Duke Ellington

5 STARS DOWN BEAT MAGAZINE   -   4 1/2 STARS ALL MUSIC GUIDE

INCLUDES 6 BONUS TRACKS

The complete original album Such Sweet Thunder (Columbia CL1033), Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s musical vision of the works of William Shakespeare. As a bonus, three extra tracks from the same sessions that were not included on the original LP, as well as two other complete Ellington suites, “The Harlem Suite” and “The Controversial Suite”.

DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA

1-15: SUCH SWEET THUNDER:
Clark Terry, Willie Cook, Cat Anderson, Ray Nance (tp)
Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman, John Sanders (tb)
Jimmy Hamilton (cl, ts), Russell Procope (as, cl), Johnny Hodges (as),
Harry Carney (bar, cl, b-cl), Duke Ellington (p),
Jimmy Woode (b), Sam Woodyard (d).
New York, December 6, 1956-May 3, 1957.

*Bonus tracks:
16: THE HARLEM SUITE: New York, December 7, 1951.
17-18: THE CONTROVERSIAL SUITE: New York, December 11, 1951.

All tracks composed and arranged by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, except 16-18, composed and arranged by Duke Ellington.

Tracks:

01. SUCH SWEET THUNDER 3:22
02. SONNET FOR CAESAR 2:59
03. SONNET TO HANK CINQ 1:23
04. LADY MAC 3:40
05. SONNET IN SEARCH OF A MOOR 2:22
06. THE TELECASTERS 3:05
07. UP AND DOWN, UP AND DOWN (I WILL LEAD THEM UP AND DOWN) 3:09
08. SONNET FOR SISTER KATE 2:23
09. THE STAR CROSSED LOVERS 3:59
10. MADNESS IN GREAT ONES 3:26
11. HALF THE FUN 4:19
12. CIRCLE OF FOURTHS 1:45
13. SUBURBAN BEAUTY 2:58
14. A FLAT MINOR 2:35
15. CAFÉ AU LAIT 2:44
16. A TONE PARALLEL TO HARLEM (THE HARLEM SUITE) 13:45*
17. THE CONTROVERSIAL SUITE PART 1 (Before My Time) 6:08*
18. THE CONTROVERSIAL SUITE PART 2 (Later) 4:13*