構成数 | 2枚

合計収録時間 | 01:35:32

Personnel: Duke Ellington (arranger, piano); Billy Strayhorn (arranger); Ray Nance (vocals, trumpet, violin); Kay Davis, Marie Ellington, Al Hibbler (vocals); Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Otto Hardwicke, Al Sears, Jimmy Hamilton (reeds); Rex Stewart, Taft Jordan, Cat Anderson, Shelton Hempill (trumpet); Tricky Sam Nanton, Lawrence Brown, Claude Jones (trombone); Fred Guy (guitar); Junior Raglin (bass); Hillard Brown (drums). Recorded live at Carnegie Hall, New York, New York on December 19, 1944. Includes liner notes by Jerry Valburn and Orrin Keepnews. Digitally remastered by Joe Tarantino (1991, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California). This is a simply outstanding two-disc installment in the series documenting the historic 1940s Carnegie Hall concerts by Ellington and his Orchestra. The Duke's first, groundbreaking appearance at the venue proved so spectacularly popular that it was immediately scheduled as an annual event. Recorded a year later, the 1944 program features selections from the "Black, Brown and Beige Suite" (premiered the previous year) and a smattering of old and new favorites. Of particular note is the unveiling of Duke's new extended work, "Perfume Suite," an ambitious, atmospheric, four-part musical narrative that describes the influence of different perfumes upon a woman's changing moods. The shifting, multi-textured patterns of Ellington's suites are juxtaposed against shorter dance hall stompers--"Suddenly It Jumped" and "It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)--and such gorgeously lyrical numbers as "The Mood To Be Wooed," the latter featuring the peerless Johnny Hodges. As always, the spotlight is shared by the many talented members of Ellington's Orchestra-Cat Anderson, Ray Nance, Tricky Sam Nanton, Harry Carney, Jimmy Hamilton, and vocalists Kay Davis and Albert Hibbler, in this incarnation. On all levels a musical experience par excellence, 1944 makes clear just why Ellington's work is still being freshly discovered, enjoyed, and revered.

録音 | モノラル (Live)