In Januari 1958, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra spent some time in the Gulf states from Florida to Texas. In Mississippi they performed at concerts at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi. There are two surviving concert recordings, both from Jan 22., of which one (DESOR nr 5803) can be heard in stereo if you log in to the Goodies Room .
The two concerts at this venue are identical in contents, except for one item, namely that Autumn Leaves from the first session is replaced by You Better Know It in the latter.
Ozie Bailey sings You Better Know It
The following numbers were played:
*Theme & intro*Stompin’ At The Savoy*What Else Can You Do With A Drum*You Better Know It*La Virgen De La Macarena* Skin Deep* Medley*Diminuendo In Blue*Wailing Interval*Crescendo In Blue*Theme and close*
The band at this time was the regular one, except that Billy Graham was replacing Johnny Hodges on alto sax, but it included for instance Clark Terry and Harold Baker.
The soloists in Stompin’ At The Savoy are Hamilton, Nance, Carney, Gonslaves and Procope, whereas What Else Can You Do With A Drum and You Better Know It belong to Ozzie Bailey. La Virgen De La Macarena is a howcase for Cat Anderson’s high note trumpet and Skin Deep provides an interesting study of Sam Woodyard’s interpretation of Skin Deep, which was of course Louie Bellson’s own contribution to the Ellington band book. The Medley is the long one with fifteen of Ellington’s most popular songs. Before the closing of the concert, we are treated to a performance of Diminuendo And Crescendo In Blue, with the Wailing Interval as played by Paul Gonsalves. Of the numbers above, only Diminuendo In Blue/Wailing Interval/Crescendo In Blue have been issued on LP Ellington ’86.
We sincerely hope that you will like this concert.
The concert is spectacular and the quality of the recording is amazing. I hate to be pedantic, but the vocalist is introduced by Duke Ellington as Ozzie Bailey, not as Jimmy Grissom. Thank you.
Thanks for letting us know.
The result of a minor mix-up
AA