THE BARGAIN BUY: The Real Duke Ellington

 |   |  1 min read

Duke Ellington: Harlem Speaks (1933)
THE BARGAIN BUY: The Real Duke Ellington

Many years ago I posted a piece about Duke Ellington under the heading "A genius, but not that great?" in which I referred to the argument by jazz scholar James Lincoln Collier. His thesis was that gifted though Ellington was in a number of areas he was not a genius in any, so therefore . . .

I pointed out the flaw in this, but one reader took extreme exception and thought I had dismissed Ellington.

Regrettably, for some reason, that comment appears to have disappeared but if you care to read what I wrote I think my point is clear.

Ellington was remarkable on just about every count (although there remains the case that he wasn't a pianist in the major league) and was one of the great collaborators and arrangers.

His classic work (from the late Thirties to the dawn of the Fifties, then again in the late Fifties for a decade) should be in any sensible collection, but this triple album of his early work (all recorded in the Thirties) is very easy to like.

There are a lot of standards and reworkings here (It Don't Mean a Thing, St Louis Blues, Sophisticated Lady, Prelude to a Kiss, In a Sentimental Mood, Echoes of Harlem and Caravan among them) and with 75 remastered tracks in total it is certainly a generous dollop of Duke.

JB_logoAnd what makes it even easier to enoy is that it is just $10 at JB Hi-Fi stores here.

There are number of cheap titles in this series (Sinatra, Armstrong, Basie, an excellent Elvis Sixties set and so on) so we cheerfully make this a bargain buy -- despite the lack of liner notes and performer credits -- which is also a trip back in time to pop song-sized jazz. 

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   The Bargain Buy articles index

THE BARGAIN BUY: Radiohead; OK Computer (EMI)

THE BARGAIN BUY: Radiohead; OK Computer (EMI)

Just as Achtung Baby and Zooropa represented a watershed period for U2, so The Bends of '95 and especially OK Computer of two years later marked a turning point in Radiohead's still-young career.... > Read more

THE BARGAIN BUY: Frankie Miller: Original Album Series

THE BARGAIN BUY: Frankie Miller: Original Album Series

Curious how some artists can command a ferociously loyal audience but remain unknown to most. I know of Brits who hold Frankie Miller in the pantheon of great soul, rhythm and blues and rock... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel (1980)

Peter Gabriel: Peter Gabriel (1980)

When Peter Gabriel released his third solo album -- the third to simply be entitled "Peter Gabriel" although widely known as Melt after its Hipgnosis-designed cover image -- it was met... > Read more

Elsewhere Art . . . Bert Jansch

Elsewhere Art . . . Bert Jansch

As we've noted somewhere at Elsewhere, about every eight years some well-intentioned British rock magazine like Mojo or Uncut will deliver a huge article about Nick Drake as a great artist in the... > Read more