During the 1940s, the
Duke Ellington and
Count Basie orchestras were the medulla oblongata in the central nervous system of
jazz throughout the United States of America. The evolution of
Duke's unparalleled orchestra during that very transitional decade is etched in commercially issued phonograph records; when the listener is able to follow this progress using lesser-known air check acetates and hand-made
field recordings, the plot thickens as tempos relax and soloists are allowed more space for
improvisation. It's a lot like hearing the music live through a large antique radio full of bulbous vacuum tubes with orange filaments aglow.
Storyville's eight-CD
Duke Box is a treasure chest of live location and broadcast studio performances originally preserved for posterity on privately produced platters and radio transcription discs. Announcers pop up everywhere -- even in the studios -- and some of them garble song titles or blab right over the music.
Alistair Cooke even narrates a "staged rehearsal" as if covering a cricket match. It's an invaluable lesson in the combined histories of
jazz and radio.
For those who crave such information, here's a quick rundown of dates and locations. On January 9, 1940 the band broadcast over
NBC from the
Southland, a venue at 76 Warrenton Street in Boston, MA variously described as Cafe, Casino and Ballroom. On June 10, 1940 they broadcast from the
CBS Studios in New York. On November 7, 1940 the
Ellington orchestra played the
Crystal Ballroom in Fargo, ND; the music played on that night was captured on a portable recording unit using 78 rpm discs. On April 3 and 4, as well as on June 6, 1943,
Duke's band played the
Hurricane Club in Times Square at Broadway and West 51st Street. On December 8, 1943,
Ellington's orchestra entertained armed forces personnel at
Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, VA; three days later they gave a full-length concert at
Carnegie Hall. On July 8, 1944,
Duke took his band to the
Naval Training Center in Bainbridge, MD. A performance in the
New Zanzibar at West 49th and Broadway in New York City was recorded on September 26, 1945. In a rather unusual set of circumstances,
Duke Ellington and his orchestra performed a contrived rehearsal at New York's
World Studios on August 3, 1945; with announcements by
Alistair Cooke, this material was broadcast only once, over the
BBC network, on December 28, 1945. This stunning collection of uncommon recordings ends with live broadcasts from the
Howard Theatre in Washington D.C. on April 20, 1946 and
the Hollywood Empire Ballroom in Los Angeles during February 1949. Proof again that
Duke Ellington spent most of his life on the road. ~ arwulf arwulf
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