I love Basie & feel like he doesn't get enough love these days
― in which we apologize for sobering up (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Wednesday, 12 May 2010 16:40 (3 years ago) Permalink
Basie does seem sort of out of fashion it's true.
― hills like white people (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 12 May 2010 16:44 (3 years ago) Permalink
he's a little less varied when placed against Ellington, and a bit less of a monumental, American hero kind of figure ... but when it comes to swinging, he can kick Ellington's band's ass any day. Duke probably would've agreed.
― tylerw, Wednesday, 12 May 2010 16:46 (3 years ago) Permalink
its a Stooges vs. Stones sort of thing. Basie's sixties stuff with Neil Hefti has a late-career shine that's completely different than Ellington, but just as neat.
― bendy, Wednesday, 12 May 2010 16:50 (3 years ago) Permalink
yeah i haven't heard a lot of late-period Basie, I should check it out. any specific recommendations?
― tylerw, Wednesday, 12 May 2010 16:52 (3 years ago) Permalink
Atomic.
― Generation Blecch (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 12 May 2010 16:59 (3 years ago) Permalink
i think that's the latest one I've heard ... but that's late 50s, right? He lived/recorded for a couple more decades ... oh i've also got this one from 1966, which is pretty off the hook. http://www.amazon.com/Live-at-Sands-Count-Basie/dp/B000009D1P/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1273683671&sr=1-1
― tylerw, Wednesday, 12 May 2010 17:02 (3 years ago) Permalink
Yeah, Atomic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E%3DMC2_%28Count_Basie_album%29
― bendy, Wednesday, 12 May 2010 17:09 (3 years ago) Permalink
wait, who doesn't love basie?
― by another name (amateurist), Thursday, 13 May 2010 04:00 (3 years ago) Permalink
he definitely insinuated himself into my generation's consciousness via his sesame street appearances.
and then there's this:
(you really owe it to yourself to watch the whole thing. you will thank me.)
maybe i should take this to the basie thread, if one exists.
― by another name (amateurist), Thursday, 13 May 2010 04:02 (3 years ago) Permalink
Listened to this a couple times in last year & still sounds great.
― Mark, Thursday, 13 May 2010 04:13 (3 years ago) Permalink
I've been gradually acquiring volumes in the Private Collection series and so far all of those have been great. It blows my mind to think about him recording hours and hours of big band compositions on his own dime and just putting the tapes on the shelf. The excellent New Yorker article linked above describes how his work as a composer was inseparable from his constant interaction with the band. One of the main reasons he kept touring so hard in the leaner 50s and 60s years must have been to be able to write and record this way.
Lots of Duke material, including the Private Collection stuff, is available for cheap on emusic.
― Brad C., Thursday, 13 May 2010 15:26 (3 years ago) Permalink
don't think i've heard any of the private collection stuff ... any tips on where to start? jesus there is so much Ellington. Scary thing is that pretty much all of it is pretty great!
― tylerw, Thursday, 13 May 2010 15:28 (3 years ago) Permalink
The first one I got is v. 5, "The Suites, New York, 1968 & 1970," and that is pretty sweet.
― Brad C., Thursday, 13 May 2010 15:47 (3 years ago) Permalink
Volume 5 kicks off with a take on "Such Sweet Thunder" that's one of my favorite tracks ever. The "Ocht O'Clock Rock" on Vol 8 is one of his funkiest numbers. I love the room sound on the Private Collection studio albums. For that reason, I like the "Ad Lib on Nippon" better than the one of Far East Suite.
― bendy, Thursday, 13 May 2010 16:18 (3 years ago) Permalink
cool, i'll check that out. love the late 60s Ellington sound.
― tylerw, Thursday, 13 May 2010 17:49 (3 years ago) Permalink
oh nice, you can get a set of them for pretty cheap: http://www.amazon.com/Duke-Ellington-DUKE-ELLINGTON-Box/dp/B00006L5TC/ref=reg_hu-wl_mrai-recs
― tylerw, Thursday, 13 May 2010 17:55 (3 years ago) Permalink
Are these private collection volumes in roughly chronological order? Because I majorly fuck with 60s Ellington and I wonder if the box of Volumes 6-10 is therefore the one for me.
― Felix Frankfurter, Man Of Justice (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 13 May 2010 18:23 (3 years ago) Permalink
Almost wish he wrote less sometimes - feel like I just can't get my mind around his body of work.
― hills like white people (Hurting 2), Thursday, 13 May 2010 18:27 (3 years ago) Permalink
yeah, but it warms my heart to think that there's a lifetime of duke to listen to ...
― tylerw, Thursday, 13 May 2010 18:35 (3 years ago) Permalink
The Private Collection series jumps all over the place chronologically. According to allmusic:
Vol. 1: Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956Vol. 2: Dance Concerts, California, 1958Vol. 3: Studio Sessions, New York, 1962Vol. 4: Studio Sessions, New York, 1963Vol. 5: The Suites, New York, 1968 & 1970Vol. 6: Dance Dates, California, 1958Vol. 7: Studio Sessions, 1957 & 1962Vol. 8: Studio Sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, San Francisco, Chicago, New YorkVol. 9: Studio Sessions, New York, 1968Vol. 10: Studio Sessions, New Your & Chicago, 1965, 1966 & 1971
You'd think somewhere on the web there'd be a review of the whole series, but I'm not able to find one.
― Brad C., Thursday, 13 May 2010 18:57 (3 years ago) Permalink
another great ellington deal: http://www.amazon.com/Original-Album-Classics-Duke-Ellington/dp/B000UO7IME/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1CGIV5J69DXFS&colid=1X3ACMTXW3S2I5 50s albums for just about ten bucks
― tylerw, Thursday, 13 May 2010 19:56 (3 years ago) Permalink
and then there's all these Treasury Shows too, yeesh: http://www.storyvillerecords.com/default.aspx?tabID=2627&productId=27249&state_2837=2
― tylerw, Thursday, 13 May 2010 20:07 (3 years ago) Permalink
xpost that is a great deal! Stuff from when he began to record longer pieces thanks to the new LP format iirc.
― Felix Frankfurter, Man Of Justice (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 13 May 2010 20:13 (3 years ago) Permalink
in terms of their bands/styles (not nec. their overall impact) I've always thought of it like this
Basie:James Brown::Ellington:George Clinton
― Limp Bizkit Virtual Raping Teddy Bear (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 13 May 2010 20:20 (3 years ago) Permalink
that's a good way to think about it. who's sly stone, though? all of those records on that Original Album Classics thing are pretty great. Such Sweet Thunder, the shakespeare one, has some amazing stuff.
― tylerw, Thursday, 13 May 2010 20:33 (3 years ago) Permalink
I've been collecting versions of Duke Ellington's "Caravan" for a while now. My favorite is a hidden track at the end of a best of Ferlin Husky CD. Or is it the Three Suns'? For some reason this song inspired the maddest cover versions, especially in the '60s.
― Yuval, Friday, 14 May 2010 15:50 (3 years ago) Permalink
who's sly stone, though?
lol I dunno would have to be someone who's classic period was in between or concurrent with Basie and Ellington...
― Limp Bizkit Virtual Raping Teddy Bear (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 14 May 2010 16:02 (3 years ago) Permalink
maybe he's cab calloway
― tylerw, Friday, 14 May 2010 16:04 (3 years ago) Permalink
and xpost, yeah, i love hearing all the different interpretations of Ellington's event the not-so-good ones. For awhile I was collecting versions "Solitude" ...
― tylerw, Friday, 14 May 2010 16:05 (3 years ago) Permalink
*even* the not so good ones
this record is wild -- synthy, moog-y versions of Ellington standards
― tylerw, Friday, 14 May 2010 16:07 (3 years ago) Permalink
so my sister got me the "private collection" (all ten discs) for xmas. haven't waded through all of it, but everything so far is great. some of the ate 50s live shows, like at air force bases or something, are fab, really loose. you can hear the band talking to each other during songs onstage.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 25 January 2011 17:04 (2 years ago) Permalink
"some of the *late* 50s live shows"
― tylerw, Tuesday, 25 January 2011 17:05 (2 years ago) Permalink
tylerw's sister = hero
― Brad C., Tuesday, 25 January 2011 17:21 (2 years ago) Permalink
otm
― tylerw, Tuesday, 25 January 2011 17:32 (2 years ago) Permalink
I thought those were mostly studio recordings? I have a volume five, which includes of "The Degas Suite" and "The River," both of which are totally sprawling and brilliant. "The River" also has a section that prefigures "Portrait Of Mahalia Jackson," later to feature in the New Orleans Suite (and one of the most stunning moments in Ellington's oeuvre).
― Son of Sisyphus of Reaganing (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 25 January 2011 20:45 (2 years ago) Permalink
there are two or three discs of live stuff, the rest is studio. yeah the degas/river disc is incredible, so beautiful. had it turned up loud in the house last weekend and it sounded amazing, epic.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 25 January 2011 20:48 (2 years ago) Permalink
Cool, gonna try to get the rest of the Private Collection discs. That late-60s studio stuff is amazing, one of his career peaks (though it's not often regarded as such).
― Son of Sisyphus of Reaganing (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 26 January 2011 05:39 (2 years ago) Permalink
so weird! the 1975 super bowl halftime show was ... a tribute to duke ellington. http://blogojazz.blogspot.com/2011/01/jazz-at-super-bowl.html
― tylerw, Tuesday, 22 February 2011 21:13 (2 years ago) Permalink
have been through a major Duke Ellington phase the past few days, also including the Ella Fitzgerald songbook records. WHAT A BAND!!!!!!!!!!!!
― Dominique, Tuesday, 22 February 2011 21:22 (2 years ago) Permalink
yeah i'm still rolling through the private collection. so good! just ordered the "black brown and beige" box set, too. 1944-46 recordings, i think.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 22 February 2011 21:25 (2 years ago) Permalink
That Ella Duke songbook record is great and definitely the jazziest of those songbooks. I'm hoping this recently unearthed Twelve Nights In Hollywood thing will give them a run for the money.
This thread doesn't seem to mention the great record he made with Rosemary Clooney, Blue Rose.
― What You Know Is POLLS!: The Orson Welles Poll (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 22 February 2011 21:31 (2 years ago) Permalink
the spoken bits with strayhorn and ellington on the songbook set are great, too. so you've heard the 12 nights Ella set? i've been tempted by it, but don't reall have the cash at the moment.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 22 February 2011 21:54 (2 years ago) Permalink
oh! i see it's much cheaper than it was originally on amazon ... hmm.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 22 February 2011 21:57 (2 years ago) Permalink
I heard one song from it over the weekend. Hopefully will be hearing more soon.
― What You Know Is POLLS!: The Orson Welles Poll (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 22 February 2011 22:00 (2 years ago) Permalink
back to duke -- i also just got the duke ellington's america book from the library. so far so good! glad to have something big to read about him, i haven't been nuts about the other bios i've read.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 22 February 2011 22:16 (2 years ago) Permalink
Nice podcast interview with Geoffrey O'Brien about Ellington's later work.
― Brad C., Tuesday, 26 April 2011 17:56 (2 years ago) Permalink
I'm about halfway through Ellington's America; so far, it's ridiculously informed/informative, and beyond essential.
― Funky Mustard (People It's Bad) (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Tuesday, 26 April 2011 18:02 (2 years ago) Permalink
yeah, that book is great, i just read it last month. not heavy on the personal life stuff (which is maybe a good thing?) but just sort of a fascinating journey through duke's career, with all kinds of fantastic details. even though it sounds kinda dull, the info about his finances is really interesting. always thought that maybe duke was exaggerating when he said he lost money keeping his band on retainer all those years, but it looks like it was true. he just loved having a band always there to play his music.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 26 April 2011 18:05 (2 years ago) Permalink