Audio CD review:
Duke Ellington - Ellington Uptown

Duke Ellington - Ellington Uptown

Band: Duke Ellington Title: Ellington Uptown Rating: Release Date: 17 February, 2004 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Skin Deep 2: The Mooche 3: Take The 'A' Train 4: A Tone Parallel To Harlem 5: Perdido (Harlem Suite) 6: The Controversial Suite: Before My Time 7: The Controversial Suite: Later 8: The Liberian Suite: I Like The Sunrise 9: The Liberian Suite: Dance No. 1 10: The Liberian Suite: Dance No. 2 11: The Liberian Suite: Dance No. 3 12: The Liberian Suite: Dance No. 4 13: The Liberian Suite: Dance No. 5

Customer Reviews CLASSIC BIG BAND JAZZ ELLINGTON WAS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL JAZZ ARTIST AT THAT TIME TO MAKE THAT TRANSITION, AND PART OF THE REASON WAS THAT HIS ALBUMS NOT ONLY HAD GREAT MUSICIANS AND ARRANGEMENTS, BUT THEY ALSO HAD CONTINUITY, WHICH TRANSLATED WELL INTO AN ALBUM. THIS IS JUST ANOTHER OF A STRING OF GREAT DUKE ELLINGTON RELEASES FROM THE 1950'S, WHEN THE LP FORMAT FIRST CAME INTO PLAY. IT WOULD BE POINTLESS TO GO INTO A SONG BY SONG REVIEW OF THIS CD, BECASUE EVERY SONG IS AWESOME, SO JUST SIT BACK, LISTEN, AND ENJOY!. Almost Paradise...but not quite The creativity displayed throughout this disc is awesome - fecund, endless. . Whose creativity? Duke's, Strayhorn's and all of the members of the band. But it isn't a masterpiece. So much [. . ] interruptus - events go to a point where I feel like the thrill that I still get from Black and Tan, The Mooche and all of the other priceless work from 1927-1943 is about to come upon me. But it doesn't happen - not quite. I smile and nod at all the clever beautiful things. My only chills come during the brilliant remake of the Mooche. My greatest sadness comes during the Dance No. 5 of the Liberian Suite where the modality and repetition of of the bass line, the static quality of the whole, looks forward to a whole world of later jazz, and to an important theme in Duke's later work, typified by Ad Lib On Nippon and La Plus Belle Africaine. But some of the gaudy and unneccesary climaxes!. . . What's that all about and why is there no real language to critique it? What happened to Duke's unerring sense of balance that he took so many pains and so many years to develop? This is one of the greatest Jazz records of its time, but I still say it lacks that certain Je Ne Sais Quoi. P. S. - Later recordings of Tone Parallel of Harlem - with Cootie Williams back in the fold - are stronger and more moving. Ellington band at their best!! The essential Ellington masterpiece! Everything afterwards was downhill. . . Recommended cuts are '"A" Train' and 'Skin Deep'. . You can see a complete list of all Duke Ellington discography, or go back to the Duke Ellington tabs