A Birthday Party with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra (2)
Jimmy Jones also took part in the birthday party The first part of Bob Udkoff’s birthday party ended with Duke at the piano playing New World A-Comin’, an important composition…
A Birthday Party with Duke Ellington and His Orchestra (1)
Bob Udkoff was born in Chicago but moved later to California and settled in Los Angeles. He was a lifelong friend and associate of Duke Ellington, Joe Williams, Kenny Burrell…
Duke at The Hollywood Empire in 1949 (3)
The predecessor to The Hollywood Empire was called Tom Breneman’s Thomas Breneman Smith (June 18, 1902 – April 28, 1948) was a popular 1940s American radio personality known to his…
The Duke at The Hollywood Empire in 1949 (2) with Billie Holiday
Duke & Billie around 1949 Our next visit to the Empire Hotel in Hollywood brings you music from February 9, 1949, originally issued on AFRS JJ-47 (AFRS=Armed Forces Radio Service).…
Duke at The Hollywood Empire in 1949
The 1949 band Harlem Air Shaft Due to the 1948 recording ban in USA, there is not much of recorded material by Ellington and his orchestra from 1948. In fact,…
Ellington at Cirkus in 1966 – TV Concert set 2
Ella sings Satin Doll Around a year ago we wrote, when presenting a copy of a telecast from Cirkus in Stockholm on Feb. 8, 1966: “The first set of the…
Black, Brown and Beige (2)
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra at Carnegie Hall 1943 Joe Williams i The Blues Black, som är den första delen av Black, Brown and Beige tar c:a 20-21 minuter…
Black, Brown and Beige
Duke Ellingtons introduktion till Black, Brown and Beige Den 23 januari 1943, alltså för i dagarna 75 år sedan, gjorde Duke Ellington och hans orkester sitt första framträdande i New…
Happy New Year, Duke!
In the 1950’s Duke Ellington and his orchestra visited Blue Note in Chicago many times. In particular, it was his main venue for New Year’s celebrations, and he played there…
Deep South Suite
In the 1940’s, from 1943 to 1948, Duke Ellington & His Orchestra performed at Carnegie Hall in NYC no less than on seven different occasions. On each of these occasions…