Duke Ellington

2-CD SET

Storyville Records presents: Volume 25 in the Duke Ellington Treasury Shows series, the final volume of this collectors’ special broadcast series. In April 1945, to promote the sale of war bonds, the US Treasury Department contacted Duke Ellington to do a series of 55 min public broadcasts. These sessions would give Ellington a wide choice of material to perform including his older work; new instrumentals and pop tunes and his extended works as well. And now it is 2018, and we have made the home run: This volume is the final one of this series of 50 CDs altogether, with all the known Treasury shows from 1945 to 1953, and new, hitherto mostly unreleased bonus broadcast material from the 1940s.

CD 1 begins with the last known Treasury broadcast. It is from The Blue Note in Chicago, recorded in June 1953, and broadcast on August 1st 1953, as part of the series ”All Star Parade of Bands”, launched by NBC to promote bonds sales. From April 1st, 1943 Duke Ellington had an engagement in New York’s Hurricane Club at 49th and Broadway, originally meant to last 6 weeks. But it wound up to last no less than 6 months, with 6 weekly radio broadcasts. Some of these feature as bonus material on this volume. They were broadcasts on Sunday nights at 7 p.m. and called the Pastel Period, and featured the band playing slower numbers, mood pieces, ballads etc. for listening more than for dancing. 6 months later, Duke Ellington was at the club again, this time for a 10 weeks’ engagement. CD2 contains broadcasts from April 22nd 1944 and from May 5th 1944 at the Hurricane Club in New York.