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Live at The Opernhaus, Cologne 1969
Duke Ellington
WDR
5055551780296
LPS 148627
N 78 029
JAZZ
2
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2-LP SET
1969 was a special year for Ellington. On the 29th of April he celebrated his 70th birthday in his hometown Washington, not on any stage but at the White House, as documented on the album 1969: All-Star White House Tribute to Duke Ellington.
Wherever the Duke was on stage that year the performance was announced and marketed as his ‘70th Birthday Concert’. Paris organized a birthday party for him and also the Berlin Jazztage paid him homage with performances by Joe Turner, Lennie Tristano, Joachim Kühn, Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor.
This previously unreleased WDR recording of the Duke in Cologne is now available on CD and LP. Guest soloist of the tour of 1969 was the organist Wild Bill Davis, who occasionally, just as Billy Strayhorn (who had passed away two years earlier), also acted as second pianist. Davis was also on hand when Duke made some studio recordings in Cologne in 1970, long forgotten tapes recently released on CD and LP as Duke Ellington – The Conny Plank Session/Grönland).
The concert presented by WDR includes various usual standards from the Ellington repertoire, such as “C Jam Blues”, “Satin Doll”, “Caravan”, and the perennial “Take the ‘A’ Train”, but also some obscure numbers such as “Up Jump”, “4:30 Blues”, and “Black Butterfly”, plus the classic “Wild Bill” Davis arrangement of “April in Paris” popularized by Count Basie, here performed by its arranger with Duke’s band.
PERSONNEL:
DUKE ELLINGTON, piano, conductor
TRUMPETS: Cat Anderson, Cootie Williams, Nelson Williams, Mercer Ellington, Benny Bailey
TROMBONE: Lawrence Brown, Chuck Connors, Buster Cooper, Ake Person
SAXES; Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope, Paul Gonsalves, Harold Ashby, Harry Carney
WILD BILL DAVIS, organ, piano
VICTOR GASKIN, bass
RUFUS JONES, drums
Cologne, Germany, November 10, 1969..
SIDE A:
01. C JamBlues
02. Rockin’ In Rhythm
03. 4:30 Blues
04. Take the A-Train
SIDE B:
05. Up Jump
06. Satin Doll
07. April In Paris
08. El Gato
SIDE C:
09. Black Butterfly
10. Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
11. Caravan
12. Mood Indigo
13. I’m Beginning To See The Light
14. Sophisticated Lady
SIDE D:
15. Diminuendo And Crescendo In Blue
FORMAT | LP |
DISCS NUMBER | 2 |
RECORDED | 0 |
LABEL CODE | N 78 029 |
STYLE | JAZZ |