I Can't Give You Anything But Love - Duke Ellington, Fields
Ain't Nothin' Nothin' Baby Without You - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Stormy Weather - Duke Ellington, Arlen, Harold
Stardust - Duke Ellington, Carmichael, Hoagy
Three Little Words - Duke Ellington, Kalmar, Bert
Orson - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Boo-Dah - Duke Ellington, Strayhorn, Billy
Blossom - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Ballin' the Blues - Duke Ellington, Duke, Obie
Warm Valley - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Flamingo - Duke Ellington, Anderson
Blue Jean Beguine - Duke Ellington, Anderson, Cat
Liza - Duke Ellington, Gershwin, George
Who Knows - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Retrospection - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
B Sharp Blues - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Passion Flower - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Dancers in Love - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Reflections in D - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Melancholia - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Prelude to a Kiss - Duke Ellington, Ellington
In a Sentimental Mood - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Track Listings (24) - Disc #2
Things Ain't What They Used to Be - Duke Ellington, Ellington
All Too Soon - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Janet - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Give Me the Right - Duke Ellington, Frisch
Is It a Sin? My Loving You - Duke Ellington, Bryan
Basin Street Blues - Duke Ellington, Williams, Spencer
Big Drag - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Don't Ever Say Goodbye - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Kinda Dukish - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Montevideo - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
December Blue - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
I'm Just a Lucky So and So - Duke Ellington, Davis, Mack
It Shouldn't Happen to a Dream - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
What More Can I Say? - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Rockin' in Rhythm - Duke Ellington, Carney, Harry
Ultra Deluxe - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Mercer
Flying Home - Duke Ellington, Goodman, Benny
Blue Moon - Duke Ellington, Hart, Lorenz
Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin' - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Ultra Deluxe - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Mercer
Flying Home - Duke Ellington, Goodman, Benny
What More Can I Say? - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Serious Serenade - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin' - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Track Listings (20) - Disc #3
Honeysuckle Rose - Duke Ellington, Razaf, Andy
Stompin' at the Savoy - Duke Ellington, Goodman, Benny & Hi
Don't Ever Say Goodbye - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Black and Tan Fantasy - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Frivolous Banta - Duke Ellington, Henderson, Rick
In the Mood - Duke Ellington, Garland
One O'Clock Jump - Duke Ellington, Basie, Count
Things Ain't What They Used to Be - Duke Ellington, Ellington
Happy Go-Lucky Local - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Rockin' in Rhythm - Duke Ellington, Carney, Harry
Falling Like a Raindrop - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
All Day Long - Duke Ellington, Strayhorn, Billy
Bunny Hop Mambo - Duke Ellington, Anthony, Ray
Isle of Capri - Duke Ellington, Grosz, Will
C Jam Blues - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Band Call - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Gonna Tan Your Hide - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Smile - Duke Ellington, Chaplin, Charles
Echo Tango - Duke Ellington, Stewart, Paul [1]
If I Give My Heart to You - Duke Ellington, Brewster
Track Listings (18) - Disc #4
Chile Bowl - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Bakiff - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Twelfth Street Rag Mambo - Duke Ellington, Bowman, E.
September Song - Duke Ellington, Anderson, M.
Caravan - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
La Virgen de La Macarena - Duke Ellington, Calaro
Harlem Air Shaft - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Look What I've Got for You - Duke Ellington, Unknown
Commercial Time - Duke Ellington, Henderson, Rick
Clarinet Melodrama - Duke Ellington, Hamilton, Jimmy
Theme for Trambean - Duke Ellington, Hamilton, Jimmy
Coquette - Duke Ellington, Green, Al [Vocals]
Serious Serenade - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Body and Soul - Duke Ellington, Eyton
Once in a Blue Mood - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Lady Be Good - Duke Ellington, Gershwin, George
So Long - Duke Ellington, Harris, Remus
It Don't Mean a Thing - Duke Ellington, Ellington, Duke
Four CD set containing 88 tracks that covers the two year period when Ellington was signed to Capitol Records. The period between 1953 and 1955, was a hard time for the Duke, a moment of low popularity which would last unt... more »il the tremendous success at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, when Paul Gonsalves? extended solos would drive the public into a frenzy. The Capitol recordings give evidence to the Duke?s urgency to find new forms of expression during this difficult stage of his career. This large body of recordings contains many elements outside of Ellington?s familiar repertoire. For instance, instead of playing his old and new compositions, he devoted many sessions to arrangements of jazz standards and popular songs commonly associated with other bands. The most obvious gems here were generated during the duo/trio sessions of 1953, in which the Duke was backed by Wendell Marshall on bass and Butch Pollard on drums. The last Capitol session, recorded on May 19, 1955, is another curiosity. Here Ellington again called upon a smaller unit, playing with a septet and on electric piano!!! Recorded in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York between April 6, 1953 and May 19, 1955. Definitive. 2006.« less
Four CD set containing 88 tracks that covers the two year period when Ellington was signed to Capitol Records. The period between 1953 and 1955, was a hard time for the Duke, a moment of low popularity which would last until the tremendous success at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, when Paul Gonsalves? extended solos would drive the public into a frenzy. The Capitol recordings give evidence to the Duke?s urgency to find new forms of expression during this difficult stage of his career. This large body of recordings contains many elements outside of Ellington?s familiar repertoire. For instance, instead of playing his old and new compositions, he devoted many sessions to arrangements of jazz standards and popular songs commonly associated with other bands. The most obvious gems here were generated during the duo/trio sessions of 1953, in which the Duke was backed by Wendell Marshall on bass and Butch Pollard on drums. The last Capitol session, recorded on May 19, 1955, is another curiosity. Here Ellington again called upon a smaller unit, playing with a septet and on electric piano!!! Recorded in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York between April 6, 1953 and May 19, 1955. Definitive. 2006.
CD Reviews
Better than you might expect - not perfect
Patrick Burnette | Crawfordsville, IN USA | 11/05/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This latest reissue of Duke's Capitol sessions is not quite as complete as the out of print Mosaic box and, at $30 or so, not nearly as expensive as that issue either. The sound is quite good. The notes are minimal, but adequate, with personnel given. It would be nice to know how the label choose which handful of tracks to exclude, but no explanation is given. If you're interested in this period of Duke's work, this set is a must-have. There are some ho-hum tunes here and too many vocals (though the vocalists are always better than competent) but much good Ducal output as well."