DEMS BULLETIN
DUKE ELLINGTON MUSIC SOCIETY
09/1 April - July 2009
Our 31st Year of Publication
FOUNDER: BENNY AASLAND
HONORARY MEMBER: FATHER JOHN GARCIA GENSEL
EDITOR: SJEF HOEFSMIT
ASSISTED BY: ROGER BOYES
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THE INTERNATIONAL DEMS BULLETIN DUKE ELLINGTON MUSIC SOCIETY 09/1 April - July 2009 Our 31st Year of Publication FOUNDER: BENNY AASLAND |
Voort 18b, 2328 Meerle, Belgium
Telephone: +32 3 315 75 83
Email: dems1@telenet.be
SAD NEWS
Frank Dutton
DEMS 09/1-1
See DEMS 08/3-4
I am very sad to hear of the passing of Frank Dutton. During the 1960's, when
he lived in Ruislip, west of London, he and I met frequently to talk and play
records. Apart from his love of Ellington's music, Frank was very keen and
knowledgeable on Lunceford, the Blue Rhythm Band etc. His particular love was
for Duke in the 20's, 30's & 40's and, since I came to the music in the
1950's, mine was at that time for the 50's & 60's. We got along very well
together. Frank was a warm-hearted, generous man, with a great sense of humour
(you will know that from correspondence with him) and I regret that we did not
keep in touch when he went "back home" west to Malvern Link and I
north to Derbyshire & N Wales. I miss his chuckling laugh - he would really
have chuckled to hear that he is regarded as a giant.
Ron Malings
Sue Markle
DEMS 09/1-2
I just received the monthly bulletin from the Jazz Institute of Chicago, where
I learned that Sue Markle died on Dec. 19th. She was a former
president of the Jazz Institute and active in the Ellington conferences along
with Dick Wang. I don't have any further details. I think you knew Sue.
Jo Ann Sterling
I certainly knew Sue. I met her in 1983 for the first time in Washington at the
so-called first International Duke Ellington Study Group Conference. I remember
that when Joe Igo, Eddie Lambert and Klaus Stratemann were presenting their
plans for new books about Duke, Sue stood up and asked if there would not be too
many books about Ellington. She certainly was worried about the capacity of the
market to absorb so many new publications in a short time. I remember Joe Igo’s
response: “There can never be enough books about Duke!”
I cherish my memories of these good friends and especially of several
get-togethers in Sue’s apartment.
Sjef Hoefsmit
Bob Udkoff
DEMS 09/1-3
Saturday's L.A. Times contains a (paid)
obituary for Bob Udkoff, 17Jun17-21Jan09, who "passed away peacefully at
home in Beverly Hills." It mentions that he was "lifelong friend and
associate of Duke Ellington, Joe Williams, Kenny Burrell and many others in the
jazz world."
Steven Lasker
Bob Udkoff was indeed a very close friend
of Duke’s. Along with his wife Evelyn he has his own chapter in Music is My
Mistress (p405). He donated to the Ellington community the tapes with the
recordings made at his 50th birthday party (see DEMS 05/3-15 and
06/1-13). Bob and Evelyn were also present in Norman Granz’s studio when the
recordings were made for the Pablo LP “The Big Four” (see DEMS 08/1-9).
DEMS
Birgit Åslund
DEMS 09/1-4
I would just like to let you know that Birgit Åslund, Benny's wife, died on
February 7. We in DESS learned about this today. The funeral is scheduled for
March 10 at Järfälla church. Some of us plan to participate, and in our next
Bulletin we will publish an obituary.
For the Duke Ellington Society of Sweden,
Anders Asplund
Not long before my friend Ove Wilson died (see DEMS 81/2-7), he arranged for me
to meet Benny Aasland on 31Jan81. Benny invited me for dinner at his home and
it was then that I met Birgit for the first time. Until that moment I lived
with the assumption that Birgit Åslund was Benny Aasland’s secretary because
she wrote the letters to the membership and handled the finances. I assumed
that the similarity of the names was purely coincidental. I was surprised to
learn that she was his wife and Benny explained that Aasland was an error by a
type-setter and that Benny decided to keep it as his pseudonym.
Ever since my first meeting with Birgit I have been astonished by the great
help she gave Benny in running the Duke Ellington Music Society. She was not
only a perfect cook and a lovely wife, but she was also Benny’s greatest
support, especially when Benny got problems with his health. DEMS members owe
her a lot.
Sjef Hoefsmit
Louie Bellson
DEMS 09/1-5
Louie Bellson, composer, innovative
percussionist, bandleader, educator, corporate executive, tap dancer, author,
poet and universally admired good person, died February 14 at Cedars-Sinai
Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, of complications of Parkinson’s
Disease following a broken hip suffered three months earlier. He was 84.
His musical development began at age three under the tutelage of his father and
progressed through continuing private study, and, from age 17, concurrent
on-the-job absorption in the big bands of Ted FioRito, Benny Goodman, Tommy
Dorsey, Harry James, Duke Ellington, Count Basie and ultimately, his own large
ensemble, tenures with the troupes of Gene Norman’s Just Jazz and Norman
Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic, motion picture soundtracks and thousands of
record dates with nearly every major instrumental and vocal performer.
Louie Bellson was much more than Edward Kennedy Ellington’s favorite drummer,
1951-53.
Repeatedly, in post-midnight telephone calls throughout the 1950s and ‘60s,
Ellington would ask, “What’s the world’s greatest musician doing? Do you think
we can persuade him to come back…to help us out at Basin Street East (December
’54)…for ‘My People’ in Chicago (August ’63)…for our prestigious gig with
Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops and the very important Concert of Sacred
Music at Grace Cathedral and the television projects we’re doing for Ralph
Gleason (July-September ’65)…for our ‘Assault On A Queen ‘ soundtrack for
Sinatra (January ’66)…”
And those were just the entreaties Ellington won.
On November 19, 1952, Bellson married the singer and entertainer Pearl Bailey.
It was she who ultimately convinced him to leave Ellington to become her
musical director and eventually the leader of his own band. Ellington
privately considered her his arch rival, sometimes remarking, “She just
couldn’t stand hearing my band sound so good.” She died in 1990.
Bellson always described his Ellington years as the most illuminating and
rewarding experiences of his life. His psychic/spiritual/extra-sensory rapport
with Ellington was second only to that of Billy Strayhorn’s. Flashes of the
Ellington-Bellson visual and musical connection can be seen and heard in
exchanges on Norman Granz Presents Duke: The Last Jam Session, the DVD
illumination of the LP Duke’s Big Four (with Ray Brown and Joe Pass),
and in the Basin Street West band performances on Ralph J. Gleason’s
documentary Love You Madly (Eagle Eye Media).
Louie was a student of the Japanese martial art of Aikido in which the ki
is the positive force of mental inner strength that can be used physically to
total relaxation and to communication. “I play with intensity but I am
completely relaxed at the same time,” he explained. ”The body vibrations are
really working like mad, and I’m more relaxed at the end of a long solo than
when I began it, Marcel Marceau used Aikido. And the ki worked with
Duke all the time. Often I could even see the vibrations coming from his body,
and I could feel them.”
In 1951, Granz having lured Johnny Hodges and Lawrence Brown from the Ellington
band and Sonny Greer no longer able to withstand the rigors of the road, Duke
was talking to his good friend and former colleague Juan Tizol about
returning. Tizol offered a package—straight out of the Harry James band, which
was down to a one-night-a-week play schedule. Tizol would come back but he would
like to bring his fellow sidemen, the famous alto saxophonist Willie Smith and
the brilliant young drummer Louie Bellson. Ellington had been hearing a lot
about Bellson but had never heard him play. Tizol vouched for him. The deal
was done. The trio gave notice to their boss, whom they genuinely admired,
that they were leaving to join Duke Ellington. Louie swore that James begged,
“Take me with you!” For years, this historical music business defection has
been known as “The Great James Robbery”--originally a reference to post-Civil
War bank and train assaults by notorious Missouri outlaws Jesse and Frank
James.
Bellson had been composing since he was 14 and was eager to learn more from the
masters. He implored Strayhorn to show him how Caravan was
orchestrated. He refused. Tizol convinced Louie to show Duke The Hawk
Talks, written for but never played by James’s band. Ellington immediately
called a recording session, and Louie’s tune became a successful Columbia
Records single. Shortly thereafter, Duke summoned Bellson to the piano,
saying “This is how we voiced Caravan.” Soon Ellington was proclaiming,
“We are proud indeed to have been the first to present him as a musician
extraordinaire in an entire fifteen-minute feature, his own composition Skin
Deep.” That was a piece Bellson had written, then stored in a suitcase in
1948.
At 15, he decided that the only way he could produce the big sound he wanted
was with twin bass drums. “I was ambidextrous,” he related. “I write with
either hand, kick a football with either foot, I’m a switch-hitter in
baseball, and I tap dance. I had to have two bass drums.” His detailed sketch
earned him an “A” in high school art class. He saved for a year to be able to
take his drawings to Slingerland in Chicago. “Even though I had the money to
pay for what I wanted, they acted like I was off my rocker, he related. “The
designers at the factory handed back my sketches and told me, ‘Look, kid,
there’s nobody in the world who would play with two feet. Go back home and
just read Buck Rogers [the comic book space explorer]; don’t try to be
like him!” Seven years later, having triumphed over 40,000 teen-age drummers
to win Slingerland’s Gene Krupa Drum Contest, the drum company built a drum set
to Louie Bellson’s specifications. Ellington was so enthusiastic about the
configuration and the sound that he decreed that all Bellson’s successors in
the band must play drums of the Bellson design.
Less than a year after Bellson became Ellington’s “first chair percussionist,”
Duke decided that Louie deserved to record as a leader and approached concert
impresario/disc jockey/record producer Gene Norman, who knew Louie well.
Norman, later to establish his own GNP and Crescendo labels, at that time had a
recording and distribution agreement with Capitol Records. Capitol accepted
Norman’s proposal with one exception—Louie as leader. The ten-inch LP
was issued on the Capitol label (H348) as Just Jazz All Stars featuring
Louis Bellson. On the back of the sleeve appears the notation that “Louis
Bellson is surrounded by a group of his own choice: Willie Smith, Harry
Carney, Juan Tizol, Clark Terry, Wardell Gray, Billy Strayhorn, Wendell
Marshall, John Graas [French horn].” Repertoire is comprised of two Bellson,
two Strayhorn, one Ellington, one Tizol and two Shorty Rogers numbers.
Norman’s brief liner notes acknowledge that, on The Jeep is Jumpin’,
“Ellington himself set the mood and tempo from the booth.” Actually, Ellington
produced the entire February 1952 session at Radio Recorders Annex in
Hollywood, California, and with an extremely significant, lasting imprint. He
picked one dramatic drum figure that Louie improvised on Rogers’s Sticks,
and advised his protégé, “Louie, every artist should have an signature. In
music it must be a unique sound that the listener will always identify with
you. You just played yours. I’m going to play back this take for you.
Remember it. This figure says Louie Bellson! Always incorporate it into your
performances from this day on.” Louie complied.
Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni was born July 6, 1924 at
Rock Falls, Illinois to Italian immigrants Louis Balassoni from Naples and
Carmen Bartolucci Balassoni from Milano. The elder Balassoni preferred the
name Louis. The son detested the name and preferred Luigi. To
him Louie was an acceptable compromise. “Louie is a good nickname for Luigi,”
he said. “I am Louie or I am Luigi. I am not Louis!” The public couldn’t get
it, and throughout his life and on many record albums, his Louie inevitably was
changed to Louis. Some said it was a demonstrated respect. He hated it.
Balassoni became Bellson when customers of the father’s music store could not
remember and rarely could spell the ethnic version. For many years and in many
publications, Bellson’s birthdate was erroneously listed as July 26, 1924
because of a typographical error in Leonard Feather’s original The Encyclopedia
of Jazz, published in 1955. Despite many entreaties to correct it in
subsequent editions, Feather refused on the grounds of “I do not make
mistakes!”
Belllson wrote more than 1,000 compositions and arrangements and more than a
dozen books on drums and percussion, was honored by the American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) by its Jazz Living Legends Award with
his name inscribed on its Jazz Wall of Fame and by the Living Legend Award from
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and four honorary
doctorates. He was voted into the Halls of Fame for both Modern Drummer
magazine and the Percussive Arts Society. Yale University named him a Duke
Ellington Fellow in 1977. He was recognized by the National Endowment for the
Arts with a Jazz Masters Fellowship, by the Avedis Zildjian Company with its
American Drummers Achievement Award. His recordings were nominated for five
Grammys by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. His papers are
archived at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC. For several decades, he
served as vice president of Remo, Inc., the drum manufacturer. His last
recordings were The Sacred Music of Louie Bellson and The Jazz Ballet
and Louie & Clark Expedition 2 with Clark Terry. He is survived by
his wife of 16 years, the former Francine Wright, and by daughters Dee Dee
Bellson, a singer, and Debra Hughes; two grandsons; brothers, drummers Tony and
Henry Bellson, and sisters, Mary Selhost and Josephine Payne, a retired
dancer. A son, Tony Bellson, also a drummer, died in 2004.
©
Patricia Willard, 2009
We are extremely grateful that Patricia Willard accepted our invitation to
write an obituary for Louie Bellson in DEMS Bulletin. Nobody could have done it
better.
DEMS**
Good NEWS
Clark Terry
DEMS 09/1-6
Clark Terry has been discharged from the Jefferson Regional Medical Center in
Arkansas on Tuesday, March 3rd. He went into the hospital right after the
inauguration. He had a finger-bone-tip infection on the middle finger of his
right hand — “the finger I use to play with”. He is looking forward to playing
again in April. Please go to Clarkterry.com for information on performances.
Your readers may communicate with Clark via his website. All communication will
be welcome and appreciated.
Clark's autobiography is now in the hands of his agent. Clark will select a
title, and a publication date will be announced as soon as possible.
It was such a pleasure to learn about DEMS, and we appreciate Patricia
Willard for introducing us to you.
Gwen and Clark Terry
Echoes of Ellington Conference
DEMS 09/1-7
Here is the conference web link:
http://www.music.utexas.edu/echoesofellington/index.html
The “Echoes of Ellington” web page includes a full agenda and biographies of
the presenters. The conference has a strong academic bias..... in fact I am one
of only a few speakers not associated with a university.
Bill Saxonis**
Visiting this website gives you all details of the conference in Austin, Texas
from 15 until 17Apr09.
DEMS**
NEW FINDS
Treasures from South
Africa
DEMS 09/1-8
See DEMS 08/3-6
Another “NEW FIND” in the Jerry Valburn collection is a recording, made on
12Aug70 at the Rainbow Grill and planned to be used for a broadcast on 15Aug70.
It is justifiable to assume that what we have on the second date (15Aug) is
taken from this pre-recording (of 12Aug), the more so, since in both recordings
there was a promotion for Treasury Bonds. But that is not the case. The four
selections from 15Aug, numbered DE7072 in the New DESOR, are all very different
from the recording made on 12Aug, and the Bonds promo comes at a another point.
The 12Aug pre-recording looked as follows:
Meditation
Take the “A” Train
Second Line
Bourbon Street Jingling Jollies
Aristocracy A La Jean Lafitte
Bonds promo
Thanks for the Beautiful Land on the Delta
Satin Doll (dedicated to Agnes O’Neal, who was in the audience)
Sophisticated Lady
See for this New FIND Correction-sheet
1093
Lance Travis and Klaus Götting
NEW BOOKS
DEMS 09/1-9
“Duke Ellington: His
Life in Jazz” by
Stephanie Stein Crease c.2009, Chicago Review Press
$16.95 / $18.95 Canada 148 pages Courtesy Photo
From the Washington Informer Book Review:
While “Duke Ellington: His
Life in Jazz” is a good book and quite interesting for a grown-up, it’s meant
for kids nine and up. In the first chapters, author Crease draws parallels
between Ellington’s life and that of children today, which gives kids a bit of
a reference point.
By the middle of the third chapter, though, Crease has gone into territory that
could tend to lose a kid’s interest: band members, who played where, and other
information better suited for the child’s grandparents than the child.
If your older child – say, 12-to-17 – loves a variety of music, this book will
quickly become a favorite. For them, “Duke Ellington: His Life in Jazz” is out
of this world.
Terry Schlichenmeyer
Ellington Uptown - Duke Ellington,
James P. Johnson, and the Birth of Concert Jazz
DEMS 09/1-10
See DEMS 08/3-7
7Mar09. The release of "Ellington Uptown - Duke Ellington, James P.
Johnson, and the Birth of Concert Jazz" was to have been this week. The author,
John Howland, tells me the publisher told him that due to a production delay,
the release has been delayed until March 13. Here's a link to the publisher's
website:
http://www.press.umich.edu/titleDetailDesc.do?id=211239
Ken Steiner**
John Howland will be a speaker at the “Echoes of Ellington” Conference (see
DEMS 09/1-XX).
Visit this web-site for all the details about this book.
DEMS**
DVD REPORTS
PARIS BLUES on DVD
DEMS 09/1-11
See DEMS 06/2-16
I found a new DVD of “Paris Blues”: Optimum Classic OPTD 1348. It is a British
release from 2008. The address is www.optimumreleasing.com.
I bought it on Amazon. The recording is impeccable, but that was to be expected
from the original MGM material.
Georges Debroe
Check and Double Check
DEMS 09/1-12
There is a fascinating New Discoveries piece of Ellington to report.
Mark Cantor, the knowledgeable film researcher, has just visited UCLA's film
archive in Southern California where a French print of Check and Double Check
has been found. ALL the Ellington portions of the film are DIFFERENT takes from
the ones we've been used to seeing.
Jerry Valburn
Back in August-September 1930, when the film was produced, RKO used a standard
three-camera set up for each scene. What we now know, however, is that after
each scene was photographed, it was re-shot again, without any changes, using
the same three cameras, script, blocking, etc. When the photography was
complete, the film was edited into two features, very similar, but with slight
differences in delivery of lines, pacing, editing choices and so forth. In
other words, there were two unique versions of the same feature produced in
1930.
Exactly why two versions of the same feature were produced is still a mystery.
While the second version may have been distributed to Great Britain, it is not
a foreign language version per se. It has been suggested that RKO felt the need
for an alternate printing negative due to the extraordinary popularity of Amos
and Andy, and the anticipated need for extra prints, but this is pure
speculation at present. The only fact is that two versions of the film are
extant!
The most important aspect of this discovery for the jazz research and for the Duke
Ellington community is that all of the music in the second version, on both
screen and soundtrack, is new and unique. The coverage of the band is
slightly different, with a little less Ellington, a beautiful close up, clear
and precise, of Johnny Hodges on his soprano sax, Jenkins hidden for a few
seconds behind the curtains, and so forth. While Freddie Jenkins' solo follows
the lead of his first take, it is less precise and not as well executed.
However, both Carney and Hodges are effusive and articulate; it is a real joy
to hear what are effectively alternate film takes on the featured numbers.
I don't know about plans to release this on DVD yet. It wouldn't be until later
in the year at the earliest, but I will keep the [Ellington] groups informed
about any progress in this direction.
Mark Cantor
DEMS 09/1-13
On April 7, 2009 Universal Studios will release a DVD box set called: Pre-Code
Hollywood Collection, including the 1934 Paramount (89 min. B/W) movie:
Murder at the Vanities. Good news for people who do not own or if they do, want
to replace their 1998 released Universal VHS tape! (The song Marijuana is great
and can be found on YouTube)
Fantastic hearing Duke and his Orchestra jazzing up Liszt’s Second Hungarian
Rhapsody in -Ebony Rhapsody- (it’s a pity only one-half of the number is
featured in the film). This box (in NTSC format, with subtitles in English,
French and Spanish) contains 5 other films from pre-Code period (1929 to
mid-1934 in which censorship barely existed). The Cheat (1931); Merrily We Go
to Hell (1932); Hot Saturday (1932); Torch Singer (1933); Search for Beauty
(1934) and a bonus feature: Forbidden Film, The Production Code Era. The
complete soundtrack is not yet released.
Milo van den Assem
Newport Jazz Festival, 8Jul62
DEMS 09/1-14
See DEMS 05/2-15 and 08/3-29
We are reasonably sure that the Newport Jazz Festival 8Jul62 which was earlier
released on a DVD Bach Films EDV1508 DIV 666 can now be found on the DVD
Quantum Leap QLDVD-0373. The list of names of the musicians is the same on
both, and in both cases Ruby Braff’s name was spelled Ruby Briff.
DEMS
Duke's Itinerary
Additions
to Duke’s Itinerary by Roger Boyes
DEMS 09/1-15
See DEMS 08/3-8
Confirmed:
Maryland Theater, March 16, 1943: Cumberland Times, 14th and 15th March
Arne Neegaard
I found a programme in the Smithsonian
Archive last September for a performance in Syracuse NY on 8 October 1944. It
has Wini Johnson as a named singer so it was obviously printed some time before
the event. The programme itself carries Joya Sherrill's autograph.
The Kapp Alpha Tau fraternity of the Nottingham High School organized this
concert, but the venue appears to have been not the school itself but the NY
State Armory on West Jefferson Street.
I haven't noted the box and folder reference, I'm afraid; I think I was racing
against the clock by then. But I took a couple of photocopies and made a
pencilled note.
Roger Boyes
Additions to Duke’s Itinerary by Joe
Mosbrook
DEMS 09/1-16
I have an addition -- a concert
Saturday, January 28, 1950 at 8:15 p.m. at the Masonic Auditorium at East 36th
and Euclid in Cleveland. An ad in the Cleveland Call & Post says Al
Hibbler, Kay Davis and Johnny Hodges would be featured and an "added
attraction" would be Cow Cow Davenport, "World famous Boogie Woogie
Composer" (who was living in Cleveland).
Joe Mosbrook
2Sep34
DEMS 09/1-17
There's an Ellington gig from 2Sep34 signed by Joe Hoffman on Mills Artist
Bureau paper. It's at Meyers Lake Park in Canton, OH.
Carl Hällström
According to Ken Vail, they opened a one week engagement at the Majestic
Theatre in Bridgeport, Connecticut on 2Sep34 But a notice in the Evening
Independent confirms the Meyers Lake Park gig.
Arne Neegaard
The 2Sep34 opening in Bridgeport is confirmed in the Bridgeport Post 2Sep34 and
Variety 4Sep34, p52,
according to Joe Igo’s Duke’s Itinerary
DEMS
With the 2Sep34 gig now firmly located to a small town in Ohio, the remainder
of the "Majestic Theater, Bridgeport, CT" week is also in doubt.
Carl Hällström
Duke was in Bridgeport 7-13Sep34. Source: Bridgeport Post. I have checked
almost all dates in Stratemann from 1931-41.
Ken Steiner
COTTON CLUB BROADCASTS ON NBC
DEMS 09/1-18
See DEMS 08/3-11
Many thanks for the new Bulletin. I appreciated particularly Steiner’s details
(with the note from Lasker) about the broadcasts from the Cotton Club and I
hope that he will continue his researches for the subsequent years.
Luciano Massagli
Dr: Stratemann's book, page 45, states:
"Around Thanksgiving [27Nov30] it was reported, Ellington went out on tour
again, replaced at the Cotton Club once more by the Cab Calloway Orchestra".
But the broadcast listings you present in the latest DEMS gives the impression
that the Duke indeed remained at the Cotton Club until 4Feb31. Or did the
December 1930-February 1931 broadcasts originate from different venues while
the Duke was on the road ?
Carl Hällström
Those broadcasts were definitely from the Cotton Club. The NBC logs indicate
that. I think Klaus' statement that Duke went on the road in November of 1930
was prompted by a Baltimore Afro-American article dated 20Nov30,
"Harlem Asking Itself, Why is Duke Leaving the Cotton Club?" which
was about the upcoming switch from Duke to Cab. The correct dates for Ellington's
Cotton Club engagements are listed in Steven Lasker's "Cotton Club
Miscellany" [p3] of which I'm sure you have a copy. Duke did an occasional
gig on the road during his Cotton Club engagements. When the band went to
Boston with “Showgirl”, Chick Webb substituted.
Ken Steiner
Broadcasts from Chicago mid 1932
DEMS 09/1-19
Shouldn't Dr. Stratemann's entry regarding the Duke at Lincoln Tavern, page 51,
be revised to look like:
July 1, 1932 (Fri) 9:00-9:15 PM CDST
SUSTAINING BROADCAST:
Colonial Tavern, Evanston, IL.
Local Chicago-station WGN.
July 1, 1932 (Fri) 10:00-10:14 PM CDST
SUSTAINING BROADCAST:
Colonial Tavern, Evanston, IL.
Local Chicago-station WGN.
July 1, 1932 (Fri) 11:00-11:30 PM CDST
SUSTAINING BROADCAST:
Colonial Tavern, Evanston, IL.
The CBS network excluding WGN.
July 1, 1932 (Fri) 11:30-Midnight CDST
SUSTAINING BROADCAST:
Colonial Tavern, Evanston, IL.
Local Chicago-station WGN.
This is the log for the second night, which is the first one to have the full
CBS network in addition to the local broadcasts.
Carl Hällström
My files indicate the Lincoln Tavern broadcasts began 30Jun32.
Ken Steiner
Ken Vail, volume I, page 63 shows an advertisement: “Broadcasting from Lincoln
Tavern Every Wednesday - Friday”. This is not Klaus’s source. He took his info
from Variety of 21Jun p64. But in both cases it seems that the band broadcasted
three times a week. Ken Vail also shows a newspaper clipping stating: “Duke and
his boys are heard twice a week on the radio over the Columbia network, Wednesday
and Friday nights.” This seems to be confirmed by your logs. It also suggests
that we should not believe everything that has been printed. On page 62 of
Duke’s Diary is an advertisement stating: “On the air! Beginning June 30th
Columbia Network via WGN from Lincoln Tavern.” The band did indeed start the
gig on Thursday the 30th, but as you stated, the first broadcast
over CBS was the next day.
DEMS
DISCUSSIONS - ADDITIONS - CORRECTIONS
The Queen’s Suite
DEMS 09/1-20
See DEMS 08/3-19
In the last Bulletin I reported that I found slight differences between the
Mono and Stereo sides of Steven Lasker’s LP when compared with the Pablo
releases. To make sure, I also compared my Japanese Pablo CD (J33J 20008) with
my LP (2310 762): no difference. I made copies for Giovanni Volonté and Luciano
Massagli. The differences between the three versions are so small that the only
way one can be sure is if one listens synchronously. Since my Italian friends
did not employ the cable connections required for synchronous listening, I made
them a CD with on one side (of the head-phone) the Pablo version and on the
other side, first the Stereo version of the LP, followed by the Mono version
which is on the flip side of Steven’s LP. By doing so, I can confirm my previous
findings, and I can also suggest a theory of how it came about. I think that in
the case of Northern Lights (of the Stereo version on the LP), the end
of the recording was replaced by an insert. I have no idea why this was done.
But after the missing half bar in “cod6BAND” I had to speed up my Pablo
recording a little bit in order to stay in synch. This indicates that there was
a substitution. Maybe the Pablo is the one with the insert. I cannot tell, but
the ends are slightly different.
This is not the case with Apes and Peacocks (of the Mono version on the
LP). Here too, an insert has been used, but in the process of making the join,
one bar (# 28 in the second chorus) got lost in the Mono version. The ends are
identical. If it was an insert, it must have been the same one used for both
versions.
It was a not uncommon practice to edit the recordings. If one part of the piece
was satisfactory it was not recorded again, but only the missing part was
re-recorded. Someone then edited both parts together. This was done more often
than we are aware of. It happened several times when Philips used the tapes
from Columbia and had to make joins, which resulted in small differences
between the two releases.
Sjef Hoefsmit
About the Queen Suite, I listened carefully to the CD that you prepared and
discussed it with Giovanni. We admire what you did to make us understand where,
you believe, is the beginning of the inserts: a job which requires a great deal
of patience! We checked indeed all the differences that you claim and we cannot
do anything else than saying that you are right. Nevertheless these differences
are so slight that it seems impossible to describe exactly the inserts. We
might be wrong, but, in our opinion, the missing bars in Northern Lights
and Apes and Peacocks are very probably a mistake made by the engineer
during the transfer from the original tape to the test pressing.
Luciano Massagli**
Duke’s Far and Middle East Tour 1963
DEMS 09/1-21
See DEMS 08/3-20
One reason there exists little film footage from this trip is that, after
Delhi, the Contessa happened to be around Duke almost 24-7, except when they
were on stage! And in 1963 such a mixed relationship was too much for the
American public.
Arne Neegaard
Duke Ellington at Saint Sulpice
DEMS 09/1-22
On the web-site of the French INA (Institut National de l’Audiovisuel) is a
short film about Duke’s Saint Sulpice rehearsal (on 16Nov69). Go to www.ina.fr and put “Duke Ellington” in the search
field where you first found “recherche”. If you click OK, you will find the
short (1’42”) film at the top of the list.
Georges Debroe
Thelonious Monk live at Newport (8Jul62)
DEMS 09/1-23
See DEMS 08/3-29
This is a quote from Chris Sheridan’s book “Brilliant Corners” (2001):
“A month before the occasion, Down Beat reported that Mr Monk was set to
write a special piece for the band, to be arranged by Hall Overton and played
at the festival. In the event, however, the performances were of two existing
Monk compositions, the second set daringly against an unheard and unrehearsed
Billy Strayhorn chart.....
The misidentifications in previous Ellington listings are surprising. In the
case of Monk’s Dream, sporting a specially-written Billy Strayhorn
chart, Duke Ellington introduces it correctly and repeats the identification in
a reference back at the end of the rousing performance. The identification of
the encore is more interesting because D.E.'s comment, ‘frére Monk’, reveals
that this is a rare example of two bodies blithely playing different tunes
simultaneously! On the one hand, Mr. Monk bowls straight into what is
identifiably a slightly altered version of his 1956 Ba-lue Bolivar
Ba-lues-are; on the other, the Ellington band, perhaps slightly caught out,
picks up a Billy Strayhorn sketch, especially arranged for this concert, called
Frére Monk (and recorded by Duke in rehearsal two months later). Against
the ovation that follows it, Duke Ellington tells the enthusiastic audience,
‘he'll be back, he'll be back’ (perhaps to play Frère Monk
straightforwardly). But he didn’t come back."
End of quote.
Georges Debroe and Klaus Götting
Frère Monk - just give it another try. It is a Strayhorn composition
(cf. Walter van de Leur’s “Something To Live For,” Appendix D, p270). It is credited
to Ellington in the New DESOR vol. 2 p875. If you listen closely you will find
that it is an arrangement of blues riffs in a certain order - combining riff A
by the saxes with riff B by the trombones, adding the trumpets or leaving out
this or that section, a typical device of the Ellington organization. You get a
lot of different colors by combining a few simple elements in this or that
order. The whole thing can be used as a background for every blues in B
flat, and this is what happened when they featured Monk at Newport. It is of
course Frère Monk, but it is Monk's own Blue Bolivar Blues as
well. They didn't rehearse it with Monk. Why should they? They just told him
"Blues in B flat, at this tempo", Monk knew what to do and went into
his own Blue Bolivar Blues. He could have gone into Straight, No
Chaser or any other head in B flat as well.
Did you expect that a composition is a fixed thing? Not so, not in the
Ellington organization. A live performance is not a sound photograph of a score
or of an "original" version, at the least it has to be adjusted to the
demands of the moment. One important fact is that Duke Ellington’s primary and
most cherished compositional technique is that of montage. He would take a
composition apart and rearrange it, starting with the end or reverse the order
in any imaginable way etc. Remember that crucial advice by Will Marian Cook:
"Reverse your figures!" D.E. explored this throughout his career.
Here we can talk of the "silent theme tradition", too, that emerged
during the swing era and became a favourite device of the beboppers. You take a
given chord pattern and compose a new line to it. The legal aspect is that you
can sell it as a new composition. The result is that vast amounts of musical
material can be exchanged between tunes. Or we can talk of "open
form" versus "closed form", etc. etc. What I wanted to say is
that Frère Monk is there, complete with all its portions, but in a
slightly different order.
Hans-Joachim Schmidt
You asked a couple of questions regarding
Thelonious Monk and the album “Unissued Live at Newport, 1958-59”. Apparently
there is also a session with the Ellington orchestra dating from 1962 (I assume
not from 1972 as you stated). [Indeed. I made a typo. SH] You thought Monk
probably brought his own people as well and wondered who they were. I don’t
know this CD but it does sound very interesting. Monk’s working group at the
time was pretty stable and he continued to use it for his first sessions for
Columbia later in 1962, so you likely heard Frankie Dunlop on drums and John
Ore on bass. If there was an unfamiliar tenor sax it would have been Charlie
Rouse.
You asked about the spelling of Ba-Lue-Bolivar-Ba-Lues-Are
(which is correct, not the variant you also gave). It’s in the December 1956
album “Brilliant Corners”. Orrin Keepnews who produced that album said that “it
is merely an attempt to set down phonetically the pronunciation Monk insisted
on as most fitting for what might most simply be called Blue Bolivar Blues”.
Tying this together, sort of, there is a Bolivar Blues recorded in 1962
on “Monk’s Dream”, his first for Columbia, with Dunlop and Ore. Unfortunately
my memory of the 1962 version seems to have been lost with my album.
You probably know that Monk recorded an album of Duke’s music. They have some
interesting similarities. Both had such a strong melodic sense, and a
percussive style of playing.
Don Francis
The same group, Monk, Rouse, Ore, Dunlop, plays on the Milan and Paris
performances recorded a year earlier, in April 1961.
Roger Boyes
On the internet I came upon the Newport ’62 tracks with Monk. Although
different from the version on “The Private Collection Vol.3, this is definitely
Frère Monk and not Ba-Lue Bolivar Ba-Lues Are.
Rick Steiger
“Stars on Parade” / Gotham Session revisited
DEMS 09/1-24
See DEMS 08/3-13
Today's mail brought two 16-inch ETs which I won from a recent record auction.
"Stars on Parade" program 575, "Ellington Moods" by Duke
Ellington, is paired with "Stars on Parade" program 576, "Davy
Crockett" starring Conrad Nagel. "Stars on Parade" program 581,
"Music of Manhattan," is paired with program 582, "A Matter of
Time" starring Ethel Griffies. The labels show the dates each program was
to be aired: program 575 (by Ellington) was "release: week of August 19,
1951"; program 576 was "release: week of August 25, 1951";
program 581 was "release: week of September 30, 1951"; program 582
was "release: week of October 7, 1951." I note that each date cited
was a Sunday, when the Gotham Recording Studio was likely closed, and that the
label of my copy of program 581 (release: week of September 30, 1951) bears the
penciled notation "WMIL 9-22-51," which I'll guess is the date when
the disc was received at radio station WMIL.
So: Ellington's "Stars on Parade"/ Gotham recording session wasn't
held on 19Aug51 as shown in every discography, but at some earlier date,
perhaps in late July or early August. To see a photo of the session and a list
of the personnel, see DEMS 02/3-12. The photo is also found on the back cover
of CBS(F)66607 ("The Complete Duke Ellington, 1947-52"), but misdated
to 5oct51, the date of the Down Beat issue in which the photo was first
published.
Steven Lasker
“The Best of Duke Ellington”, 4 CD set
DEMS 09/1-25
See DEMS 08/3-30
My set arrived today and I am excited about the wonderful sound restoration
done by Harry Coster - for the first time I can hear that the Ellington
Orchestra really had a guitar player!
And now, a little challenge to all of you: Listen to Dusk on The Desert
a couple of times, then jump to In a Jam! Same trumpeter, isn’t it?
Arne Neegaard
I think you are right about the trumpeter being the same on both Dusk on the
Desert and In a Jam. I'll venture a step further in that I think the
trumpeter is Cootie Williams. To me, on In a Jam it sounds very much
like some of the tonality and phrasing he used on Tootin' Through the Roof.
Martin Tach
I agree that the trumpet on In a Jam is Cootie with Rex finishing off
the disc. I believe that it was almost settled that the horn solo on Dusk on
the Desert was Artie Whetsel on trumpet-see DEMS 02/2-27 and 02/3-27. However
there was further discussion 05/3-37, where it was argued that the soloist
wasn't a trumpet but Lawrence Brown on trombone!
My vote goes to Artie.
Bill Morton
See also 06/1-18; 06/2-20 and 06/3-27.
DEMS
I made a typo - I was thinking of the trumpeter on Dinah´s in a Jam!
Arne Neegaard
See for Dinah’s in a Jam DEMS 05/2-24.
DEMS
What did Tizol sound like, on muted trombone? The solo [on Dusk on the
Desert] has a tinge of Latin flavour, hasn’t it? And when we ruled out
Lawrence Brown on slide trombone, no one thought about a valve trombone. It’s
the legato-like phrasing I am thinking of. Switch between Caravan and Dusk
on the Desert a couple of times.
Arne Neegaard
I think we may be hung up on the tonality of the performer. Check out the
phrasing. To me the phrasing sounds closer to Stewart or Williams than legato
players like Whetsel, Tizol or even Brown.
The tonality and phrasing is like that on Tootin' Through the Roof. Again,
Stewart or Williams. But to me, the phrasing is more typical of Cootie. In both
instances he is displaying a tonality not often heard from him but to me, the
phrasing is pure Cootie.
Martin Tach
I remember the earlier thread about the horn on Dusk on the Desert. It
was very interesting in that it considered Brown's trombone as well as trumpet
players.
André Hodeir in his excellent article about Concerto for Cootie
described Cootie Williams as "A man with a thousand sonorities". The
trumpet on Dusk on the Desert reminds me of the sound Cootie used on the
Benny Goodman Sextet recording of On the Alamo as well as the Ellington
recording of Tootin' Through the Roof.
So, as they say, with all due respect to the VERY well considered opinions of
the experienced and dedicated Ellington listeners on the [Duke-LYM] list. I am
sticking with my opinion. For now. I am open to influence from other listeners
like you [Bill Morton].
Martin Tach
It's most likely Cootie soloing on Dusk on the Desert. End of story.
Martin (see his emails in this conversation) has probably got it right.
It can't be Brown or Tizol. It can't be a trombone of any description. End
of story.
Tizol is playing with the saxophones during that first chorus so that there are
five "saxophones" and five muted brass instruments (3 trpts, 2 tbns).
The trumpet solo on the original part (at the Smithsonian) is written for
Cootie and it says so on the score as well (half of which wasn't identified
until I found it, and the set of parts which are entitled Jamming and Jiving).
Besides, the solo is far too high for a trombone. It goes up to a high F.
Michael Kilpatrick
Duael Fuel — Rock City Rock
DEMS 09/1-26
I was listening too Rock City Rock from 1957 and I became aware that
parts of the arrangement were used in the drum feature Duael Fuel from
1959. I am correct?.
Wayne Cluton
You are correct. The 5° and the 6° choruses of the 13Mar57 recording of Rock
City Rock are the same as the 2° and 3° choruses of Duael Fuel Part
II, recorded on 8Sep59. Duke was one of the first “recyclers”.
DEMS
A very nice offer
DEMS 09/1-27
Dear DEMS,
Congratulations on the very informative and useful web-page http://www.depanorama.net/dems/
It is very impressive to make all these documents easily available on one
webpage.
If this mail reaches Sjef, I want to give you my deepest regards for your work.
I have downloaded and stored all the Bulletins on my computer - including all
the pdf files, to facilitate my own use. Thanks for giving me this possibility.
However, I need to re-organize my paper document archive in the house, and save
space, and make it easier. I appreciate reading old DEMS material, but it
struck me, when I checked old Bulletins, that DEMS or other collectors might
appreciate even more to have or study this material.
If that would be the case, I would be prepared to pack the paper bulletins and
send them in a package to the receiver. The least I can do for Benny and Sjef
is to pay for the freight. So it is a "free of charge"-offer.
I have available ALL paper copies of the DEMS Bulletin that Benny Aaslund, and
later Sjef Hoefsmit, sent to me from 1979 to 2000. I have saved all this mail
and nothing is lost. I have also saved Bulletins 2001/1, 2002/2, 2003/1-3. The quality
is first class - almost as sent by Benny and Sjef.
Benny - and I assume also Sjef - did sometimes attach additional material in
the mail. An example is Bulletin 1979/1 where I got and have saved all 33
A4-pages. The pdf-version on the web-page http://www.depanorama.net/dems/
contains the first two pages only.
My point is that I have saved some more pages than sometimes are included in
the pdf-files.
Many are rightly very interested to use electronic means and web-pages. DEMS
has certainly adopted these methods. There might still be collectors who would
appreciate to have the original version.
Please, give me some advice on this matter.
A second solution for me would be to ask Duke Ellington Society of Sweden the
same question - but I prefer to ask DEMS first.
With kindest regards,
Goran Axelsson
Ekvagen 5
SE-187 41 TABY
goran.fe.axelsson@telia.com
tel +46 8 768 7834 (res)
mobile: +46 70 868 7834
Dear Goran,
Your mail has indeed reached Sjef. Thank you very much for your nice
compliments. I am also very happy that you mentioned Benny’s name. It is so
much easier to continue a good work than to invent and start it.
I will put your letter in the next DEMS Bulletin. Since the Bulletins are “on
line”, there are many more readers than in the old days. It is very possible
that one or more of these “new” readers will be interested to have the hard
copy Bulletins.
Sjef has never attached additional material to the Bulletins. Benny did so
several times. For instance with the 10th Anniversary issue 1989/1.
However I have from the first Bulletin only the first two pages. That’s why you
find only these as PDF files. Bjørn Andresen used my copies of the Bulletins
for his terrific work to scan them all. I guess that the supplementary pages of
the first Bulletin contained only pictures.
Thank you very much for your generous offer. Mailing all old Bulletins will be
very expensive!
Sjef Hoefsmit
John Steiner - "Frankie And Johnny"
labels
DEMS 09/1-28
See DEMS 08/3-17 and 08/2-24
I possibly can add a few elements to the mystery, somebody hopefully will be
able to elucidate. In my collection I also have such a 78rpm disc with this
25mar45 recording and the labels are again different: a kind of mix from what
we find in DEMS 08/3. They show (see copies attached) "Merry Christmas
1946", spell Frankie & Johnny correctly and print UP 501 +
UP 502 directly on the label (UP 501B and UP 502B are also engraved in the
wax).
Side 1 starts with the very end of the int8BAND (let's say: %int1BAND),
continuing with 1°10DE etc and runs for approx 3:43. Side 2 has Metronome
All Out and runs for 3:39.
You may have noted that the original description of Frankie and Johnny
(as 313bb on page XXXVIII in the OLD Desor Volume 6) had no intro by the band;
this intro however is mentioned for 4509ae in the NEW DESOR page 873. Both
refer to SD Xmas-1946 as very first release.
Jean Portier
Jig Walk
DEMS 09/1-29
See DEMS 05/1-42
I was re-reading Roger Boyes' wonderful analysis of Jig Walk recently
(DEMS 05/1-42). It was both informative and entertaining at the same time,
involving several musical items and people followed over an extended period of
time. He masterfully wove several themes and sub themes together as
intricately as a Bach fugue. I enjoyed it thoroughly. As an added benefit for
me the references to 4.30 Blues, and to The Last Time I Saw Chicago
(from a 1941 session involving Pee Wee Russell) took me back again to those pieces
to listen with new respect. I wonder if you could pass on my appreciation to
Roger.
If he hasn't checked YouTube recently he may be interested to know that there
have been a couple of versions of Jig Walk from the mid 20s added recently
(directed by Sam Lanin, apparently featuring Miff Mole, Red Nichols and Joe
Venuti; and another directed by Bert Firman). A web search pulls up
others--Earl Oliver from the mid 20s with a vocal, and a contemporary version
by Tim Harding's Cotton Club Orchestra with tubular bells modeled on
Ellington's 1940 version.
Don Francis
Thank you, Don, you are very kind. I wonder also if Duke plays a snatch of Jig
Walk (DEMS 05/1-42), on the short Institut National’s St-Sulpice rehearsal
to which Georges Debroe draws our attention in this issue of the Bulletin. Most
unlikely, I am sure, but it would be wonderful if he did.
Roger
Boyes
Sorry he didn’t play it.
DEMS
Message from Sturgis
DEMS 09/1-30
See DEMS 08/2-5
On Friday evening, October 9, 2009 we are having the Duke Ellington Memorial
Orchestra perform at the Sturgis-Young Auditorium. This will be the 35th
anniversary of the Dukes final performance which was here is Sturgis MI.
(Tickets will be on sale in the near future.)
The Historical Marker which your organization so generously contributed to is
scheduled to be unveiled then and I will be saying a few words before or at
least at sometime during the performance that evening. We even hope to have TV
coverage for part of the event! Would someone from your organization be willing
to contact me and to appear at the performance that evening and say a few
words, please? Just a few minutes of information from someone
representing your Society would be greatly appreciated.
Linda Winkens**
President of the Sturgis, Michigan Historical Society
P.O.Box 392, 200 W. Main Street
Sturgis, MI 49091
USA
I know someone who would have loved to
appear in Sturgis at the ceremony. That’s my late friend Gordon Ewing. He was
terribly upset when he saw the plaque at the Northern Illinois University at De
Kalb, claiming that Duke’s last performance took place there on 20Mar74. It was
at Sturgis as we all know now. The plaque belongs in Sturgis. Can one of his
friends in Chicago replace him?
Sjef Hoefsmit
More Good News
DEMS 09/1-31
From a reply to Geff Ratcheson:
We are looking to do the 30s big band
Columbia owned material sometime either late this year or next year.
For Mosaic, Scott Wenzel
Art Pilkington’s Tapes
DEMS 09/1-32
See DEMS 07/3-26
I was made aware recently of your announcement in the 07 Ellington newsletter
in which you mentioned that I have some tapes of my dads. Although I no longer
have the tapes (they were given to York University for their Jazz collection),
I noticed that my email and telephone number were incorrectly listed. Maybe that's
why I never received any replies. For your information, the telephone (in
Canada) is 905 846-3723 and the email is dpilkington@sympatico.ca .
Although I do not wish to part with them, I have his original research binder
with the Ellington itinerary, etc if anyone wants to borrow.
Ted Pilkington
Paris Blues
DEMS 09/1-33
No other set of recordings has given so much headache as the recordings made
for the film Paris Blues. For many years a tape from the Jerry Valburn
collection has been waiting to be documented. Giovanni and Luciano have been
working on it recently, and this has resulted in the session of 14Dec60 in
Paris, DESOR 9076 on Correction-sheet 1093 and the session of Dec60, interview
for French radio, DESOR 9077 on Correction-sheet 1092. Several selections on
this tape were without Ellington at the piano, and consequently they were not
included in the New DESOR. A more complete (but not necessarily correct) survey
can be found in the 5th edition of Ellingtonia by Willie Timner on
page 223 and in Klaus Stratemann’s book starting on page 429. The preliminary
research results from Jerry Valburn were very helpful.
The date of the interview for the French radio can be determined with more
precision. We know from Jet Magazine of 8Dec60 that Duke left on the same date
(8Dec) for Paris. In the interview for French radio he states that he arrived
exactly two weeks previously. This pinpoints the probable date of the interview
to around 23Dec60.
DEMS
New York, New York in Toronto
DEMS 09/1-34
The article "The Duke: At 73, A Few Changes, But Undiminished
Enthusiasm", was written by Tom Buckley, New York Times News Service. It
appeared in The Fresno Bee, 24 Sept 1972, but the original article was
published in the NYT of 3 July, 1972:
Duke: His Creative Impulse -- All That Jazz -- Throbs On
By Tom Buckley, 3Jul72, Monday, Page 19, 2003 words:
This is taken from the article:
“Duke Ellington sat cater-cornered on a folded plaid blanket on the piano
bench. ‘Lemme hear it now,’ he said. With his left hand he cued the brass
section for the biting attack he wanted on the rift theme of New York, New
York.”
And here is the puzzle:
The discographies have 2Aug72 as the first recording session with New York,
New York. The article was printed in NYT one month earlier and thus this
session must have been in June. The only candidate here is the one on 22Jun72
in Toronto where Tyree Glenn was (not?) present, because the author refers to a
conversation between Duke and Tyree:
"After a few measures The Duke signaled a halt. ‘Ooh, no, no, no,’ he
said.
‘You want the same B-flat as in the first bar?’ asked Tyree Glenn, the lead trombonist.
‘Bah, bah, beyow?’ The Duke shook his head.
‘What do you want?’ asked Tyree Glenn, a large pudding of a man with a graying
goatee.
‘I want it together, mainly,’ The Duke replied with a laugh. ‘Play it with a
drawl and an accent.’ He illustrated his conception by bending the word ‘drawl’
with a full Southern intonation and tightening his mouth around ‘accent’ so
that it came out pure Mayfair.
‘Tyree, keep it that way,’ he said after the band had played the figure again.
‘I don´t know what I did,’ the trombonist replied, and the 15 musicians in the
recording studio in Toronto last week laughed appreciatively.
‘C´mon, let´s roll it,’ The Duke said. Behind the glass partition the sound
engineer adjusted his dial and switches and started the tape spinning. etc.,
etc.”
According to Timner, Tyree Glenn was not present at the recording session on 22
June, but present at the concert the following day.
Some of the material from that session was released on Laser Light, but two
numbers were unissued: Alone Together and Unidentified Title.
Conclusion: Very first known recording of New York, New York aka Unidentified
Title, which is not unidentified any longer, plus Tyree Glenn added on the
recording session on 22Jun72.
Arne Neegaard
Let us first look at the session of 22Jun72. Your information found in Timner
must come from his 4th edition. It did not appear in his 1st,
2nd and 3rd edition, neither did it appear in the old
Desor. In the 5th edition you find a more accurate listing. The fact
that New York, New York and two unidentified titles are in the 5th
edition added to that 22Jun72 session has to do with the listing, accompanying
the “donation” by Mercer Ellington to the Danish Radio. On that listing this
session, dated on 7Jul72, had three additional selections: New York, New
York; Original by Tyree Glenn and Original by Russell Procope.
These three selections have never been located in the Danish collection. In the
meantime we know that there were only 2 trombonists (and six reeds) in the
session of 22Jun72 and that Arnie
Chycoski, trumpet player, replaced Mercer
Ellington. This was unveiled by Ted O’Reilly on the Jul05 IAJRC in Copenhagen. Ted attended the
recording session on 22Jun72. Arnie Chycoski died recently on 10Sep08. On 22Jun96
Ron Collier told us in Toronto that Vancouver Lights was not issued on
the Laserlight CD, but that the recording, selected for the CD, was titled Relaxing
which is also a composition from his hand.
What about New York, New York? The article by Tom Buckley gives us the
information that there must have been a recording session with the
participation of Tyree Glenn, in which this selection was recorded. I
discovered that the three selections (New York, New York; Original by Tyree
Glenn and Original by Russell Procope) as mentioned on Mercer’s list
were recorded on 27Jun72. I base my conclusion on another part in Tom Buckley’s
report in which he stated:
“At 11:30 P.M. the Duke left the
recording studio. From there he went to a nightclub to hear a singer he was
thinking of engaging for a one week date he was booked to play at the Playboy
Club Hotel in Great Gorge, N.J., that began Friday night. He was greeted at the
nightclub by the singer, Aura Rully, who came to Canada from her native Rumania
three years ago. She is a striking young woman, with long, dark hair and small,
feline features. The Duke ceremoniously greeted her with four kisses, two on
each cheek, took his place at a ringside table and ate a steak, and drank tea
while listening to her perform. He decided that she would do, and they
discussed terms and conditions in whispers when she had finished her set. At 2
A.M. the Duke was back in his hotel room, talking with Ron Collier, who would
do the arrangements that Miss Rully required. ‘It is not a big sound,’ said the
arranger, speaking of Miss Rully, ‘but a fantastic range. But I don’t know
about her reading.’ ‘Well, if she isn’t a good reader, she has to have a quick
ear to do all those Ella Fitzgerald things,’ said the Duke. ‘It works out about
the same.’
At 5 o’clock the next afternoon, which was Wednesday, the Duke, naked except
for a chartreuse chiffon around his head to protect it from air-conditioning
drafts, got out of bed in his hotel suite. He would be leaving in another hour
to play a dance in West Lorne, Ontario, 150 miles to the west.”
Duke’s Itinerary confirms the events. See Ken Vail p418:
Tuesday 27Jun72, Duke Ellington and his Orchestra record for the stockpile at
the Thundersound Studio in Toronto.
Wednesday 28Jun72, DE & HO play a concert at the West Elgin Community
Center in West Lorne, Ontario.
Friday 30Jun72, DE & HO open a one-week engagement at the Playboy Club at
Great Gorge in McAfee, New Jersey. Vocalist Aura Rully from Toronto appears
with the band for this engagement.
There is only one conclusion possible. The date of the New York, New York
recording was 27Jun72. As long as we do not include sessions in our
discographies from which no recording has survived, this session is out, but it
might eventually be included if we find one or more of the recordings of New
York, New York and the Originals by Glenn or Procope.
Thanks to Arne Neegaard for sending me a
copy of the NY Times!
Sjef Hoefsmit**
NEW
RELEASES AND RE-RELEASES
Essential Jazz Classics 55430
Black, Brown and Beige
Duke Ellington featuring Mahalia Jackson
DEMS 09/1-35
1. Worksong 5Feb58 5805a
2. Come Sunday 5Feb58 5805b
3. Light 12Feb58 5808b
4. Come Sunday 11Feb58 5807a
5. Come Sunday 12Feb58 5808a
6. 23rd Psalm 11Feb58 5807b
7. Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald
Royal Ancestry 2Sep57 5733a
All Heart 2Sep57 5733f
Beyond Category 2Sep57 5733g
Total Jazz 2Sep57 5733h
8. Mood Indigo 18Dec50 5017b
9. Sophisticated Lady 18Dec50 5017c
The tracks 1/6 are identical to the original release on the LP CL-1162.
Judging by the time (16:16) of “Portrait of Ella Fitzgerald”, we expect that
the four movements will be preceded by the narrations by Duke or Billy
Strayhorn, each accompanied by the other on the piano.
Tracks 8 and 9 are identical with the two vocal selections by Yvonne Lanauze on
the Masterpieces LP from 1950.
DEMS
Lonehill Jazz DIS-120674
Duke Ellington The 1956-1958 Small Band Recordings
DEMS 09/1-36
Chicago, 24Jun58
1. In a Mellow Tone 5822a
2. In a Mellow Tone 5822b
3. Happy Reunion 5822c
4. Happy Reunion 5822d
5. Wailing Interval 5822e
Chicago, 17Jan57
6. Wailing Interval 5704d
7. I Cover the Waterfront 5704c
11. The Riff 5704b
12. Bluer 5704a
Chicago, 29Jan57
8. Deep Blues 5705f
9. Circle of Fourths 5705c
10. Perdido 5705d
13. Slow Blues Ensemble 5705b
14. Blues à la Willie Cook 5705a
15. Spacemen 5705e
Chicago, 19Mar56
16. Way Back Blues 5608f
17. Where’s the Music? 5608g
18. Rubber Bottom 5608h
19. Play the Blues and Go 5608i
20. Prelude to a Kiss -5 5608d
21. Miss Lucy -12 5608b
22. E and D Blues -1 5608e
All selections have been previously
released on CD: Sony Music Special Products Signature AK 40030 (not reviewed in
DEMS Bulletin) and others, mentioned in DEMS. SAJA 91231 in 89/3-1;89/4-6;90/1-7;90/2-7; Dr Jazz FDC
5007 in DEMS 87/4-3;88/2-4 and LMR 83000 in DEMS 88/2-1;88/4-4.
It still amazes us that the tracks have not been placed in the correct
chronological order.
DEMS
Columbia Jazz Profiles Duke Ellington
Sony/BMG Jazz 88697298542
DEMS 09/1-37
For the Duke Ellington CD in the series Columbia Jazz Profiles, Brian Priestley
selected the following recordings. He also wrote the liner-notes. This
introduction to Ellington, cannot be expected to contain rare collector items.
Total time 61:49.
1. Take the “A” Train 28Jun60 6017d
2. Rockin’ in Rhythm 8Jan31 3018c
3. Creole Love Call 26oct27 2709c
4. The Mooche 1Jul52 5211a
5. Sophisticated Lady 16May33 3307c
6. It Don’t Mean a Thing 2Feb32 3201b
7. In a Sentimental Mood 30Apr35 3503a
8. Caravan 14May37 3709a
9. I Let a Song Go Out of My
Heart -1 3Mar38 3805a
10. Crescendo in Blue -1 20Sep37 3716e
11. Diminuendo in Blue -1 20Sep37 3716c
12. Jeep’s Blues 7Jul56 5613n
13. I’m Beginning To See the Light 31May60 6008b
14. Mood Indigo 14Jul60 6022e
15. Come Sunday -10 11Feb58 5807a
16. Satin Doll 31Mar58 5815d
ELLINGTONIA
Woodville Records WVCD122 (2008)
Alan Barnes Octet
Harlem Airshaft
DEMS 09/1-38
Alan Barnes started Woodville Records in 2003. Some of us may remember him. He
took part in the orchestra that played so brilliantly at Ellington 88 under the
direction of Bob Wilber and he played for us in Leeds in 1997 together with his
companion David Newton with whom he made a great CD “Like Minds” with 4
Ellington tracks (see DEMS 98/3-7/3). This time the whole CD has been dedicated
to Ellington music, arranged by Tony Faulkner, to whom we also had the pleasure
to be introduced in Leeds. This CD was favourably reviewed by Ted Hudson in
Ellingtonia of March 2009 and can be ordered from Woodville Records: www.woodvillerecords.com/Harlem%20Airshaft.htm
The musicians: Bruce Adams, trumpet and flugelhorn; Andy Wood, trombone and
valve trombone; Alan Barnes, alto sax, clarinet and bass clarinet; Tony Coe,
tenor sax, soprano sax and clarinet; Andy Panayi, baritone sax, clarinet and
flute; John Horler, piano; Alec Dankworth, double bass; Mike Smith, drums.
The selections:
1. Take the Duke Train
2. Snibor
3. Second Line
4. Black Butterfly
5. Fantazm
6. Harlem Airshaft
7. Sunswept Sunday
8. Battle Royal
9. Tonight I Shall Sleep
10. Fife
11. Brown Penny
12. La Plus Belle Africaine
In the list of titles, Brown Penny is credited to Ellington, but Tony
Faulkner in his liner-notes has corrected this mistake. Total time 72 minutes.
Sjef Hoefsmit
The New DESOR correction-sheets
Corrected Correction-sheet
DEMS 09/1-39
See DEMS 08/3-35
The Pablo session (The Big Four) of
8Jan73 on correction-sheet 1088 has to be replaced by the “fresh” sheet 1088 (2nd
edition) on which the structure description of 9068i has been corrected into
9068i, j and k.
DEMS
Here are the latest
additions to the Correction-sheets:
DEMS 09/1-40
Sessions
1091 9070 Structure descriptions 08/3-6/9
6233 Newport 8Jul62 08/3-29
1092 9075 Detroit 26Aug63 08/3-6/8
9077 Paris Interview Dec60 09/1-33
1093 9076 Paris Session 14Dec60 09/1-33
9078 NYC Rainbow Grill 12Aug70 09/1-8
Titles
2006/1 6233i Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are 08/3-29
Discs
3030 Best of D Sony & BMG 88697302362 08/3-30
6233 Gambit Records 69299 08/3-29
6233 Quantum Leap 0373 09/1-14
Musicians
4002/1 Byers, William Mitchel 9076 09/1-33
Gourley, Jimmy Pasco 9076 09/1-33
DESOR small corrections
DEMS 09/1-41
These corrections are
authorised by Luciano Massagli and Giovanni Volonté.
DEMS
DESOR small
corrections 5013
Volume 1 (Corrections April
2009)
XI - BBs…Billy Byers…tb. (09/1-33)
XVI - JGo…Jimmy Gourley…g. (09/1-33)
XXIV - Ga…Gambit Records (08/3-29)
219 - Session 5613, 7Jul56, after 5613c: Same as 5516, but: HJo (t.) added. (08/2-8)
295 - Add session 9076 Barclay Studio Paris, 14Dec60. Correction-sheet 1093 (09/1-33)
295 - Session 6036, Dec60. MGa (b.) instead of UN (b.)
296 - Add session 9077 ORTF broadcast Paris, Dec60. Correction-sheet 1092 (09/1-33)
317 - Replace session 6233 with the corrected version on Correction-sheet 1091 (08/3-29 & 09/1-14)
353 - Add session 9075 State Fair Grounds
Detroit 26Aug63
1st Concert Correction-sheet 1092 (08/3-6/8)
353 - Session 6365, 26Aug63. Add: 2nd concert. (08/3-6/8)
562 - Session 7011, 6Feb70. Anne Deveson instead of Anne Jefferson; Ellis Blain instead of Ellis Blaine. (08/3-37)
591 - Add session 9078 Rainbow Grill NYC, 12Aug70. Correction-sheet 1093 (09/1-8)
675 - Session 7305. Delete the whole
session. It is replaced by 9068 on Correction-sheet 1088 (08/1-9)
There was an error in the structure descriptions, Correction-sheet 1088 should
be replaced by
Correction-sheet 1088, 2nd edition.
Volume 2 (Corrections April 2009)
739 - Make
a note in the middle of the page:
Ba-lue Bolivar Ba-lues-are see for descriptions page 875 with the wrong
title Frère Monk.
Correction-sheet 2006 (08/3-29)
875 - Frère Monk. Delete 6233i. (08/3-29)
909 - I Don’t Know Why I Love You So.
3602a int 4DE instead of int 3DE.
3602b, delete: but intro 4DE. (08/3-37)
949 - 7011a Interview by Deveson and Blain (08/3-37)
1360 - Add: 0920 CD. Gambit Records 69299 between 0396 and 0397. Correction-sheet 3030. (08/3-29)
1396 - Add: 0921 DVD. Quantum Leap QLDVD-0373. Correction-sheet 3030. (09/1-14)
1417 - Add: 0919 CD (4 discs). Sony &
BMG 88697302362 between 0704 and 0705.
Correction-sheet 3030. (08/3-30)
1425 - United Artists UAL-4092.
Add: A02 Battle Royal (9076e).
Add in NOTE - Track A02: the first chorus is omitted; a cod6BAND is added.
(09/1-33)
1439 - Adams, Edie. Apr 16, 1927 - Oct 15, 2008. (08/3-37)
1449 - Add: Byers, “Billy”. Correction-sheet 4002. (09/1-33)
1449 - Candoli, “Pete” Walter Joseph. Jun 28, 1923 - Jan 11, 2008
1451 - Clark, Arthur “Babe” - Jan 7, 1992
1463 - Add: Gourley, Jimmy. Correction-sheet 4002. (09/1-33)
1473 - Jones, “Herbie” Herbert Robert. Add: occ. for the session of July 7, 1956. (08/2-8)
1475 - Kemp, Chubby. Add: occ. for the session 9075 of August 26, 1963. (08/3-37)
1476 - Lafitte, Guy Denis Fernand. Add: occ. for the session 9076 of December 14, 1960. (00/1-33)
1501 - Warwick, Dee Dee (Delta Warrick) Sep 25, 1945 - Oct 18, 2008