2 May 2018 —Jazz on the Tube
In 1962, the Goodyear Tire Company sponsored a series of half-hour shows that showcased swing-oriented performers.
This color excerpt from the Duke Ellington program features baritonist Harry Carney and clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton in the spotlight during the medium-tempo blues “V.I.P. Boogie.”
16 October 2013 — Jazz on the Tube
I think I could have been no more than 13 or perhaps 14 when I bought my first jazz album and it was the 1957 classic, ‘Duke Ellington Presents – The Bethlehem Years Volume 2’ made I think after his epic return to fame at the Newport Jazz Festival, after some time in the doldrums. It blew me away, and to this day, whenever I play it I am astounded by the sheer perfection of the arrangements and by the virtuosity and soul of the soloists. Each track on this album, from the opener, ‘Summertime’ through to the last, ‘The Blues’ is a gem with Ray Nance (trumpet, violin, vocals) on ‘I can’t get started’, the Gershwin classic is total perfection. This is the classical music of the 20th century.
It was around this time I got to meet the man himself, backstage at the Gaumont Cinema in Kilburn. I even shook the master’s hand in his dressing room. In the concert I would stand right at the front, my elbows on the stage, glued to the orchestra as they joked and laughed but never missed a beat, like some kind of soul machine. It was heaven to a kid like me, addicted to jazz.
This trio of songs was recorded in 1959 in Switzerland probably the time I met him. The recording sucks but so what, it’s the Duke…
6 March 2012
I suppose I must have been around fourteen years old when I first heard this and later when I bought the album I wore out this track that had Paul Gonsalves 27 choruses nearly causing a riot. But for me, it was hearing the rap of a rolled-up newspaper on the stage by veteran drummer Jo Jones that probably triggered the entire thing as he back beat the band. Recorded at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1956. Enjoy. Continue reading
5 April — Jazz on the Tube
Duke Ellington’s orchestra playing Juan Tizol’s Caravan. Juan Tizol, trombone player, co-wrote the song with Ellington. 1952.
Duke Ellington and his orchestra in concert in Copenhagen (1965) – featuring Harry Carney on tenor saxaphone.
Duke Ellington ‘Sophisticated Lady’
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