Fretplay.com Duke Ellington CD reviews Duke Ellington guitar tabs Duke Ellington CD reviews Duke Ellington tabs Ellington At Newport 1956


Duke Ellington - Ellington At Newport 1956 Audio CD

A fair review of the Duke Ellington "Ellington At Newport 1956" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Duke Ellington reviews here, or go back to the Duke Ellington tabs.

Duke Ellington Band: Duke Ellington
Title: Ellington At Newport 1956
Rating:
Release Date: 1999-05-11
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Star Spangled Banner [#] 2: Father Norman O'Connor Introduces Duke & The Orchestra/Duke Introduces - Duke Ellington, 3: Black and Tan Fantasy 4: Duke Introduces Cook & Tune 5: Tea for Two [#] 6: Duke & Band Leave Stage/Father Norman O'Connor Talks About Festival 7: Take the "A" Train 8: Duke Announces Strayhorn's a Train & Nance/Duke Introduces ... 9: Part I- Festival Junction [Live][#] 10: Duke Announces Soloists: Introduces, Pt. 2 [Live] 11: Part II- Blues to Be There [Live][#] 12: Duke Announces Nance & Procope; Introduces, Pt. 3 [Live] 13: Part III- Newport Up [Live][#] 14: Duke Announces Hamilton, Gonsalves, & Terry/Duke Introduces Carney ... 15: Sophisticated Lady [Live] 16: Duke Announces Grissom & Tune [Live] 17: Day In - Day Out [Live][#] 18: Duke Introduces Tune (S) And Paul Gonsalves Interludes [Live] 19: Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue [Live] 20: Announcements, Pandemonium [Live] 21: [Pause Track] 22: Duke Introduces Johnny Hodges 23: I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) [Live][#] 24: Jeep's Blues [Live] 25: Duke Calms Crowd; Introduces Nance & Tune 26: Tulip or Turnip [#] 27: Riot Prevention 28: Skin Deep 29: Mood Indigo [#] 30: Studio Concert [Excerpts] 31: Father Norman O'Connor Introduces Duke Ellington/Duke Introduces ... - Duke Ellington, 32: Part I- Festival Junction 33: Duke Announces Soloists: Introduces, Pt. 2 34: Part II- Blues to Be There 35: Duke Announces Nance & Procope; Introduces, Pt. 3 36: Part III- Newport Up 37: Duke Announces Hamilton, Gonsalves, & Terry/Pause/Duke Introduces ... 38: I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) 39: Jeep's Blues [#] 40: [Pause Track]

Ellington at Newport
The quality is excellent and I'm delighted to be able to bring this historically important performance to life for my students. I purchased this item primarily for use in a college jazz history class.


where are the liner notes?
Where are they? Inside I find only a listing of the track breakpoints and a miniature version of the original liner notes. The back cover of the CD mentions new extensive liner notes by Phil Schaap. Nothing by Schaap.


Listen to the original first?
I personally feel the engineering attempt to make a stereo recording out of two mono recordings was a failure and it detracts from the amazing performance of the Ellington band. Perhaps the people giving positive reviews have sentimental feelings toward another (mono) recording of this concert, or perhaps they aren't listening on a true hifi stereo.

Just as I would settle in and close my eyes to enjoy a tune, the drums start bouncing from left to right, the soloists appear to be jumping across the stage when they change their dynamics. Sounds cut in and out. It is annoying and that's all I end up thinking about when I listen to this album. In fact, I've thought about it so much, I think I came to the conclusion that it sounds like 3 mics are in use, Two correctly placed above the band producing a somewhat muddled stereo recording, and one solo mic out front that is much cleaner. This might have been fine except whenever music gets picked up by the solo mic (piano, drums, solists) the sound comes entirely out of my left speaker. Had they centered that mic in the mix it would have been a much more enjoyable experience. I think I'm going to switch my stereo to mono and have another listen.

For those looking for an excellent recording of Ellingtion, I recommend "Live at the Blue Note" recorded August 9, 1959. I know it's not "THE NEWPORT" recording, but you'll enjoy it much more on your B&Ws. If you're just looking for something to listen to on your Bose wave radio. . . well I'm sure this recording will suit you just fine.


Historic, but pretty average, recording
Sure, some of the solos are really hot, and the recording assures that the subtleties and intricacies of what was no doubt an epic performance are not lost, but still, how many times do we need to hear Duke's introduction? For me, the big selling point of this work is the liner notes, which are jam packed with photos, original liners, extensive musician and soloist listings, plus updated liners and session notes. This recording is indispensable for Ellington fans, big band fans, and serious jazz music aficionados, but I think for the most part, the uneven recording quality and excessive tracks of pretty meaningless introductions, not to mention the riot quelling track, sort of miss the point and, I think, detract from the music. I doubt there is an Ellington fan who wouldn't learn something by reading these notes once through. Long and short, I would say most casual fans can make do with the one CD set which eliminates most of the talking tracks and intros, but serious fans should go ahead and get this one. For pure music, this is not the greatest, but for jazz history and documentation, it is unsurpassed.
.


Ellington At Newport 1956
Two discs with studio recordings duplicating the same titles and adding others was irritating and detracted from the ambience. I would have been satisfied with the live content, as indicated by the title, on a single disc. I transferred the real stuff to a single separate disc for satisfactory listening.


You can see a complete list of all Duke Ellington discography, or go back to the Duke Ellington tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

Search guitar tabs

#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
[ Search tabs | Guitar tabs | Bass tabs |
Easy guitar tabs | Guitar solo tabs |
Acoustic guitar tabs | Guitar chords |
How to read guitar tabs ]
Forum topics
Music forums
- Bands and artists - Songwriting and lyrics - Tablature talk - Promote your band
Instrument forums
- Guitar basics - Gear & accessories - Bass guitar
Community
- The pit - Site Feedback - Reviews
[ User survey | About us | Privacy statement ]