Duke - Ken Burns Jazz

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The Definitive Duke Ellington
Ken Burns Jazz Series

Duke Ellington plays piano and wrote the arrangements on all tracks, unless otherwise indicated, accompanied by:

01. EAST ST. LOUIS TOODLE-OO (3:04)
- E. K. Ellington – J. Miley -

Duke Ellington and His Washingtonians:

Louis Metcalf, Bubber Miley, trumpet;
Joe “Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Rudy Jackson, clarinet, alto saxophone;
Otto Hardwick, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, banjo; Bass Edwards, tuba;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded March 22. 1927
Available on CD: The OKeh Ellington (Columbia/Legacy C2K 46177)
Originally released 1927 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

02. BLACK AND TAN FANTASY (3:24)
- E. K. Ellington – J. Miley -

Duke Ellington and His Washingtonians:

Louis Metcalf, Jabbo Smith, trumpet;
Joe ''Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Rudy Jackson, clarinet, alto saxophone;
Otto Hardwick. clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, banjo;
Bass Edwards, tuba;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded November 3, 1928
Available on CD: The OKeh Ellington

03. TAKE IT EASY (2:35)
- E. K. Ellington -

The Washingtonians:

Louis Metcalf, Bubber Miley, trumpet;
Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Barney Bigard, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Otto Hardwick, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, banjo;
Wellman Braud, string bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded March, 1928
Originally Released Prior to 1972 Sony Music Entertainment Inc

04. THE MOOCHE (3:13)
- E. K. Ellington -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

Bubber Miley, Arthur Whetsol, trumpet; Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Barney Bigard, clarinet;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, banjo;
Lonnie Johnson, guitar;
Wellman Braud, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums;
Baby Cox, vocal

Recorded October 1, 1928
Available on CD: The OKeh Ellington (Columbia/Legacy C2K 46177)
Originally Released 1928 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

05. ROCKIN' IN RHYTHM (3:14)
- E. K. Ellington - H. Carney -

The Harlem Footwarmers:

Freddie Jenkins, Arthur Whetsol, Cootie Williams, trumpet;
Lawrence Brown, Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Barney Bigard, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, banjo;
Wellman Braud, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded January 8, 1931
Available on CD: The OKeh Ellington

06. MOOD INDIGO (2:56)
- E. K. Ellington - B. Bigard - I. Mills -

The Jungle Band:

Freddie Jenkins, Arthur Whetsol, Cootie Williams, trumpet;
Lawrence Brown, Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Barney Bigard, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, banjo;
Wellman Braud, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded October 17, 1930
Available on CD: The Complete Brunswick And Vocalion Recordings Of Duke Ellington, 1926-1931
(Decca GRD 3-640)

07. CREOLE RHAPSODY (6:27)
- E.K. Ellington -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

Freddie Jenkins, Arthur Whetsol, Cootie Williams, trumpet;
Lawrence Brown,
Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Barney Bigard, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, banjo;
Wellman Braud, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded January 20, 1931
Originally Released Prior to 1972 Sony Music Entertainment Inc

08. IT DON'T MEAN A THING (IF IT AIN'T GOT THAT SWING) (3:08)
- E.K. Ellington -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

Ivie Anderson, vocal;
Freddie Jenkins, Arthur Whetsol, Cootie Williams, trumpet;
Lawrence Brown,
Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Barney Bigard, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, banjo;
Wellman Braud, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded February 2, 1932
Available on CD: The Duke - The Essential Collection

09. CREOLE LOVE CALL (4:08)
- E.K. Ellington -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

Freddie Jenkins, Arthur Whetsol, Cootie Williams, trumpet;
Lawrence Brown,
Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Barney Bigard, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, banjo;
Wellman Braud, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded February 11. 1932

10. SOPHISTICATED LADY (3:14)
- E.K. Ellington -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

Freddie Jenkins, Arthur Whetsol, Cootie Williams, trumpet;
Lawrence Brown,
Joe 'Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Barney Bigard, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Otto Hardwick, alto saxophone, clarinet;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, guitar;
Wellman Braud, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded May 16, 1933
Available on CD: Reminiscing In Tempo (Columbia/Legacy CK 48654)
Originally Released 1933 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

11. SOLITUDE (3:11)
- E.K. Ellington – E. DeLange – I. Mills –

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

Freddie Jenkins, Arthur Whetsol, Cootie Williams, trumpet;
Lawrence Brown, Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Barney Bigard, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Otto Hardwick, alto saxophone, clarinet;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, guitar;
Wellman Braud, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded September 12, 1934
Available on CD: 16 Most Requested Songs (Columbia/Legacy CK 57901)
Originally Released 1939 Sony Music Entertainment Inc

12. CARAVAN (2:39)
- J. Tizol - E.K. Ellington -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

Rex Stewart, cornet;
Wallace Jones, Cootie Williams, trumpet;
Lawrence Brown, Joe “Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Barney Bigard, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Otto Hardwick, clarinet, alto saxophone;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, guitar;
Hayes Alvis, Billy Taylor, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded May 14, 1937
Available on CD: 16 Most Requested Songs (Columbia/Legacy CK 57901)
Originally Released 1937 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

13. BACK ROOM ROMP (2:47)
- R. Stewart – E.K. Ellington -

Rex Stewart and His Fifty-Second Street Stompers:

Rex Stewart, cornet;
Freddy Jenkins, trumpet;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Johnny Hodges, soprano & alto saxophones;
Brick Fleagle, guitar;
Hayes Alvis, string bass;
Jack Maisel, drums

Recorded July 7, 1937
Available on CD: The Duke's Men: Small Groups Volume 1

14. KO-KO (2:42)
- E.K. Ellington -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

Rex Stewart, cornet;
Wallace Jones, Cootie Williams, trumpet;
Lawrence Brown,
Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Otto Hardwick, alto saxophone;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Barney Bigard, Ben Webster, tenor saxophone;
Harry Carney, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, guitar;
Jimmy Blanton, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded March 6, 1940
Available on CD: The Blanton-Webster Band (RCA Bluebird 5659-2-RB)

15. NEVER NO LAMENT (AKA "DON'T GET AROUND MUCH ANYMORE") (2:54)
- B. Russell – E.K. Ellington -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

Rex Stewart, cornet;
Wallace Jones, Cootie Williams, trumpet;
Lawrence Brown, Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Otto Hardwick, alto saxophone;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Barney Bigard, Ben Webster, tenor saxophone;
Harry Carney, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, guitar;
Jimmy Blanton, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded Spring, 1940
Available on CD: Reminiscing In Tempo (Columbia/Legacy CK 48654)
Originally Released Prior to 1972 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

16. COTTON TAIL (3:10)
- E.K. Ellington -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

Rex Stewart, cornet;
Wallace Jones, Cootie Williams, trumpet;
Lawrence Brown, Joe “Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Otto Hardwick, alto saxophone;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Barney Bigard, Ben Webster, tenor saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, guitar;
Jimmy Blanton, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded May 4, 1940
Available on CD: The Blanton-Webster Band (RCA Bluebird 5659-2-RB)

17. TAKE THE "A" TRAIN (2:54)
- W. Strayhorn -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

Rex Stewart, cornet;
Wallace Jones, Ray Nance, trumpet;
Lawrence Brown, Joe ''Tricky Sam" Nanton, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Otto Hardwick, alto saxophone;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Barney Bigard, Ben Webster, tenor saxophone;
Harry Carney, baritone saxophone;
Fred Guy, guitar;
Jimmy Blanton, bass;
Sonny Greer, drums

Recorded February 15, 1941
Available on CD: The Blanton-Webster Band (RCA Bluebird 5659-2-RB)

18. SATIN DOLL (2:57)
- E.K. Ellington -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

William "Cat" Anderson, Willie Cook, Ray Nance, Clark Terry, trumpet;
Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman, trombone;
Juan Tizol, valve trombone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
Jimmy Hamilton, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Russell Procope, alto saxophone, clarinet;
Rick Henderson, alto saxophone;
Paul Gonsalves, tenor saxophone;
Wendell Marshall, bass;
Butch Ballard, drums

Recorded April 6, 1953
Available on CD: The Best Of Duke Ellington (Capitol 7243 8 31501-2)

19. JEEP'S BLUES (LIVE) (4:32)
- E.K. Ellington - J. Hodges -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

John Cook, Ray Nance, Clark Terry, William "Cat" Anderson, trumpets;
Britt Woodman, Quentin Jackson, John Sanders, trombones;
Russell Procope, clarinet, alto saxophone;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Jimmy Hamilton, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Paul Gonsalves, tenor saxophone;
Harry Carney, clarinet, baritone saxophone;
James Woode, string bass;
Sam Woodyard, drums

Recorded July 7, 1956
Available on CD: Ellington At Newport (Columbia/Legacy C2K 64932)
Originally Released 1956 Sony Music Entertainment Inc

20. COME SUNDAY (FROM BLACK, BROWN AND BEIGE) (5:46)
- E.K. Ellington -

Duke Ellington and His Orchestra:

William "Cat" Anderson, Harold Baker, Clark Terry, trumpet;
Quentin Jackson, John Sanders, Britt Woodman, trombone;
Jimmy Hamilton, clarinet, tenor saxophone;
Russell Procope, alto saxophone, clarinet;
Bill Graham, alto saxophone;
Paul Gonsalves, tenor saxophone;
Harry Carney, baritone saxophone, clarinet;
Ray Nance, violin;
Jimmy Woode, bass;
Sam Woodyard, drums

Recorded February 4, 1958
Available on CD: Brown And Beige

21. BLACK BEAUTY (3:17)
- E.K. Ellington -

Ray Nance, cornet;
Lawrence Brown, trombone;
Johnny Hodges, alto saxophone;
Sam Woodyard, drums

Recorded July 1960
Available on CD: Reminiscing In Tempo (Columbia/Legacy CK 48654)
Originally Released Prior to 1972 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

Some of these recordings were transferred from disc sources. Surface noise is audible.
_____________________________________________________________________

Duke Ellington (1899-1974) is a figure without parallel in the history of jazz. He is best known as a composer of jazz standards ("Mood Indigo,” "It Don't Mean A Thing," "Satin Doll," etc.) and as the leader of one of the most individual of big bands. He was also a popular songwriter, working with some of the better lyricists of Tin Pan Alley. At the other end of the spectrum, he composed longer works - symphonic pieces, film scores, sacred music. Any of these pursuits would have been a whole career for most people, but for Ellington these parts came together in a unified whole. The royalties from his songs financed his band in lean times, and the band in turn allowed him to hear his music before the ink was dry on the parts.

Ellington was born into a black middle-class family in Washington, D.C., the only son of a prominent physician's butler. His mother was a high school graduate, a rare achievement for a black woman at that time. By his own admission, Ellington was "spoiled rotten" by his mother, who, from birth, treated him as someone special. His father, who was known for his ballroom dancing and other social skills, taught him the value of good manners and diplomacy. Both parents were amateur pianists. As a youth Ellington showed artistic as well as musical talent, and in his late teens he supported himself by painting signs as well as playing musical engagements. Music won out though, and he moved to New York in 1923. His band worked at the Kentucky Club off and on for four years before moving into the legendary Cotton Club in late 1927 for a three-year stint.

These two engagements provided the steady work that enabled Ellington and his band to develop.

In the early years the most important shaper of the band's sound, other than Ellington himself, was Bubber Miley, the trumpet soloist on "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo,"' "Creole Love Call," and "The Mooche" and co-composer of "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" and "Black And Tan Fantasy." His "growl” work with the plunger gave the Ellington orchestra an exotic flavor unlike any other band. Off the bandstand, Ellington established an important business relationship with Irving Mills, a brashly confident promoter, song publisher, and manager. If greed occasionally got the better of him (his name as co-composer on many Ellington compositions from this period has raised more than a few eyebrows), he was a tireless and imaginative promoter of the band, to Ellington's benefit as well as his own.

By early 1931, the band had become nationally known through records and broadcasts, not to mention an appearance in the Amos 'n' Andy film Check And Double Check, all of which provided the momentum to go on the road without a home base. Alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges and baritone saxophonist Harry Carney, who played a vital role in shaping the sound of the band for more than four decades, were now on board. Miley's alcoholism forced Ellington to replace him with Cootie Williams, whose own approach to the plunger mute and Louis Armstrong-inspired open horn playing made him an important voice for more than a decade; he left the band in 1941, only to return two decades later.

Although the band played some dances, much of its work during this period was in stage shows, where Ellington's suave manner as master of ceremonies was a decided plus with a public that was more interested in entertainment than jazz per se, The band toured the United States in a Pullman car, which avoided unpleasant racial incidents in hotels and restaurants while contributing to the band's classy image. There were also European tours in 1933 and 1939 as records spread Ellington's reputation overseas.

As the decade came to a close there were two major changes in the Ellington organization: a parting of the ways between Ellington and Irving Mills, and the addition of composer-arranger Billy Strayhorn. Ellington and Strayhorn worked together on many projects until Strayhorn's death in 1967, but the young man from Pittsburgh also wrote tunes on his own. His best known is certainly "Take The 'A' Train," but a number of others are jazz standards.

In the early 1940s Ellington himself was enjoying unprecedented success as a composer of popular songs, several of which began as instrumentals. A good example on this album is "Never No Lament," which with a few minor changes and the addition of a lyric by Bob Russell became "Don't Get Around Much Anymore." Ellington also took a bold step toward working with larger forms in 1943 with the Carnegie Hall premiere of his fifty-minute work Black, Brown And Beige. "Come Sunday," a section of that piece, is often performed separately and has become something of a jazz standard over the years.

The end of the big-band era in the late Forties took its toll on the Ellington orchestra, and as work opportunities dried up Ellington was forced to turn to royalties from his popular songs to keep the band afloat. But a wildly successful performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956 reversed the band's fortunes. Ellington made the cover of Time magazine, signed a new record contract, and never looked back.

During the last fifteen years of his life Ellington toured incessantly all over the world and continued recording and composing. Only recently has most of the music Ellington composed since the 1940s been seriously considered by critics and other musicians, but in the last few years several tunes written in the 1950s and 1960s have crept into a number of jazz musicians' repertoires. Ellington kept a backbreaking schedule right up to his death in 1974, and the quality as well as the quantity of music he left to us is truly staggering. This album is only the tip of the iceberg.

Phil Bailey
MAY 2000

Phil Bailey hosts a jazz show on radio station WFPK in Louisville, Kentucky.
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Compilation Produced by: Michael Brooks
A&R: Steve Berkowitz, Sarah Botstein, Ken Burns, Michael Cuscuna, Peter Miller, Lynn Novick, Seth Rothstein, Richard Seidel and Ben Young
Mastered by Darcy M. Proper at Sony Studios, New York City
78 RPM Transfers: Matt Cavaluzzo
Sound Restoration Engineer: Harry Coster
Original 78s from the Collections of Michael Brooks

Discographical Information: Didier C. Deutsch, Canos Kase, and Ben Young
Liner Notes edited by Peter Keepnews

Photo Credits: Cover Photograph by Frank Driggs Collection

Frank Driggs Collection: Inner Tray Card; Paul J. Hoeffler: 12; Sony Music Archives/Don Hunstein: 8-9, Back Of Booklet; Chuck Stewart: 11, Back Cover

Courtesy Credits: "Cotton Tail," "Take The "A" Train," courtesy of BMG Entertainment; "Satin Doll" courtesy of Capitol Records, Inc.; "Creole Rhapsody" courtesy of the Verve Music Group, a division of UMG Recordings Inc.