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Duke Ellington - Money Jungle Audio CD

A fair review of the Duke Ellington "Money Jungle" 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: Money Jungle
Rating:
Release Date: 2002-07-16
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Money Jungle 2: Fleurette Africaine 3: Very Special 4: Warm Valley 5: Wig Wise 6: Caravan 7: Solitude 8: Switch Blade 9: A Little Max (Parfait) 10: REM Blues 11: Backward Country Boy Blues 12: Solitude (alternate take) 13: Switch Blade (alternate take) 14: A Little Max (Parfait) (alternate take) 15: REM Blues (alternate take)

Blows me away
That said, I let my ears guide me. Me, I am no expert in music. In my opinion this CD has no weak points. Whether it is the title track, or "Wig Wise," which sounds to me like Thelonious Monk's "Well, You Needn't," there are surprises lurking in every track. I barely recovered from "Caravan" before I heard "REM Blues. " Before that, I was already smitten with "A little Max. " Does anyone know if this was named for Max Roach? In fact, I couldn't be sure which version of the last two songs I preferred. "solitude" is great. Does anyone detect hint of Keith Jarrett's Koln Concert Part I on "Switch blade," or, more accurately vice-versa?

Who doesn't like this CD? Maybe someone who really knows music and is not impressed because he/she can easily pick out the flaws. By I must point out that this CD made the list of 100 Best CDs ever. Even if this list is subjective, it shows that a lot of people like it. .


Money Jungle
It's as enjoyable as I expected it to be and that's saying a lot. I love this CD. Roach is excellent, Mingus is as good as ever, and Ellington's presence ensures that every minute of it *swings*. Good stuff.


Duke should have done this more often, 4 1/2 stars
There is the disc with John Coltrane, and this one with Charles Mingus and Max Roach. Duke Ellington recorded two albums in the same month with younger musicians near the peaks of their powers. I wish Duke had done more of that, because both discs are very good. "Money Jungle" shows a surprisingly avant-garde side of Duke Ellington.

This CD opens up with the title track, which is an absolute 5-star song. "Money Jungle" sounds unlike anything you'd expect from Duke Ellington. It wouldn't sound out of place on a Bad Plus CD, for example. It bristles with raw energy. Charles Mingus hits the same note on the bass like he was Neil Young. The song is timeless, and reason alone to get the CD. Things settle down for "Fleurette Africaine" where everyone plays with more touch and subtlety. "Very Special" can be considered the "average" song on this CD - it's blues-based, mid-tempo, and has very tasty playing. "Wig Wise" is a revelation to me, this version sounds better than any other I've heard. The version of "Caravan" puts a unique twist on an often-played classic. "Solitude" is in large part a Duke solo spot. "A Little Max" is a sprightly, catchy tune. Not counting the alternate versions, the rest of the disc and the bonus tracks are similar to "Very Special" in their bluesiness. The playing is stellar across the board. It's great to hear Duke without a big band, Mingus is Mingus, and Max Roach doesn't play flashily, but he always a very musical drummer. This CD is highly recommended, even if you're not a big fan of Duke's big band stuff.


Clash of the titans


Not all the numbers are equally enjoyable for me, but this is still, I believe one of the best albums I have ever heard (although it's not one of my favorites). Remarkable album, indeed!
Duke Ellington, a great classical (but always explorative) pianist, composer, arranger and band leader is teamd up with two of the best modernist players, Charles Mingus and Max Roach and, as opposed to occasions where artists modify theri style to conform to one of the players, this is a true fight, a clash of the musical titans who respect and challenge each other.
.


Glorified session from seminal names yeilds a few outstanding cuts amongst less involving fare
The album seems to find these players manipulating traditional forms moreso then arranging new ones. 3 1/2

I must side with a tiny minority in judging this album of three jazz giants as overrated, though certainly not grossly. Anybody steeped in the genre would probably never allow this one out of their collection (Ellington fans in particular are treated to a rare and unhinged treat), but the combined strained effort does not add up to the masterpiece one would expect from these worthy musicians. Spending the majority of time between over-cooked experimentation and auto-piloted bop, rarely does the music flow as it seemingly should; forget about any intra-band tensions or any of that esoteric nonsense, an abundance of showy overplaying and jarring, ego-centric competition robs Money Jungle of much true musical tension. It does sometimes feel that bass work from the exceptional though difficult Charlie Mingus intentionally goes out of it's way to further smear any cohesiveness between the trio. As underwhelming as it's pedigree may suggest, the album still maintains a level of technical proficiency that cannot be denied from an objective standpoint, playing out like a good, but not great, avant garde-meets-traditional Jazz work from the early 60's.


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.

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