CD1
1. Take the “A” Train
2. Just A-Sittin’ and A-Rockin’
3. Duke Ellington Bond Promotion
4. 9.20 Special
5. I Can’t Get Started
6. Flamingo
7. Fancy Dan
8. Diminuendo in Blue
9. Transblucency
10. Crescendo in Blue
11. Duke Ellington Bond Promotion
12. Someone
13. Three Cent Stomp
14. Duke Ellington Bond Promotion
15. I’m Just a Lucky So-and-So
16. Intro
17. Barzallai Lew
18. The “C” Jam Blues
19. Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me
20. Subtle Slough
21. Take the “A” Train
CD2
1. In a Mellotone
2. I’m Just a Lucky So-and-So
3. Announcement
4. Sono
5. Rugged Romeo
6. Circe
7. Air Conditioned Jungle
8. Full Moon and Empty Arms
9. Announcement
10. Duke Ellington Bond Promotion
11. Laughin’ on the Outside
12. Take the “A” Train
13. Take the “A” Train
14. Just A-Sittin’ and A-Rockin’
15. Crosstown
16. Duke Ellington Bond Promotion
17. Summertime
18. Teardrops in the Rain
19. Frankie and Johnny
20. Duke Ellington Bond Promotion
21. Hop, Skip and Jump
22. Take the “A” Train
23. Take It From Here
24. Later Tonight
25. Wait for Me Mary
26. Go Away Blues
27. Tonight I Shall Sleep
28. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
May 1946 sessions (tracks I/1-15, II/1-21)
Shelton Hemphill, Taft Jordan, Francis Williams, Cat Anderson, Reunald Jones - Trumpets
Ray Nance – Trumpet, violin, vocals
Joe Nanton, Lawrence Brown, Claude Jones, Wilbur DeParis - Trombones
Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope - Alto sax, clarinet
Jimmy Hamilton – Clarinet, tenor sax
Al Sears – Tenor sax
Harry Carney - Baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet
Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn - Piano
Fred Guy - Guitar
Junior Raglin – Bass (tracks I/1-15, II/1-21)
Oscar Pettiford –Bass (tracks I/16-21, II/22-28)
Sonny Greer - Drums
Kay Davis, Al Hibbler – Vocals
September 1943 sessions (tracks I/16-21, II/22-28)
Taft Jordan, Wallace Jones, Harold Baker - Trumpets
Ray Nance – Trumpet, violin
Joe Nanton, Lawrence Brown, Bernard Archer - Trombones
Johnny Hodges – Alto sax, soprano sax
Jimmy Hamilton – Clarinet, tenor sax
Nat Jones - Alto sax, clarinet
Elbert “Skippy” Williams – Tenor sax
Harry Carney - Baritone sax, clarinet, bass clarinet
Duke Ellington - Piano
Fred Guy - Guitar
Junior Raglin - Bass
Sonny Greer - Drums
Betty Roché, Al Hibbler – Vocals
I have already reviewed several albums in this series of Treasury Shows: broadcasts in which the Duke Ellington Orchestra performed to encourage Americans
to buy US Government Bonds. The cornucopia of recordings continues to pour forth its riches, and I haven’t yet grown tired of the output. This double CD
contains extracts from four broadcasts: two in May 1946 taken from broadcasts from Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH and Radio City, New York respectively,
and two in September 1943 from Duke’s residency at the Hurricane Restaurant in New York City.
The ample sleeve-notes point out that, in the mid-1940s, it was a difficult time to keep big bands together, but Ellington continued in business, even if
it involved reading out a corny script publicising Government Bonds between some numbers. The second of these commercials includes what the sleeve notes as
a Freudian slip: “Invest regularly in bl…bonds”.
Duke also had to appeal to a wide range of listeners. On the first CD, 9.20 Special is a full-on big-band performance: a Buck Clayton arrangement
with a commercial slant more suited to a dance band than a jazz group. Yet it is heightened by jazzy playing from tenorist Al Sears, the dependable Johnny
Hodges and a muscular Lawrence Brown. Al Sears also solos with maximum swing on Fancy Dan. Ellington could continue to be adventurous, as in the
medley of tracks 8 to 10 which includes a wordless vocal in Transblucency by Kay Davis (similar to her performances in The Beautiful Indians).
Air Conditioned Jungle
features clarinettist Jimmy Hamilton and bassist Oscar Pettiford in a fast-moving piece which ends with a very impressive solo cadenza by Hamilton. Billy
Strayhorn takes over at the piano (as he does on several tracks), accompanying Kay Davis in a rather unconvincing operatic-style interpretation of one
theme from Rachmaninov’s 2nd Piano Concerto, renamed Full Moon and Empty Arms.
The 1943 recordings (tracks 16 to 21) begin fuzzily – a sharp contrast with the clearer 1946 sessions. A highlight of this broadcast is a swinging C-Jam Blues in which Nat Jones’ clarinet solo steals the applause.
The second CD opens with In a Mellotone, where Ray Nance shines with a growling plunger solo. Sono is a piece which was only performed in
the 1940s, and it spotlights Harry Carney’s impeccable baritone sax. Frankie and Johnny opens with a sparkling piano solo from the Duke. Tricky
Sam Nanton gets to play a growling solo here: it was only two weeks before his death at the early age of 44. This session ends with the ineffable Johnny
Hodges featured in Hop, Skip and Jump.
The remaining tracks on this double album return us to 1943, with some nasty noises marring the opening numbers. The sound continues to be fuzzy for some
way into this final section. Betty Roché is the vocalist in the rather short Go Away Blues. This compilation shows how Ellington continued to
satisfy convinced jazz fans as well as the wider public, with a mixture of outright jazz items and more commercial songs. Whatever the genre, the band’s
professionalism and creativity is outstanding.
There are apparently eleven programmes in this series remaining to be issued. There can’t be enough of these invaluable recordings for me.
Tony Augarde
www.augardebooks.co.uk
CD Reviews
Storyville 903 9019
