The Complete Columbia Studio Albums Collection 1951-1958

by Duke Ellington

Overview

While the 1950s were hardly an era where big bands flourished, there were a few exceptions. The Duke Ellington Orchestra is perhaps the best example. While smaller bands with vocalists, or those playing bebop, cool jazz, and later, hard bop, were jazz's new "mainstream" reality, Ellington seized on the arrival of the LP record both to gamble with his catalog of what had become standards in the jazz book, and forge ahead with new creative ideas made possible by the extended playing time afforded by the new format over the three-minutes-and-change limitations of the 78 rpm disc. The Complete Columbia Studio Albums Collection 1951-1958, showcases in grand style several phases in the Ellington Orchestra's development. There are extended versions of hits, new suites, high concepts, and new collaborations. The albums presented in this nine-disc box are Masterpieces, Ellington Uptown, Blue Rose (with Rosemary Clooney), A Drum Is a Woman, Such Sweet Thunder (a commission from the Stratford Festival), Ellington Indigos, Black Brown and Beige with Mahalia Jackson, Bal Masque, and Cosmic Scene. The box is compact and handsome; each album is housed in individual LP-styled sleeves with original artwork. The booklet contains complete discographical track annotation and personnel information, as well as a liner essay by Loren Schoenberg, the artistic director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. A cautionary note: the artwork included depicts the track listings of the LPs when they were released; therefore it does not take into account the bonus material Legacy added when remastering these recordings. But all of these discs are the remastered versions and all bonus material is included in the set. Despite the fact that some of these albums -- especially Masterpieces and Uptown, from the early part of the decade -- were initially derided by some critics because of the absence of saxophonist Johnny Hodges, history has proven those analyses incorrect as these sides are now regarded as classics. In the 21st century, these recordings offer a portrait of a band rising to the occasion on each album. Ellington and Billy Strayhorn pushed at the creative boundaries for big bands with ambition and aplomb, creating a new and visionary form of jazz in the process ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	09/23/2022
Label:	Music On Cd
UPC:	8718627235232
Rank:	37058

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Duke Ellington   Primary Artist,Piano
Rosemary Clooney   Primary Artist
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra   Primary Artist
Duke Ellington's Spacemen   Primary Artist
Junior Raglin   Bass
Claude Jones   Trombone
Jimmy Woode   Bass
Clark Terry   Trumpet,Flugelhorn
Russell Procope   Clarinet,Sax (Alto)
Francis Williams   Trumpet
Cat Anderson   Trumpet
Lou Blackburn   Trombone
Wendell Marshall   Bass
Louie Bellson   Drums
Joya Sherrill   Vocals
Sam Woodyard   Drums
Juan Tizol   Trombone
Jimmy Hamilton   Clarinet,Sax (Tenor)
Rick Henderson   Sax (Alto)
John Sanders   Trombone,Trombone (Bass)
Willie Smith   Sax (Soprano),Sax (Alto)
Betty Roche   Vocals
Lawrence Brown   Trombone
Tyree Glenn   Trombone,Vibraphone
Mahalia Jackson   Featured Artist
Oscar Pettiford   Bass
Al Killian   Trumpet
Willie Cook   Trumpet
Harry Carney   Sax (Baritone),Clarinet (Bass)
Hilton Jefferson   Sax (Alto)
Betty Glamann   Harp
Yvonne Lanauze   Vocals
Margaret Tynes   Vocals
Bill Graham   Sax (Alto)
Eddie Mullens   Trumpet
Fats Ford   Trumpet
Britt Hamilton   Trombone
Paul Gonsalves   Sax (Tenor)
Terry Snyder   Percussion
Shorty Baker   Trumpet
Sonny Greer   Drums
Fred Guy   Guitar
Shelton Hemphill   Trumpet
Billy Strayhorn   Piano
Quentin Jackson   Trombone
Mercer Ellington   French Horn
Ray Nance   Violin,Trumpet
Ozzie Bailey   Vocals
Aaron Bell   Bass
Johnny Hodges   Clarinet,Sax (Alto),Sax (Soprano)
Al Hibbler   Vocals
Al Sears   Sax (Tenor)
Britt Woodman   Trombone
Nelson Williams   Trumpet

Technical Credits

Larry Clinton   Composer
Ben Porter   Engineer
George Avakian   Producer
Fred Plaut   Engineer
Darcy Proper   Mastering
W.C. Handy   Composer
Lorenz Hart   Composer
Didier C. Deutsch   Reissue Producer
Johnny Mercer   Composer
Louie Bellson   Composer
Loren Schoenberg   Liner Notes
Robert Waller   Engineer
Juan Tizol   Composer
Phil Schaap   Research,Remastering,Restoration
Mark Wilder   Remixing,Mastering,Transfers,Digital Mastering
Maria Triana   Mastering
Oscar Hammerstein II   Composer
Richard Rodgers   Composer
Lowell Frank   Engineer
Ann Ronell   Composer
Seth Rothstein   Project Director
Michael Panico   Archival Assistant
Tom Tierney   Archival Assistant
Michael Brooks   Producer
Matt Kelly   Research
Hans Lengsfelder   Composer
Edward O'Dowd   Design,Art Direction
Donna Kloepfer   Master Coordination
Tunbridge   Composer
Mike Kull   Research
Florito   Composer
Che Williams   Archival Assistant
Milton Puma   Photo Retouching
Irving Townsend   Producer,Liner Notes
Cole Porter   Composer
Duke Ellington   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Orchestration
Billy Strayhorn   Arranger,Composer,Orchestration
Michael Cuscuna   Producer
Mercer Ellington   Producer
Otto Harbach   Composer
Harold Chapman   Engineer