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 DUKE ELLINGTON/Complete RCA Victor Recordings 1927-1973 August / September 1999 By Carter Grice
Ellington recorded prolifically throughout his career, and RCA Victor has more and better Ellington than any other label. Early Ellington (1927-34), covered by the first seven discs here, was initially a period of experiments, novelties, and the logistics of building a great band. His orchestra quickly grew into a blueprint for the swing bands that followed, then by the early '30s became its own paradigm. Already, men who would spend most of their professional lives with Ellington were present. Bubber Miley (who stayed only two years) was Ellington's first great soloist, an intense growl trumpeter. Otto Hardwick and Harry Carney were a superb high/low reed tandem. Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, Barney Bigard, Sonny Greer, and the great Johnny Hodges all established their jazz credentials in this period. Ellington himself began composing material at an astounding rate. Classics like "Black and Tan Fantasy," "Creole Love Call," "East St. Louis Toodle-oo," and "Black Beauty" still sound startlingly fresh. It's commonly noted that Ellington approached his band as an instrument, and he sought to decipher the entire spectrum of sound an orchestra offered. The material was not yet consistently top drawer, but the measured propulsion of the band made even the slightest novelties worthwhile. The dynamism of these early recordings rests on Ellington's ability to juxtapose harmony and discordance. A velvety reed section might give way to a honking baritone break, or a gutbucket trumpet lead might be supported by the sweetest of saxophone sounds. Ellington understood implicitly the relationship of tension and release, and his men executed it with grace and controlled passion. The 1940-42 phase of Ellington's tenure at RCA is probably the greatest of his brilliant career. The orchestra had absorbed two new members whose input was so important that the period is known as the Blanton/Webster years. Jimmy Blanton redefined the role of bass in jazz by taking up Ellington's challenge to be a section unto himself. Ben Webster is, simply, one of the great tenor players, capable of everything from sublime caresses to roof-raising howls. As ever, Ellington wrote constantly: Three-minute masterpieces tumbled out of his pen and discs 8-13 offer an embarassment of riches. "Jack the Bear," "Koko," "Cottontail," "Chelsea Bridge," and "Jumpin' Punkins" are as magnificent as orchestral jazz gets. Billy Strayhorn, Duke's closest friend and musical alter-ego, came on board during this time and immediately penned the Ellington orchestra's signature song, "Take The 'A' Train." There are also small group sessions led by Johnny Hodges, Barney Bigard, and Ellington's greatest trumpeter, Rex Stewart. Short-form masterpieces are sprinkled throughout discs 14-17, but Ellington's mid '40s work is best remembered for "Black, Brown, and Beige," his first long-form composition. Controversial in its time, "Black, Brown, and Beige" now represents another successful experiment in his revolutionary body of work. Gospel had always informed Ellington's music, but the secular beauty of his prior output obscured his deep religious concerns. The Sacred Concerts on discs 18-20 were his love letters to god, and he considered them among his best works. All three discs are filled with amazing tone poems, blues, portraits, popular songs, and soulful spirituals. The final RCA Victor recordings include two of his supreme accomplishments: "The Far East Suite" and "...And His Mother Called Him Bill." There is rapture in every musical gesture of "The Far East Suite." Ellington was always more a situational composer than a cerebral one and his ability to conjure the disparate moods of moving through a strange place is nonpareil. Here he directs his pliable orchestra with a sure hand. When composer Billy Strayhorn died of cancer in May 1967, Ellington lost his closest companion. Bathed in the emotional spectrum of living and dying, "...And His Mother Called Him Bill" is a Strayhorn tribute so intense in its purity of dedication that one is left slack-jawed. And "Smada," "Upper Manhattan Medical Group," and "Blood Count" are ingenious compositions from a man who inhabited Ellington's sound universe as if it were his own. This incredible box set is a perfect distillation of all that is great about jazz. Ellington achieved immortality through his music, and like a ghost he haunts all music that seeks to do more than just divert. |
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