Search results for "Otto Hardwick"

Duke Ellington: Black and Tan Fantasy (Victor) (Rating: 91/100) posted in Music January 20, 08

The second of Ellington's three 1927 "Black and Tan Fantasy" recordings disproves the adage that the Third Time'...

Duke Ellington: Black and Tan Fantasy (Brunswick) (Rating: 87/100) posted in Music October 22, 07

A timeless classic of early big-band jazz, this was perhaps the first Ellington tune to really capture the ears of th...

Duke Ellington: Sophisticated Lady (Rating: 91/100) posted in Music December 03, 07

During his illustrious 50-year recording career, Duke Ellington led >1,000 sessions, each yielding multiple tracks. W...

Duke Ellington: East St. Louis Toodle-Oo (OKeh) (Rating: 97/100) posted in Music October 19, 07

The quintessential document of Duke’s "jungle music," this 1927 theme was so letter-perfect that Steely Dan paid it g...

Duke Ellington: Caravan (1937) (Rating: 97/100) posted in Music October 24, 07

Ellington’s early contribution to the Latin jazz canon is a collaboration with valve trombonist Juan Tizol. “Caravan...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: TWELVE LATIN JAZZ CLASSICS

         Percussionist,  artwork by Suzanne Cerny Editor's n...

Duke Ellington: Black, Brown and Beige (live 1943) (Rating: 100/100) posted in Music November 09, 07

Preserving Duke's Carnegie Hall debut (attended by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, no less), this 3-part, 45-minute mas...

Duke Ellington: Flamingo (Rating: 94/100) posted in Music November 23, 07

In 1940, the star of such Westerns with a black hero as Bronze Buckaroo (1938) and Harlem Rides the Range (1939)...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: JAZZ FOR THE BIRDS

It's only fitting. Since birds inspire us with their songs, composers return the favor, dedicating music in every gen...

Duke Ellington: Black and Tan Fantasy (OKeh) (Rating: 97/100) posted in Music November 24, 07

Ellington's growing musical maturity from the 1920s through the 1940s is one of the most remarkable stories in the hi...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: HARLEM

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Johnny Hodges: Prelude to a Kiss (Rating: 94/100) posted in Music December 03, 07

Two weeks after recording "Prelude to a Kiss" under Ellington's aegis, Johnny Hodges switched from soprano to alto sa...

Duke Ellington: Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me (Rating: 93/100) posted in Music December 04, 07

Duke Ellington was both artist and entrepreneur. The composer who premiered his 45-minute tone poem Black, Brown and ...

Duke Ellington: Jack the Bear (Rating: 100/100) posted in Music January 24, 08

Ask most people about great bass records from the early 1940s, and they will probably tell you about Joe DiMaggio get...

Duke Ellington: Washington Wobble (Rating: 62/100) posted in Music February 10, 08

As a tribute, this track serves double duty. "Washington Wobble" can refer to the Evergreen State, with its Cascadia ...

Duke Ellington: Sepia Panorama (live 1940) (Rating: 100/100) posted in Music May 16, 08

For many jazz fans (myself included), Ellington's ensemble with bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webst...

Duke Ellington: Harlem Air Shaft (Rating: 100/100) posted in Music May 17, 08

This composition may not be as well known as "Satin Doll" or "Mood Indigo," but make no mistake about it: this is one...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: HARLEM

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Duke Ellington: Across the Track Blues (Rating: 100/100) posted in Music January 12, 09

As the premier bandleader of the 20th century, Duke didn’t really need to maintain the stride abilities he acquired a...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: ETHAN IVERSON ON STRIDE PIANO

Editor's Note: Music fans, jazz-oriented or otherwise, may know Ethan Iverson solely as the pianist in The Bad Plus—t...

Duke Ellington: Daybreak Express (Rating: 100/100) posted in Music March 15, 09

Unquestionably one of Duke Ellington’s masterpieces, “Daybreak Express” is one of the most thrilling train rides ever...

This track review is included in: THE DOZENS: TWELVE TRAIN TRACKS

For big bands in the thirties, trains were the logical upgrade from the drudgery of the band bus. Airplanes wer...

Duke Ellington (featuring Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton): It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing (Rating: 96/100) posted in Music September 14, 09

This rendition of "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing" from the band's 1944 Carnegie Hall concert, is ...

Duke Ellington: Never No Lament (Rating: 90/100) posted in Music September 16, 09

I wonder how Duke Ellington reacted when he was asked to turn his instrumental "Never No Lament" into the pop song "D...

Eldridge, Roy (David) posted in Encyclopedia February 18, 09

              Roy Eldridge in Harlem (1952)    ...

The Mills Brothers with Duke Ellington: Diga Diga Doo (Rating: 94/100) posted in Music March 09, 09

This song, written for the significant early black musical Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1928, is best characterized as ...

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