; Joseph Shepley, trumpet and flugelhorn; Rudy Stevenson, guitar; Quinten [sic] White, drums; Joseph Wilder, trumpet; Britt Woodman, trombone; David Young, tenor saxophone, clarinet and flute.
DEMS

Stack O'Lee Blues

DEMS 08/1-21

I have just received the latest issue of VJM's Jazz & Blues Mart where I am reading the following discograhical note:
"Bernhard Behncke (Germany) reports a couple of items concerning the Duke Ellington Orchestras. He has just obtained the "The Washingtonians" Harmony 601-H [Stack O'Lee Blues - DESOR 2801b - my comment) - and confirms what both his friends Laurie Wright and Klaus-Uwe Duerr of Hamburg have suggested in the past. It is NOT (!) an Ellington record but an unknown, probably black band. The trumpet is not familiar to him (none of the Ellington trumpet players) and the piano solo is rather poor, of course not Duke. That leads to the guess that Harmony fixed the master numbers not when they recorded a tune but later and used the same pseudonym to get better sales figures.
Does anyone wish to comment, and perhaps hazard a guess as to whose band it really was? Can someone check the Columbia/Harmony file cards? They often show the true identity of the artists and may shed light on this session.
Mark Berresford"

Has this matter ever been under discussion before? In DEMS or elsewhere?
Bo Haufman**

Yes, elsewhere. This is an e-mail by Marcello Piras of 11Nov01:

Dear duke-lym and jazz-research friends,
Yesterday I was working at my bench doing really boring stuff (indexing a book). My Mac was playing some vintage Ellington in the background to keep me alive and awake. Suddenly, the music came to the fore of my consciousness, and I said: "Gee, this piano payer isn't Duke!"
I stopped working and focused on the music. As I listened, the whole picture got clearer. Here it is.
The CD is "The Okeh Ellington", Columbia Jazz Masterpieces C2K 46177 [DEMS 91/3-1 and 91/4-1].
Horrible edition, I know, but still better than silence to keep me company. Disc 1, tracks 7, 8, and 9, reproduce session DE2801 (DESOR numbering). "The Washingtonians", New York, January 9, 1928. Titles: Sweet Mama (145488-3), Stack O'Lee Blues (145489-3) and Bugle Call Rag (145490-3). Originally issued on Harmony 577H (first and last piece) and 601H.
Well, this is NOT Ellington. He has nothing to do with this session, only his sidemen played in it. Does anyone recall whether the presence of Ellington on this session has ever been disputed? Is there any article on the subject? I have a theory about it, but I'll publish it later on, if it turns out to be correct.
Marcello Piras

You asked: Is there any article on the subject?
Not on the piano player, but on the session as a whole: Jan Bruér claims (and Austin Lawrence confirms) that this is an acoustic recording session. Jan furthermore claims that there is no bass player. Indeed, I cannot hear the bass.
Sjef Hoefsmit**

I totally agree on both points. A typical, un-harmonious Harmony record. :-)
Thanks for checking. Well, I can say for sure this session must be removed from Ellington discographies. He's not playing the piano, nor is he conducting, nor are the pieces his, nor are the arrangements, except perhaps intro and verse from Sweet Mama. This scanty Ducal material must have been completed by another arranger, who wrote in the current mid-Twenties Harlem style. Duke wouldn't write the last part of Sweet Mama using a clarinet trio in call-and-response — that's Clarence Williams, or Don Redman (or some minor follower), not Ellington.
Also, the same person entirely arranged Stack O'Lee Blues — a totally undistinguished recording. As for Bugle Call Rag, it is clearly a head arrangement.
I'm not even sure all of the Duke's men are there. I can hear Miley (at the beginning of Sweet Mama) and Nanton (throughout). I'm less sure about Carney — the baritone solo in Bugle Call Rag is full of quite untypical (for him) repeated notes. Could that be Hardwick on baritone? And who's that horrible clarinet player? And the pianist! He doesn't play ONE chord that sounds like Duke's unmistakeable chords. Notice the double-tempo episode in Stack O'Lee Blues. The guy plays the same tonic and dominant tones (when he hits them) in the bass range over and over. As far as I know Duke never did that. Also, notice the accompaniment in Sweet Mama under the soloists. Did Duke ever use that rhythmic pattern when backing a soloist? I know of no such occurrence.
Marcello Piras

This is what Eddie Lambert had to say about this session on page 21:
His first session of he new year [1928], however sounds like a backward slide in more ways than one. Recording as The Washingtonians, the band cut three titles — none of them by Ellington — for Harmony, a Columbia subsidiary label. This was a cheap label, and, remarkably, Columbia had continued to use their old pre-electric machinery for Harmony recordings. This Ellington session marks Barney Bigard's entrance into the band, and he soloed on clarinet on Stack O'Lee Blues and on tenor sax on Bugle Call Rag. Although the clarinet work on the latter title is usually said to be by Harry Carney, it sounds very like Rudy Jackson in both style and execution, and it is probable that there are four reeds present here: Hardwick, Bigard, Jackson and Carney, with Hardwick playing more bass sax than usual owing to the absence of the string bass.

This is what the New DESOR has to say about these recordings:
Sweet Mama, Papa's Getting Mad: (ABCABDE28) int8BAND;1°BM;pas4DE;ver16BAND;
2°12OH(s.s.),8JN,2BM,6JN;3°4BAND&BB,6BAND,2LM,4BAND&BB,12BAND;cod2BAND.
Stack O'Lee Blues: (ABCABD24) int8BAND;1°LM;pas2BAND;2°12BB,12DE;ver16BAND;3°BAND&JN.
Bugle Call Rag: (12) 1°BAND;2°BB(t.s.);3°BM;4°JN;5°/6°(nc)8OH(b.s.);
7°/8°(nc)8HC(cl.);9°BAND;10°DE;11°LM;12°OH;13°JN;14°/15°(nc)8BAND&HC(cl.)
If you want to join in at the discussion, please feel free to send us your description. Unknown to be represented by UN.
We hope that Marcello Piras reads this article and will join us with his theory.
DEMS**

I happened to talk to Steven Lasker on the phone the other day and read this VJM discographical note to him. He strongly opposed this opinion of it not being an Ellington recording.
Bo Haufman**

This was Bigard's first session with the band and he discusses it on page 59 of "With Louis and the Duke". I hear Braud on this session, but because the recordings are acoustical, he's difficult to hear and likely inaudible on some reissues.
Steven Lasker

This is what Barney told us in his book: "The first recording I made with the band was Bugle Call Rag and I remember that, for some reason, they couldn't use the drums. Of course Sonny Greer came there and sat through the whole deal, got paid and everything, but they couldn't record the drums. Wellman Braud, bless his soul, he had to have the horn right close to his bass. He was coming over far too loud and they told him to move back some few feet. "Okay," says Braud, and don't you know he moved back sure enough, but be dammed if he didn't take that horn right along with him. Everyone had their individual horn see."
DEMS**

Barney told in his book that there were no drums, but that is definitely wrong. They are very well heard in all three recordings. Barney talks about the horn each member had. Does that not mean that the recordings were electric? Could they play all in different acoustical horns?
Sjef Hoefsmit**

That multiple recording horns were sometimes employed at acoustical recording sessions — as Bigard describes — is evidenced in photographs and written accounts. Braud plays arco (bowed) bass on the Harmony session in question.
I've been listening to the 9Jan28 Harmony session, and have two observations. First, there is no doubt in my mind that the pianist is Duke Ellington. Second, Bigard was right about there not being drums on this session. Now do you remember why Baby Dodds had to play woodblocks on the Oliver Gennetts, rather than the full drum set he played every night at the Lincoln Gardens? Because the engineers, WHO WERE RECORDING ACOUSTICALLY were afraid the drums would knock the cutting stylus out of the groove, or so I've read. Now on the 9Jan28 acoustic Harmony session, Greer is present but he's not playing drums per se — he's just banging a cymbal. So I figure Bigard was right after all!
I do believe Eddie Lambert was right about Rudy Jackson's presence on this session. I agree that he's the clarinettist on Bugle Call Rag, and just before the piano solo/break on this track, aren't those unison tenors we hear? (The two tenors are also heard together near the start of this track.) Jackson's clarinet is also heard near the end of Sweet Mamma (Papa's Getting Mad) while Bigard's clarinet solos on Stack o'Lee Blues. Finally, I think it's Carney, not Hardwick, who plays baritone on this session.
The New DESOR shows the first solo on Sweet Mamma (Papa's Getting Mad) as by Bubber Miley, but it might also be shown as a Bubber Miley-Harry Carney (bar) co-solo.
The original matrix cards for these masters bear the typed artist credit "THE WASHINGTONIANS" but offer no further details.
Brooks Kerr agrees that four reeds are on the 9Jan28 Harmony date, with Rudy Jackson playing the solo clarinet on Bugle Call Rag. He also agrees there are two tenors on this title, playing in harmony (and not in unison as I wrote). He thinks the altoist heard in the first eight bars of Sweet Mamma (Papa's Getting Mad) is Carney (I thought it was Hardwick) and that it is Hardwick playing baritone (and not Carney as I thought) in tandem with Miley's solo. He's probably right. As for the baritone soloist on Bugle Call Rag, however, we continue to disagree: he thinks it's Hardwick, I opt for Carney. Identifying the reed solists on the records from this period isn't always easy. Carney himself (according to liner notes to Decca DL9224) wasn't certain whether the low saxophone which takes the last reed solos on "Doin' the Frog" (29Dec27) was Hardwick's bass sax or his own baritone! (The New DESOR shows Hardwick playing these solos on bass sax.) The opinions of other are, as always, invited.
It seems to me I've written about this before, but it's probably worth bringing up again: The story (repeated by Bigard on p44 of "With Louis and the Duke") that Jackson was fired by Ellington over Creole Love Call is demonstrably untrue. Consider that Bigard joined on or about 30Dec27 (Bigard recalled [WLatD, p46] that he joined on a Friday; interviewed by Patricia Williard for the NEA's Jazz Oral Histories Project, Bigard stated he joined in 1927; since he isn't heard on the band's session of 29Dec27, it appears that he joined on Friday, 30Dec27); Jackson isn't heard on the band's session of 19Jan27, having presumably left the band by that date (might he have worked out a two-week's notice?); Creole Love Call was first released 3Feb28 on Victor 21137 (which credits the composers as Ellington-Miley-Jackson); King Oliver's letter of complaint  (recreated on page 26 of Laurie Wright's "King Oliver") to Victor over the melody of Creole Love Call, which he felt infringed on one of his melodies, is dated 30Apr28; the copyright for Creole Love Call (which credits Ellington alone) is dated 16Aug28.
Steven Lasker

NEW RELEASES AND RE-RELEASES

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Jazz Beat 527 (2008)
The Complete Ellington Indigos
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DEMS 08/1-22

11. Someone (aka The Sky Fell Down)   13Mar57  57535-4
12. Commercial Time                    9Sep57  59716
 8. Tenderly                           9Sep57  59717
15. Autumn Leaves                      9Sep57  59718
13. Mood Indigo                        9Sep57  59719
14. Mood Indigo                        9Sep57  59719
 3. Mood Indigo                        9Sep57  59719-1
 9. Dancing in the Dark                1oct57  59896-2
 5. Prelude to a Kiss                  1oct57  59897-3
10. Autumn Leaves                      1oct57  59718-1
16. Willow Weep for me                10oct57  59936
 7. Willow Weep for Me                10oct57  59936
17. Where or When                     10oct57  59937
 2. Where or When                     10oct57  59937
18. All the Things You Are            10oct57  59938
 6. All the Things You Are            10oct57  59938
 4. Night and Day                     10oct57  59939
 1. Solitude                          14oct57  59960-3
19. My Heart, My Mind, My Everything  14oct57  59961-10

Again one wonders why the correct chronological sequence has not been respected. We have listed the tracks in the correct order. That makes comparing the titles with your discography easier.
Tracks 1/10 have been previously released on the CD CBS 463342 (DEMS 89/3-4). Comparing Jazz Beat with this CBS CD does not reveal any difference other than the start of the clock at each number. On CBS the starts are negative. On Jazz Beat each track starts with zero. Otherwise the clocks run synchronously. What we want to say is that Jazz Beat is not a carbon copy, but still a copy of CBS.
Tracks 1/11 have been previously released on the CD CBS 472364 (not mentioned in DEMS). We do not have this CBS CD and have compared track 11 with our LPs.
Also track 12 had to be compared with our LP. As far as we can check, this is the first release on CD.
The same is true for tracks 13, 14, 16 and 17.
It was not difficult to put the three recordings of Mood Indigo in the correct order. The shortest version (on track 3) was released first. The longest version (on track 13) had to wait until the release of the blue 5 LP set of CBS in 1984. ("Duke 56/62" 88653; 88654 and 26306, see DEMS 85/1-3…9).
Track 15 was the first attempt to record this popular French song. This is taken from our notes: Autumn Leaves on the CD CBS 463342, is identical with the recording on the LPs CBS 52681and CBS 82682, although it is longer on the CD. [As we said earlier, track 10 is identical with the CD CBS 463342.]
The structure for the edited version can be found in [the old] Desor under # 677a. [The complete structure is now in the New DESOR under number 5738c.] On the LPs, the first chorus is missing and one can clearly hear Ozzie Bailey open his mouth to start the French version, but this French version is deleted from the LPs. We believe that the recording of 9Sep57 (on track 15) was rejected; maybe because of Duke's strong piano interventions and that the song was recorded again in the session of 1oct57 (on track 10) with the original matrix-number.
Track 18 could be compared with the CD Columbia/Legacy 512920 (see DEMS 03/2-21/2; 04/2-31 and 04/3-32). Track 19 could be compared with the CD Col CK 66372 (see DEMS 98/3-6/2).
It might be expected that after 50 years, other entrepreneurs than the original record companies would release this great Ellington material in Europe. It seems that there are plans to increase the period of protection of copyright in Europe from 50 to 90 years!
In spite of the fact that everything has been released in one or another fashion, we very much welcome this release because it makes these great recordings accessible to many of our younger friends who have missed the earlier LP releases.
The "fresh' liner notes written by Bernard Lee in 2008 make us wonder which discography he consulted to arrive at the total number of recordings of some of the titles. We have compared his results with all the discographies we have, but none of them fits. The one that comes closest is Timner's 2^nd edition. It is probably the least important part of his liner notes (it has no sense to make corrections) but if they are not correct, why bother mentioning these numbers?
Milo van den Assem and Sjef Hoefsmit

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Essential Jazz Classics EJC55416
DE - Such Sweet Thunder
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DEMS 08/1-23

 1. Such Sweet Thunder
 2. Sonnet for Caesar
 3. Sonnet to Hank Cinq
 4. Lady Mac
 5. Sonnet in Search of a Moor
 6. The Telecasters
 7. Up and Down, Up and Down
 8. Sonnet for Sister Kate
 9. Star-Crossed Lovers
10. Madness in Great Ones
11. Half the Fun
12. Circle of Fourths
13. Suburban Beauty
14. A-Flat Minor
15. Café au Lait
16. Harlem
    The Controversial Suite
17. Before My Time
18. Later

Tracks 1 until and including 15 have been directly copied from the recently (1999) released Columbia CD CK 65568 see DEMS 99/4-18/2. It is also in stereo and the version of track 7 is the one which was criticized by many because it doesn't have the original ending by Clark Terry, more or less pronouncing Puck's words "Lord, what fools these mortals be". There are several alternates on this copy of the stereo "Such Sweet Thunder" album; see DEMS 03/2-19. The liner notes by Charles Boldt try to convey the impression that these are the same recordings as on the original 1950s album, the liner notes of which are also reproduced in the booklet. We agree with Charles that incorporating Strayhorn's original Pretty Little Girl into the suite with a new arrangement, the song gained new life. But we do not agree with him about who wrote the new arrangement. He says it was Strayhorn. Sjef believes it was Duke who gave the tune a new life. Walter van de Leur is not very clear about this matter; although he states very clearly that Strayhorn only composed three selections for the album; Star-Crossed Lovers, Half the Fun and Up and Down, Up and Down. All the rest was written by Duke.
The tracks 16, 17 and 18 have been copied from the Columbia CD CK 512917 see DEMS 03/2-22/1.
We welcome re-releases such as the one that follows in this Bulletin, "A Drum Is a Woman", because that music has not been available for a long time. But copying these Columbia releases comes close to piracy.
Milo van den Assem and Sjef Hoefsmit

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Jazz Track 933
A Drum Is a Woman
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DEMS 08/1-24

This CD is not the long anticipated new version by Phil Schaap. It is only another release of the same material as was found on the French CD Columbia 471320. There is one addition, the selection Pomegranate, which was earlier released on the 5 LP set of CBS, more specifically on CBS 26306, but as far as we know this is the first appearance on CD of Pomegranate. CBS 26306 and this re-release have both the original recording, which means that no bongos and no narration were dubbed in yet.
This is however a most useful release for the many people who have never found the LP or the French CD. Milo finds the quality of the Jazz Track CD far superior compared with the French CBS; Sjef doesn't hear the difference.
We have, however, a number of comments regarding the "fresh" liner notes by Bernard Lee in 2008.
It is certainly well known that the original TV performance has survived. As Rodney Evans reported to the Duke-LYM list: "A video copy of A DRUM IS A WOMAN is available for viewing at The Paley Center for Media at 25 West 52 Street in NYC." This recording was made by putting an old-fashioned camera in front of the screen. It is a so-called kinescope and it is in black and white. Very poor copies are circulating on videotape. The LP was not recorded as it was usually done. It was composed from many different recordings, made on 17, 24, 25, 28Sep, 22, 23oct, 6Dec56 and 7Mar57. Neither Ellington nor Strayhorn, and certainly not the orchestra, were behind the scene playing live. Only the shooting of the dancers and singers was live. The music was not! The main difference between the first and second releases of the LPs was not only Duke's narration. The differences between both LP releases and the final television performance have been properly explained in DEMS Bulletins. Since the old DEMS Bulletins are all available on the web site http://www.depanorama.net/dems we do not have to reprint the discussions concerning the different versions of the releases of "A Drum Is a Woman". Go to DEMS 79/5-2; 80/1-3; 82/3-4; 03/2-18 and 04/3-14&15.
The artwork on Jazz Track has been copied from the same LP sleeve as the one which was used for the artwork for the Columbia CD. The picture was zoomed in to get rid of the LP label in the top right corner and the ticket in the left bottom corner.
Milo van den Assem and Sjef Hoefsmit

New Releases January 26^th - February 1^st

DEMS 08/1-25

David Palmquist agreed with me that the kind of detailed information as shown in the following title lists of three CDs, should be published in DEMS Bulletin. All the participants of the Duke-LYM discussion group have access to the DEMS Bulletins, but it is not certain that every reader of DEMS Bulletin participates in Duke-LYM. It is even less urgent when it concerns old releases.
David made it possible for me to listen to all the selections in order to check the identifications.
Sjef Hoefsmit

 

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NIMBUS NI 2014
Duke Ellington Swing Legends
24 Classic Hits
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DEMS 08/1-26

 1. East St.Louis Toodle-O        19Dec27
 2. Creole Love Call              26oct27
 3. Black Beauty                  26Mar28
 4. Cotton Club Stomp              3May29
 5. Mood Indigo                   17oct30
 6. It Don't Mean a Thing          2Feb32
 7. Blue Light                 -1 22Dec38
 8. Slap Happy                 -1 22Dec38
 9. Country Girl                  16oct39
10. Sophisticated Lady            14Feb40
11. Jack the Bear                  6Mar40
12. Ko-Ko                      -2  6Mar40
13. Concerto for Cootie           15Mar40
14. Cotton Tail                    4May40
15. Don't Get Around Much Anymore  4May40
16. Harlem Air-Shaft              22Jul40
17. Rumpus in Richmond            22Jul40
18. In a Mellow Tone               5Sep40
19. Warm Valley                -3 17oct40
20. Take the "A" Train            15Feb41
21. Chelsea Bridge                 2Dec41
22. Main Stem                     26Jun42
23. Johnny Come Lately            26Jun42
24. Stomp, Look and Listen     -1 10Nov47

In spite of what Ren Brown has suggested, this is not a recent release. It has been included in his WorldsRecords catalogue since 11Apr01.
Tracks 3, 10 and 17 were terminated too early, with the result that the very end of these three recordings was deleted.

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Jazz Archives 158142 (F)
DE Masterpieces
Original Historic Recordings
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DEMS 08/1-27

 1. Creole Love Call                   26oct27
 2. Black and Tan Fantasy              26oct27
 3. The Mooch                          17oct28
 4. Mood Indigo                        17oct30
 5. Rockin' in Rhythm               -2 16Jan31
 6. It Don't Mean a Thing               2Feb32
 7. Sophisticated Lady              -2 15Feb33
 8. Stompy Jones                        9Jan34
 9. Merry Go Round                     30Apr35
10. Caravan                            14May37
11. Diminuendo in Blue              -1 20Sep37
    Crescendo in Blue               -1 20Sep37
12. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart -2  3Mar38
13. Prelude to a Kiss               -2  9Aug38
14. Cotton Club Stomp                   6Jun39
15. Solitude                           14Feb40
16. Ko-Ko                           -2  6Mar40
17. Concerto for Cootie                15Mar40
18. Cotton Tail                         4May40
19. Don't Get Around Much Anymore       4May40
20. Take the "A" Train                 15Feb41
21. Perdido                         -1 21Jan42
22. C-Jam Blues                        21Jan42

This CD has been mentioned in DEMS Bulletin 94/2-4 but the list of titles was not complete and the contents were not checked.

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Document Records Jaz 1014
"Duke Ellington — The Bubber Miley Era"
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DEMS 08/1-28

See DEMS 05/2-33

 1. Choo Choo                             Nov24
 2. Birmingham Breakdown                29Nov26
 3. Hop Head                            22Mar27
 4. Creole Love Call                    26oct27
 5. Black and Tan Fantasy               26oct27
 6. Washington Wabble                   26oct27
 7. East St. Louis Toodle-O             19Dec27
 8. Sweet Mama, Papa's Getting Mad       9Jan28
 9. Black Beauty                        26Mar28
10. Jubilee Stomp                       26Mar28
11. Diga Diga Doo                       10Jul28
12. Swampy River                         1oct28
13. The Mooch                            1oct28
14. Hot and Bothered                     1oct28
15. Louisiana                           17oct28
16. I Can't Give You Anything But Love  10Nov28
17. Bandanna Babies                     15Nov28
18. I Must Have That Man                15Nov28
19. Tiger Rag - Part 1               -A  8Jan29
    Tiger Rag - Part 2                   8Jan29
20. Flaming Youth                    -2 16Jan29
21. Saturday Night Function             16Jan29

This CD was mentioned in DEMS 05/2-33. We were unable to check the dates and occasional take numbers in 2005, but David Palmquist (and my new computer) have made it possible to listen to the selections now.
Sjef Hoefsmit

ELLINGTONIA

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Fresh Sound   FSR-CD 472
Paul Gonsalves Cookin'
Complete 1956-57 Sessions
Bar code: 8427328604727
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DEMS 08/1-29

This is a re-release of three rare LPs,
The anthology "The Jazz School" MG 36093 (tracks 1-4) Paul Gonsalves, Clark Terry, Porter Kilbert, Junior Mance, Chubby Jackson, Gene Miller; NYC, 6Feb54;
"Cookin'" Argo 626 (tracks 5-13) Paul Gonsalves, Clark Terry, Willie Jones, Jimmy Woode, Sam Woodyard; Chicago, 6Aug57;
and "The Colorful Strings of Jimmy Woode" Argo 630 (tracks 15-20) Jimmy Woode, Clark Terry, Mike Simpson, Porter Kilbert, Paul Gonsalves, Ramsey Lewis, Sam Woodyard; Chicago, 2Sep57.
Tracks 5-14 have been re-released earlier on Chess 0007 - GRD 819, see DEMS 99/4-24/5.
I found my Fresh Sound copy for only € 9.90.
Milo van den Assem

I found mine at http://www.jazzmessengers.com/ProductInfo.asp?ref=117180
Richard Ehrenzeller

 1. It Don't Mean a Thing
 2. Take Nine
 3. Everything Happens to Me
 4. Don't Blame Me
 5. Festival
 6. Clark's Bars
 7. Daddy-O's Patio
 8. Blues
 9. Impeccable
10. Paul's Idea
11. Phat Bach
12. Milli Terry
13. Funky
14. The Girl I Call Baby
15. Falmouth Recollections
16. The Way You Look Tonight
17. Foofy for President
18. The Man from Potter's Crossing
19. Dance of the Reluctant Drag
20. Empathy, for Ruth

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Arbors Jazz 19350 (2007)
Carol Sloane — Dearest Duke
with Ken Peplowski and Brad Hatfield (piano)
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DEMS 08/1-30

Sophisticated Lady; Solitude; I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart; Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me;
I Didn't Know about You; Serenade to Sweden; Mood Indigo; Rocks in My Bed, I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues; In a Sentimental Mood; Prelude to a Kiss; Day Dream; I Got It Bad; Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin', All too Soon; Just Squeeze Me.

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Percussion Power - Perc2 (2008)
Louie and Clark Expedition 2
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DEMS 08/1-31

The selections: Chicago Suite: State Street Swing, City of Seasons, The Blues Singer, Lake Shore Drive;
Davenport Blues; Two Guys and a Gal; Piacere; Give Me the Good Time; Ballade; Terry’s Mood; Back to the Basics (Old); Now (The Young); Well Alright Then.

These are the members of the marvellous 17 piece band with Clark Terry as guest soloist:
Stantawn Kendrick, alto, sopr. sax., flute; Albert Alva, conductor, alto sax., flute; Steve Guerra, tenor saxophone; Whitney Slaten, tenor saxophone; Adam Schroeder, baritone saxophone; Stafford Hunter, trombone; Andrae Murchison, trombone; Cameron MacManus, trombone; Jack Jeffers, contractor, bass trombone; Frank Greene, trumpet & flugelhorn; Tony Lujan, trumpet & flugelhorn; Stjepko Gut, trumpet & flugelhorn; Greg Glassman, trumpet & flugelhorn; Helen Sung, piano; Marcus McLaurine, bass; Sylvia Cuenca, drums; Kenny Washington, drums.
All compositions are by Louie Bellson. The CD is available on www.cdbaby.com/cd/bellson.
Visit the new website: www.LouieBellson.Info or www.LouieBellson.Net

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Altrisuoni AS 079
SMADA
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DEMS 08/1-32

Nathanael Su on also sax and Fredi Lüscher on piano recorded the following 10 selections in Zürich in 2000, which resulted in an agreeable CD: Azalea; Smada; Drop Me Off in Harlem; African Flower [sic]; To the Bitter; Come Sunday; The Mooche; Serenade to Sweden; Self Portrait of the Bean; Latin American Sunshine. The title To the Bitter as well as the melody are unknown to me. The closest is the title To Be Better in Timner's alphabetic title list in his 5^th edition without any further explanation. On the web-site of Altrisuoni (www.altrusioni.com) it is credited to Duke Ellington. Self Portrait of the Bean is also known as Grievin'. If you want to contact Altrusioni: P.O.Box 804, CH-6962 Viganello (Switzerland). Tel/fax +41 91 605 4221.
Sjef Hoefsmit**

The New DESOR correction-sheets

DEMS 08/1-33

Sessions

1085 - 9085   Manchester, 1st conc. 19Jan63   07/3-11
1086 - 9086   Manchester,           29Feb64   07/3-11
1087 - 9087   Manchester, 1st conc. 27Feb65   07/3-11

Titles

2005 - New structure for      Piano Tinkle
       9047                   Tootsie Hill   05/2-20
       9048c&d                 Blues No 23   05/2-30
       9053ae                   Paper Doll   05/3-15
       9053af       Shine On, Harvest Moon   05/3-15
       9060d              Unidentified "S"   06/3-5
       9064n                  'S Wonderful   07/3-10

 

 

The New DESOR corrections

DEMS 08/1-34

We remind you that these corrections are merely suggestions. They are not (yet) accepted by the authors of the New DESOR. Unsigned suggestions were brought in by Hoefsmit.
DEMS

Pages 2 and 5. 2702a is spelled New Orleans Low Down and 2807b as Doin' the New Lowdown. What is the correct spelling of the last word(s) in both titles?

Pages 119 and 1185. The opening theme Take the "A" Train (4583a) is taken by the AFRS from the original recording in the middle of the programme (4583g): the first part up to and including the 12th bar in the 2nd chorus. See also DEMS Bulletin 06/1-9.

 

DESOR small corrections

DEMS 08/1-35

These corrections are authorised by Luciano Massagli and Giovanni Volonté.
DEMS

DESOR small corrections 5013

Volume 1 (Corrections April 2008)

327 – Make a note for the first concert in Manchester on 19Jan63, session 9065 on Correction-sheet 1085
(07/3-11)

327 - 19Jan63, session 6305.
Add "2^nd" before the word "concert" under the date. Add, between Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me and Monologue: 6305xa One More Once vcMG unissued. Add in note: 6305xa int4BAND;1°/3°MG;
4°/11°PG;12°MG;cod4BAND,2MG,2BAND (07/3-11)

364 – Make a note for the concert in Manchester on 29Feb64, session 9066 on Correction-sheet 1086
(07/3-11)

396 – Make a note for the first concert in Manchester on 27Feb65, session 9067 on Correction-sheet 1087
(07/3-11)

396 - Feb65, session 6524.
Add: Free Trade Hall; Manchester instead of
Prob. England; February 27, 1965; 2^nd concert.
Add as last title: 6524aa God Save the Queen unissued
Add in note: 6524aa Same as 5404ab

671 - 23oct72, session 7251. This session was released on TIMEX TX-1129 instead of TX-11295. The same correction should be made on Correction-sheet 1061

Volume 2 (Corrections April 2008)

894 - Hayfoot, Strawfoot. P. McGrain/E. Drake, H. Lenk instead of H. Lenk, E. Drake/P. McGrane (07/3-43)

1175 - Take the "A" Train, 5844a.
Delete the whole description. Add: %;3°4BAND,4RN,4BAND,4RN,16BAND&RN;
4°(nc)16BAND&RN;cod2BAND (07/3-17)

1423 - TIMEX TX-11295 should be read TX-1129