Duke Ellington Okeh Ellington CD

Features Duke Ellington and His Orchestra in various incarnations under the names of The Washingtonians, The Harlem Footwarmers, Sonny Greer & His Memphis Men, etc.

Recorded between 1927 and 1930. Includes liner notes by Stanley Dance

Digitally remastered by Tim Geelan & Larry Keyes (Sony Music, New York, New York).

With a catalogue as enormous and uniformly impressive as Duke Ellington's, it is difficult to ferret out those recordings that truly stand out. THE OKEH ELLINGTON is one of those gems. Collecting the sides Duke and his Orchestra waxed for the legendary OKeh label, this set gives a stunning overview of the dance-oriented compositions Ellington wrote, performed and popularized at New York's Cotton Club in the 1920s.

The number of immortal jazz classics here--"East St. Louis Toodle-oo," "The Mooche," "Black and Tan Fantasy," "Rockin' In Rhythm," and "Mood Indigo"--amazes. The members of the Orchestra demonstrate superior musicianship, and these early ranks include long-term Ellington stars such as Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Sonny Greer and Barney Bigard. Several of the tracks appear more than once, though in the face of such fine material, this is only a minor complaint. In all, this collection stands as a monument not only to the best of Ellington's early oeuvre, but to some of the finest, most accessible (yet adventurous) work in jazz. With the exception of the more comprehensive box sets and the deservedly well-known BLANTON-WEBSTER YEARS set, THE OKEH ELLINGTON is as good as it gets.

Personnel: Duke Ellington (arranger, piano); Cootie Williams (vocals, trumpet); Baby Cox, Adelaide Hall, Irving Mills, Sid Garry (vocals); Otto Hardwick (soprano, alto & baritone saxophones); Johnny Hodges (soprano & alto saxophones, clarinet); Harry Carney (alto & baritone saxophones, clarinet); Barney Bigard, Rudy Jackson, Prince Robinson (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Freddie Jenkins, Louis Metcalf, Bubber Miley, Jabbo Smith, Arthur Whetsel (trumpet); Lawrence Brown, Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, Juan Tizol (trombone); Henry Edwards (tuba); Lonnie Johnson (guitar); Fred Guy (banjo); Wellman Braud (bass); Sonny Greer (drums).

Producers: Tommy Rockwell, Bob Stephens, Irving Mills.

Compilation producer: Michael Brooks.Jazziz (3/93, p.62) - "...has lots of hot playing from such emerging stars as Cootie Williams, Johnny Hodges, and Tricky Sam Nanton...serves as a perfect introduction to Duke's Cotton Club days..."