Duke's Day

The Duke on the air: A broadcast from around the time of this offering. This one obviously emanates from a radio studio and not a restaurant, with Artie Whetsol and Juan Tizol in the background. Photographer unknown

It's Ellington's 116th birthday anniversary, and we here at Gems could not let it pass by without offering our devoted followers a little something to celebrate. So, here's the Duke on the air, doing remotes for the United States Treasury Department in an effort to move a few War Bonds during the last big one.

Jacob Lawrence, Panel 18: "The
migration gained in momentum."

But ... before we get to the good stuff, a little story. Long-time visitors to this blog may recall that a while back we posted an Ellington download taken from Victor's original 78-rpm release of "Black, Brown and Beige." Many of you were appreciative of the dub, despite its audio limitations. All well and good, and Gems moved on to other postings. 

But about four months ago, I was contacted by a very nice woman interested in "Black, Brown and Beige" – specifically, in that odd paper sleeve that Victor issued the Duke's magnum opus in. This person, it turns out, works at the Museum of Modern Art here in the Big Apple. She was helping to produce their next big exhibit, a complete showing of artist Jacob Lawrence's "Migration Series," a 60-painting pictorial narration of the African-American migration to the north between the world wars. In searching around the interwebs for a source for that "Black, Brown and Beige" album which the museum wanted to use in the exhibit, she found Gems. One thing led to another, and the upshot was we were delighted to supply MoMA with our copy of the album for the Lawrence exhibit. 

Gems' copy of Ellington's "Black, Brown and Beige," an unusual gatefold paper jacket album, is seen at the top, on display at the Museum of Modern Art. Next to it is the original program from the Duke's 1943 Carnegie Hall concert where "BB&B" was originally presented. Gems photo

So, never underestimate to power of the web. You never know who's out there checking you out. The show, by the way, is highly recommended. The presentation of Lawrence's work is excellently done and the ancillary material, including films of Billie Holiday and Marian Anderson, is superb. 

On to this posting's offering. In the last year of World War II, Ellington was tapped by the U.S. Treasury Department to do a series of broadcasts to promote the purchase of War Bonds to fund the war effort's final push. Duke did a year of Saturday programs, each an hour in length. They were preserved on acetate discs and many decades later, a group of Ellington fanatics released the entire year's worth of shows on a series of 50 LPs. In my years of collecting, I've managed to find about 30 of these discs and hope one day to complete the set. I can't post all 30 here, so I thought instead I'd upload the first and last album in the series. 

So here's Duke in 1945. He plays the "Perfume Suite" on the first disc, which, you will notice, uses the original, provocative title for the second movement, "Violence." The second offering, the "Bonus" LP, is a remarkable document with a tribute to FDR broadcast shortly after his passing in 1945. Poignant! As an added treat, there's also a 1953 aircheck from the famed Blue Note in Chicago. Don't miss Ray Nance's romp on "Basin Street Blues"!

You'll note that these files are not broken down into individual tunes, as the records presented them as one continuous cut. I've appended the liner notes to the first LP here (if you copy and paste the file to your desktop, you should be able to read it). Unfortunately, there were no liner notes to the Bonus LP. The covers are, as you can see, minimalist. The files, as always come right from the virgin vinyl, no cleaning needed. The download is a big file (200 megs), so give it some time. Happy birthday, Duke!

Duke Ellington Treasury Series 1945 Vol. 1

DETS Treasury Show #1
Duke Ellington orchestra including Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, 
Cat Anderson, Jimmy Hamilton, Joya Sherrill, Kay Davis, Al Hibbler.
Aircheck, 400 Restaurant, New York, NY, April 7, 1945

1. Take the A Train
2. Blutopia
3. Midriff
4. Creole Love Call
5. Suddenly It Jumped
6. Frustration
7. I’m Beginning to See the Light 
8. Love (The Perfume Suite)
9. Violence (The Perfume Suite)
10. Dancers in Love  
(The Perfume Suite)
11. Coloratura  (The Perfume Suite)
12. Air Conditioned Jungle
13. I Ain’t Got Nothin’ But the Blues
14. Subtle Slough
15. Passion Flower

Duke Ellington Treasury Series 1945/1953 Bonus Album

DETS Treasury Show Bonus

Duke Ellington orchestra including Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, 

Cat Anderson, Jimmy Hamilton, Ray Nance, Joya Sherrill, 

Kay Davis, Al Hibbler, Jimmy Grissom.

Aircheck, 400 Restaurant, New York, NY, April 7, 1945

1. Moon Mist

2. New World A-Comin’

3. Nobody Knows the 

Trouble I’ve Seen

4. Mood Indigo

5. Dirge

6. Chant for FDR (American Lullaby)

7. Come Sunday

8. A City Called Heaven 

(Poor Pilgrim of Sorrow)

9. Creole Love Call

10. Moon Mist

Aircheck, Blue Note, Chicago, IL, August 1, 1953

11. Take the A Train

12. Boo-Dah

13. What More Can I Say

14. Frustration

15. Basin Street Blues

16. Duet

17. Ballin’ the Blues

18. Satin Doll

Find them here:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/ing66gi4fxvlw4g/Duke_Ellington_DETS.rar

Enjoyment of Jazz

In December of 1949, a striking full-page ad appeared in Down Beat touting the latest effort by producer and label owner, Norman Granz. This time it wasn't about another of his JATP tours. Instead, it promoted a unique album that Granz had created called "The Jazz Scene." It was a premium item, costing all of $25 for 12 sides. The illustration is by David Stone Martin.

Predicting the future is never easy. Predicting the future of this music we call jazz is darn near impossible. How many times have we heard "the big bands are back"? Or that X (insert "Dixieland," "soul jazz," "psychedelic," "fusion," "hip-hop," etc.) is the next big thing? Remember the Fender Rhodes? Steinways were the keyboard of the past. Anthony Braxton was the next Charlie Parker one year, unemployed and scuffling only a few years later.

So your guess is as good as mine when it comes to jazz's destiny. Who could have predicted Wynton Marsalis? Not me.

Norman makes a point.

But back in the late 1940s, jazz's leading impresario took a stab at jazz prognostication. Norman Granz decided to issue an album that would feature some of the music's finest talents and would offer a glimpse not only of the contemporary scene but also of what lay ahead for jazz. To grab the public's attention, Granz planned to market this recording as a special collector's edition, limiting the total pressing and selling it at a premium price. The records would be packaged in an elegantly designed case, accompanied by detailed notes and beautifully executed photographs by Gjon Mili of the artists involved.

This milestone Granz christened "The Jazz Scene." 

Released in early 1950, "The Jazz Scene" went for a stiff 25 bucks and was capped at 5,000 copies, with the stipulation that "no copies will be available after the first edition is sold." It was received with accolades by the jazz press and got a special two-page review in the industry's unofficial pub, Down

Down Beat's 1950 review of
"The Jazz Scene."

Beat magazine. To increase the album's appeal, Norman numbered and signed each copy. Buyers were secure in the knowledge that the music contained within was authorized and approved by jazz's Sol Hurok. The fans regarded the album as a must-have, though for many the price was prohibitive.

A portion of the music on the "Scene" was provided – no surprise – by members of Granz's stable of artists. Among them were Charlie Parker (recently signed), Lester Young, Bud Powell and Flip Phillips. Norman also recorded non-Mercury artists Willie Smith, Ralph Burns, Neal Hefti and George Handy. He seemed to have favored the arrangers on the album, hinting that at least some of jazz's future lay with writers rather than with improvisers. 

"The Jazz Scene" in its
original 78 rpm issue.

Of the compositions, George Handy's "The Bloos" stands out. It's at once anachronistic and startlingly original. It couldn't be written today, but it's unlike anything being written in 1949, too. Michael Levin called it a "satire" in his Down Beat review, and that seems about right. There are no solos, and it's the arrangement that gets top billing. Handy retired from music not long after this, claiming that the "music biz and all connected stinks."

Of the Parker contributions, "The Bird" is a piece based on "Topsy" (if I recall correctly) that runs almost five minutes – the longest performance Bird ever recorded in a studio setting. It's good, but not first rate Parker and kind of peters out at the end. According to Phil Schaap, Charlie was upstairs making "The Bird" when Neal Hefti was downstairs with the orchestra recording "Repetition" and "Rhumbacito." Parker stopped by on the way out of the studio and asked if he could sit in on the former tune. The result was Bird soloing over Hefti's arrangement during the latter half of "Repetition." A spontaneous collaboration and it works. 

Gjon Mili's photo of Harry
Carney at work.

The Ellington sides are really features for Harry Carney and an unnamed string section. Duke figures in only as the composer of the two tunes. My understanding is that Ellington did not like Granz and pretty much had nothing to do with him (until late in his career), so for Norman to credit these tunes as he does is a bit of false advertising. That said, Carney sounds great, and it's nice to hear Billy Strayhorn tickle the ivories.

The true gem on the album is Coleman Hawkins' stellar "Picasso." According to the notes, the Hawk spent many hours formulating this free-form, solo saxophone masterpiece, and it shows. Hawkins did two or three other solo improvisations after this first effort, but "Picasso" stands out as a remarkable document by jazz's elder statesman of the tenor sax. If you've never heard it before, you're in for a treat.

The album was originally released on 78 rpm discs with a Mercury/Clef imprint. Despite Granz's pledge, the recordings were eventually issued again (and again), first on various LPs and more recently on CD. These dubs were taken from an American Recording Society release. The ARS was a record club of the variety popular back in the '50s, and it had a special deal with Granz to reissue Clef and Verve releases for its members. Each ARS record came with detailed liner notes – something the originals often lacked.

The liner notes for the ARS release of "The Jazz Scene."

The sound quality of this album is very good considering its age. We've cleaned things up here and there, and you may notice the occasional click, but mostly these files are broadcast quality. As always, they were taken from the original vinyl.

The Jazz Scene

Various Artists

Mercury/Clef

New York, NY; Various dates, 1949

1. Repetition 

Neal Hefti Orchestra featuring Charlie Parker

2. I Want to Be Happy

Lester Young with Nat Cole, Buddy Rich

3. Tanga

Machito with Flip Phillips

4. Introspection

Ralph Burns Orchestra with Bill Harris, Herbie Steward

5. Sophisticated Lady

Willie Smith with Dodo Marmarosa, Red Callendar, Jo Jones

6. Frustration

Harry Carney with Billy Strayhorn, Oscar Pettiford and strings

7. The Bloos

George Handy

8. All God's Chillun Got Rhythm

Bud Powell with Ray Brown, Max Roach

9. Sono

Harry Carney with Billy Strayhorn, Oscar Pettiford and strings

10. The Bird

Charlie Parker with Hank Jones, Ray Brown, Shelly Mann

11. Rhumbacito

Neal Hefti Orchestra

12.Picasso

Coleman Hawkins

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/h2nc925q5r8qwaz/Jazz_Scene.rar

Harry's Bari

Harry Carney in the early '70s was just as dapper a gent as he was back in the 1920s. His sound remained the backbone of Ellington's arrangements right up to his death in 1974. Photo from the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz

When you think of romantic music, you think of ... baritone saxophone? Well, maybe not. But you might, if you think of Harry Carney, Duke Ellington's long-time bari sax player.

Carney came from Boston, as did Johnny Hodges, where he and the Rabbit were childhood friends. Harry had just turned seventeen when Ellington heard him playing with a local band and, after obtaining permission from Carney's parents, took him on the road with his orchestra. Carney played clarinet with the Duke at first, but soon was featured on the big saxophone. He never looked back, and he never left Ellington's sax section. He is, by most estimations, the father of modern baritone saxophony.

Carney only recorded a few times as a leader, and only issued two LPs in his lifetime. The one Gems is posting here comes from the mind of impresario and producer Norman Granz, another of the concept recordings that were so successful for him and his musicians. It features Carney in a ballad setting with a number of excellent jazz players and a conventional but supportive string section. No credit is given for the arrangements, but they were probably done by one of Granz's many studio arrangers – maybe Howard Lucraft or Frank DeVol. The mood is intended to be romantic, no doubt a ploy to rope in the unwitting record buyer. 

But the results are far better than you might expect. This is a stunning record. There are many solos from Harry, plus some fiddling by Ray Nance and a generous dose of fine clarinet playing from Jimmy Hamilton. The material is familiar (with the exception of the two Carney originals), but the treatment breathes new life into it. You'll be sorry if you pass this one up, brother!

I found this LP many years ago at one of the first record sales held by the radio station where I work. Why someone would dump this gem is beyond me, but I'm certainly glad they did, and now you will be too. As always, these files were ripped from the original vinyl with only a very minor cleaning of random pops and clicks.

Moods for a Girl and Boy

Harry Carney and His Orchestra

Harry Carney, bar, bs cl; Ray Nance, tp, vi; Tony Miranda, fr hn; Leroy Lovett, p; Billy Bauer, g; Wendell Marshall, b; Louie Bellson, d; unk. string section

New York, NY; December 14, 1954; Verve MG2028

1. I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance

2. Take the A Train

3. We're in Love Again (Carney)

4. Chalmeu (Carney)

5. Moonlight on the Ganges

6. It Had to Be You

7. Fantasy

9. I Got It Bad

Find it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?7qchshh7dthvbp5