Duke Ellington in 1956 – November and December
Ellington must have had a fairly comfortable time in November and December 1956. He had some good bookings, which should have allowed him and the band to relax, particularly since…
Meadowbrook, Cedar Grove, June 1951
Willie Smith and Harold Baker are soloing in Sophisticated Lady To complete our series of broadcasts from the Meadowbrook in New Jersey, we can now present to the DESS members,…
First 2017 issue of the DESS Bulletin
The first issue of the DESS Bulletin for 2017 has just been published and is on its way to the subscribers. The cover story of the issue is about Otto…
Duke Lives On – The Mooche
Here are two contemporary interpretations of “The Mooche” (1928) quite different in character. The first one is provided by the Sextuor de Clarinettes Baerman – a French ensemble focused on…
Meadowbrook, Cedar Grove, New Jersey, June 11, 1951
Pompton Turnpike VIP’s Boogie This article covers the MBS “Coast To Coast” broadcast with Ellington and his orchestra from Meadowbrook on June 11, 1951. The full broadcast is available to…
New CD from Maison de Duke
Ellington spent a lot of time in Europe in 1963, both in the early Spring and in the summer. It is well-documented both by CDs and on tapes circulating among…
ELLINGTON at GRINNELL
Above is a picture of a very rare LP-album recorded in 1957, on January 10, exactly 60 years ago. This items shows up now and then on auctions, and the…
Duke Lives On – The Nutcracker Suite
The holiday season is over but one can listen to the Ellington-Strayhorn version of the Nutcracker Suite any time of the year. Here it is in a version played by…
Bits And Pieces
Hotel Sherman CD The Ellington specialist and discographer Brian Koller reports that the correct discographical information for track 23 and 24 of the CD is: Track 23, Maybe, is DE4028xa…