Ellington Suites

Ellington Suites

ASIN: B000000YOT

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Certainly one of the more obscure entries in the Ellington discography, this collection combines three distinct works, most notably 1959's masterpiece, "The Queen's Suite." Written as a personal thank you to Queen Elizabeth for her courtly reception of the Orchestra during the previous year, "The Queen's Suite" is, quite fittingly, a highly orchestrated six-part opus that tends toward beauty, grace, and elegance as opposed to heated improvisation, raw emotion, and blues inflections. From the exquisitely fluttering opener "Sunset and the Mockingbird" to the majestic and brassy "Northern Lights" to the sublimely delicate piano solo "The Single Petal of a Rose" to the fierce finale "Apes and Peacocks," the 20-minute suite is an absolutely stunning delight. This collection is rounded out by a pair of early-1970s recordings: the six-part "Goutelas Suite" is a bold and mysterious piece centered around the ruminative "Something" and hard-charging "Having at It." The three-part "Uwis Suite" is notable for "Klop," the only polka in the Duke's canon. --Marc Greilsamer

Tracks:

The Nutcracker Suite: Overture
The Nutcracker Suite: Toot Toot Tootie Toot (Dance Of The Reed-Pipes)
The Nutcracker Suite: Peanut Brittle Brigade (March)
The Nutcracker Suite: Sugar Rum Cherry (Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy)
The Nutcracker Suite: Entr'acte
The Nutcracker Suite: The Volga Vouty (Russian Dance)
The Nutcracker Suite: Chinoiserie (Chinese Dance)
The Nutcracker Suite: Danse Of The Floreadores (Waltz Of The Flowers)
The Nutcracker Suite: Arabesque Cookie (Arabian Dance)
Peer Gynt Suite Nos 1 And 2: Morning Mood
Peer Gynt Suite Nos 1 And 2: In The Hall Of The Mountain King
Peer Gynt Suite Nos 1 And 2: Solvejg's Song
Peer Gynt Suite Nos 1 And 2: Ase's Death
Peer Gynt Suite Nos 1 And 2: Anitra's Dance
SuiteThursday: Misfit Blues
SuiteThursday: Schwiphti
SuiteThursday: Zweet Zurzday
SuiteThursday: Lay-By

Customer Reviews:

Epitome of Ellington.......2006-12-22

Three Suites highlights the genius that is Duke Ellington. His music for Jazz Orchestra from the Nutcracker takes the music of Tchaikovsky to a new, modern dimension that will no doubt resonate with many the way the classical ballet music does not. The music for Peer Gynt is all at once subtle, dramatic and at times, haunting. I am not a passionate jazz fan, but Ellington seems to reach beyond to bring even the more wary among us along on the ride. If you don't have any other work by Ellington in your collection, this is a pretty good one to start with.

Needs remaster/repackage treatment.......2005-06-02

First of all, this needs to be remastered the way "Blues In Orbit" and the rest of the new Ellington reissues are being reissued, with DSD transfer. The cover is also very cheep looking. This cd sounds good (although very shrill at some points, like movement three on nutcracker, but needs more spacing between instruments. Second, this will please begginer Ellington fans, more than the expierenced. This is hardly essential, although it has many moments. "Suite-Thursday", to me is the best suite here. I don't listen to Ellington/Strayhorn's work for interperatations, I listen to them for thier brilliant original compositions. "Suite Thursday" is the only orginal work here and therefore takes top priority. "Nutcracker" upon first listened, sounded dissipointing, but I am beginning to come around to the arragements. "Peter Grant Suite" strike me as much better than "Nutcracker". One of the best jazz clarinetist's, Jimmy Hamilton shines throughout the whole thing.

You Can't Miss Here with Duke Swinging Some Classics!.......2005-01-18

The classics were almost standards for the great big bands to perform in their own unique styles. In fact, the Nutcracker has been performed and recorded over many years by many of the great bands. This CD uniquely displays Duke's version, tailoring 2 great classics to his unique, sometimes humorous, renditions for his many gifted instrumentalists, especially the sax men. True, I find parts of the Nutcracker just a tad dissonent at times, but Duke often liked to stretch the limits of his own, and other's compositions. This originality is what makes the Ellington the #top band of them all ,even if it did not always swing like say, Count Basie's, band. The PEER GYNT is at least as good, notably with the band playing the sad parts in a completely unique way! Topped off with their own piece, you can be sure that this CD will be listened to for a long time, even if it does (temporarily, one hopes) go out of print at some future date.

Ellington/Strayhorn/Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker is SWEET!.......2004-03-15

I owned this record (on vinyl) years ago. I bought it because I was/am an Ellington fan and had never heard of Ellington doing a version of Nutcracker Suite. I was blown away when I heard it! It seemed like a jewel in Ellington's repetoire: sheer genius, jumpin' jazz, and a tribute to P. I.Tchaikovsky that does his work very hot justice. Alas, an Evil Ex-Wife made off with my copy and then I had to wonder: Why was such a splendid piece of work so hard to find? I think it was on the Nonesuch label & that might explain it. But I'm Very Glad to have found this CD! Now my Christmases can Cook as in days of yore! Don't pass this up!

A genius re-imagines genius.......2003-12-31

Brilliant, glorious music--all of it, although I agree with those who have come to feel that the Ellington/Strayhorn version of "The Nutcracker Suite," in particular, is an all-too-often-buried treasure that no Christmas season should be without (and if you can ignore it for the rest of the year, you have more willpower than I). What happens to Tchaikovsky's marvellous music--and Grieg's, too--in these hands is creative homage of the highest order: the music is re-imagined from the inside, in wholly jazz terms, in a way that simultaneously illuminates and completely reconceives the original. What Balanchine did for Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky in dance, Ellington here does for Tchaikovsky and Grieg in another realm of music, and leaves us with works that deserve to be every bit as loved and celebrated as their older and better-known prototypes. And to top it all off, you get Ellington and Strayhorn's own superb "Suite Thursday." Listen and rejoice!

Average customer rating:

I never knew about this, still I was stunned
Such Obscured Beauty
Hidden Gems
A Lasting Tribute
ELLINGTON FLYING SOLO = UNDERRATED MASTERWORKS!!!

The Ellington Suites
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
Manufacturer: Ojc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000000YOT
Release Date: 1991-07-01

Tracks:

The Queen's Suite: Sunset And The Mocking Bird
The Queen's Suite: Lightning Bugs And Frogs
The Queen's Suite: Le Sucrier Velours
The Queen's Suite: Northern Lights
The Queen's Suite: The Single Petal Of A Rose
The Queen's Suite: Apes And Peacocks
The Goutelas Suite: Fanfare
The Goutelas Suite: Goutelas
The Goutelas Suite: Get-With-Itness
The Goutelas Suite: Something
The Goutelas Suite: Having At It
The Goutelas Suite: Fanfare
The Uwis Suite: Uwis
The Uwis Suite: Klop
The Uwis Suite: Loco Madi

Amazon.com

Certainly one of the more obscure entries in the Ellington discography, this collection combines three distinct works, most notably 1959's masterpiece, "The Queen's Suite." Written as a personal thank you to Queen Elizabeth for her courtly reception of the Orchestra during the previous year, "The Queen's Suite" is, quite fittingly, a highly orchestrated six-part opus that tends toward beauty, grace, and elegance as opposed to heated improvisation, raw emotion, and blues inflections. From the exquisitely fluttering opener "Sunset and the Mockingbird" to the majestic and brassy "Northern Lights" to the sublimely delicate piano solo "The Single Petal of a Rose" to the fierce finale "Apes and Peacocks," the 20-minute suite is an absolutely stunning delight. This collection is rounded out by a pair of early-1970s recordings: the six-part "Goutelas Suite" is a bold and mysterious piece centered around the ruminative "Something" and hard-charging "Having at It." The three-part "Uwis Suite" is notable for "Klop," the only polka in the Duke's canon. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

I never knew about this, still I was stunned.......2006-11-13

I had never heard the "back story" of this music, I just picked this out of the used record bins at the sight of the name Ellington. I just put it on one day while composing emails, and I was simply stunned. I'm no jazz expert, no music theorist who can tell you a d flat minor from a G major, I just like what I hear. I learned a little about Ellington's genius years ago and he's never let me down, even though I haven't felt a need to study his music. I just let it happen and you very likely can do the same.

Such Obscured Beauty.......2006-02-07

This review is an excerpt from my "So You'd Like To..." guide called, "Explore the Music of Duke Ellington: Part I."

In 1958, Duke Ellington agreed to appear at a musical festival held in England on the account of a chance to meet Queen Elizabeth II. At the festival, Duke Ellington was presented to the queen, and she reportedly conversed with him longer than anyone else. Charmed, Duke Ellington returned to the U.S. and, within a few months, composed The Queen's Suite in Queen Elizabeth's honor. After the suite was recorded at his expense, it was made into a single copy and sent to Buckingham Palace. For seventeen years, it would remain the only copy until the Duke Ellington estate released the recording two years after the Duke's passing, and we are extraordinarily previleged for it. Now issued on "Ellington Suites" along with The Goutelas Suite and The UWIS Suite, The Queen's Suite is a collection of compositions based on some of the beauty experiences in Duke Ellington's life. The first movement, "Sunset and the Mocking bird," was composed on a pretty melody that Duke Ellington once heard a bird sing. Jimmy Hamilton renders the major statement beautifully with his clarinet, while the Duke and Johnny Hodges also contribute brilliantly as soloists. Perhaps due to the suite's focus on aesthetic, the compositions are not especially demanding, but every minute of the suite is a pleasurable listen with many memorable moments. The fifth movement, "The Single Petal of a Rose," is a beautiful duet between the Duke's piano and Jimmy Woode's bowed bass. It is a reflective piece that Duke Ellington often played at concerts.

Hidden Gems.......2005-06-06

"The Queen's Suite" was so personal to Ellington that he had no intentions to release it in his lifetime. He could have recorded it at Columbia Studios, but he went to a studio and produced this suite himself. Ellington, over his career never continued to play "personal" pieces frequently. He would play something that sounded as it was from another heart, such as "solitude", rather something so obviously from his, like "Single Petal of a Rose". "The Queen's Suite" contains a very interesting soungs about beautiful expierences in Ellingtons life. "Goulteaus Suite is great as well

A Lasting Tribute.......2002-12-19

"The Queen's Suite" is the most memorable work in this collection, and shows a respect for the Queen which she has rarely been given by other musicians. One of the more crass examples being the recent Golden Jubilee. Ellington offers up a lovely collection of vignettes that are most gracious and very entertaining. The Suite was written after his royal engagement in 1958, in which the Queen singled him out at the reception, apparently leaving him speechless in reply. Instead, he and Billy Strayhorn played for her a series of short pieces, which they eventually formed into "The Queen's Suite." The other two suites in this collection are also enjoyable, but don't have the same resonance.

ELLINGTON FLYING SOLO = UNDERRATED MASTERWORKS!!!.......2001-01-10

This CD is a major purchase for anyone serious about the creative work of Duke Ellington. I am a major believer that despite Billy Strayhorn's great influence on Ellington, his presence alongside Ellington served as a musical crutch, and upon Strayhorn's passing, Duke was, for the first time since the late 1930's, forced to rely upon his own creative devices. Duke's output after1967 soared! Without Strayhorn, he was relegated to his own creative devices, and he suddenly exhibits the following changes in his compositional style: 1)an awareness of pop music and culture, and a willingness to infuse elements in keeping with the times... 2)a newly found plaintivity, similar aesthetically perhaps to his 'jungle band'(1926-1933)days....dark, richly textured voicings, raw emotional outcrying. ... 3)a new sparsity, an importance and urgency now seems attached to fewer notes and musical phrases...everything seems heightened, more meaningful 4)an overall accumulation of influences 'learned' from the Strayhorn period (1938-67), such as a fuller appreciation of the their own serious formats (note: I don't use the word classical) What I am leading up to here is this: the recordings documented here from the post-Strayhorn era (1968-1974), namely the Goutelas and Uwis Suites, are totally revolutionary works of art from Duke Ellington's most intense creative period, in my opinion. Of course, the Queen's Suite, from 1959 is also totally incredible work, and probably more accesable to most 'jazz' listeners, format and texture-wise, and still bears much of the Strayhorn sound. The Queen's Suite is still written in the format Duke designed in the year 1944, with his Perfume Suite: Ellington/Strayhorn dealing in series of short 'songs' featuring a variety of mood pieces with certain formulaic textures. Well, get ready, because the Uwis and Goutelas, though still basically formatted in the short song format, totally break camp where texture is concerned. Duke tries everything f rom an atonal flute/piccolo duet in fourths, to a damn Polka. And the beauty of it? It's all pure Ellington, raw and uncut, without the Strayhorn cleanliness. if anything, these pieces will remind you of David Murray's Octet of the 1980's or perhaps Sun Ra! Duke seems to believe in himself so much here, and seems to be totally unconcerend with any need to make a 'hit' or be accessible at all. He is just writing here, pure and honest and deep ly, from the well of emotions he had on tap that made him the greatest American composer. The result is some of the rawest, darkest, most emotionally intense music I have ever heard. Buy it!

The Private Collection, Vol. 5: The Suites: New York 1968 & 1970

Average customer rating:

The Laboratory

The Private Collection, Vol. 5: The Suites: New York 1968 & 1970
Duke Ellington
Manufacturer: Atlantic / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Private Collection, Vol. 7: Studio Sessions: 1957 & 1962
Private Collection, Vol. 9: Studio Sessions, New York, 1968

ASIN: B000002JMP
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

The Degas Suite: Introduction (Opening Titles)/Race/Racing/Piano Pastel/Improvisation (Marcia....
The River: The Spring/The Sun/The Meander/The Giggling Rapids/The Lake/The Falls/The Whirlpool...

Customer Reviews:

The Laboratory.......2000-12-13

This is the CD I finally had to get after only having cassette dubs of a bunch of the private recordings of Ellington's vault, as played on Danish Radio when Mercer lived in Copenhagen. Although I have more outtakes than this CD provides, nothing beats having this material on CD for sheer quality. Duke wrote some great material for the first part of this CD known as the Degas Suite, which was written for a documentary on the artist. This features the 1968 band, especially some rare Willie Cook musings that are not heard anywhere else in this type of context. But it is the River, a ballet written expressley for the Alivn Ailey Ballet Company, that is actually the summary of Duke's Autobiography in music. Despite the fact that these performances are in reality sketches and rather unpolished runthroughs, they are still the only 'Ducal' renditions of some of his most breathtaking pieces.

The Private Collection, Vol. 7: The Suites, New York, 1968 & 1970

Average customer rating:

two long, hard to find suites, both stunning

The Private Collection, Vol. 7: The Suites, New York, 1968 & 1970
Duke Ellington
Manufacturer: Bmg
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000006YGO
Release Date: 1996-05-23

Tracks:

Degas Suite: Introduction-Opening Titles/Race/Racing/Piano ...
River: the Spring/The Run/The Meander/The Giggling Rapids/The Lake/The

Customer Reviews:

two long, hard to find suites, both stunning.......2006-09-16

Around the twilight of his career, Duke was making big statements with huge compositions. Nothing ponderous, though. The first track is the soundtrack to an unreleased film on the Impressionists, specifically their portraits of leisure, and Duke captures the expected mood perfectly. The second is an even longer work, also intended for a film. Both tracks have many distinct movements which I won't bother to describe. Beautiful, overlooked, and a jewel in the uniformly amazing private collection CDs.

Average customer rating:

The Ellington Suites
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
Manufacturer: Pablo
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000FZDNL8
Release Date: 2006-08-07

Tracks:

Queen's Suite: Sunset and the Mocking Bird/Lightning Bugs and Frogs/Le - Duke Ellington
Lightning Bugs and Frogs
Sucrier Velours
Nothern Lights
Single Petal of a Rose
Apes and Peacocks
Fanfare
Goutelas
Get-With-Itness
Something
Having at It
Fanfare
Uwis
Klop
Loco Madi

Album Details

Japanese Limited Edition Issue of the Album Classic in a Deluxe, Miniaturized LP Sleeve Replica of the Original Vinyl Album Artwork.

Average customer rating:

I never knew about this, still I was stunned
Such Obscured Beauty
Hidden Gems
A Lasting Tribute
ELLINGTON FLYING SOLO = UNDERRATED MASTERWORKS!!!

Ellington Suites (20 Bit Mastering)
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
Manufacturer: Pablo
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B00005B5BC
Release Date: 2001-05-01

Tracks:

Sunset And The Mockingbird
Lightning Bugs And Frogs
Le Sucrier Velours
Northern Lights
The Single Petal Of A Rose
Apes And Peacocks
Fanfare
Goutelas
Get-With-Itness
Something
Having At It
Fanfare
Uwis
Klop
Loco Madi

Amazon.com

Duke Ellington was the greatest composer in jazz history, and he composed a number of magnificent suites. This CD, originally released in 1976, features Ellington and his incredible orchestra on three of his distinctive extended works. "The Goutelas Suite" is a moving, six-part fanfare-oriented tribute to a French chateau Ellington visited in 1966. "The UWIS Suite" is a three-part Ellingtonian shout out to the University of Wisconsin at Madison, which hosted a weeklong Ellington Festival in 1972. But perhaps the most magical work in this collection is "The Queen's Suite," which Ellington wrote for the Queen of England in 1959. Ellington made only one copy for the Queen and played the haunting piano feature, "The Single Petal of a Rose," for years. The full suite was released on this recording for the first time, and the other majestic songs, including "Northern Lights," "Sunset and the Mockingbird," and "Le Sucrier Velours" became standards. Of course, Ellington's spare, blues-drenched piano is heard on most of the suites, along with Harry Carney's distinctive baritone saxophone, Johnny Hodges's silken alto sax tones, and Russell Procope's poetic clarinet, who add more luster to the already illuminative work of maestro Ellington. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

Customer Reviews:

I never knew about this, still I was stunned.......2006-11-13

Such Obscured Beauty.......2006-02-07

Hidden Gems.......2005-06-06

A Lasting Tribute.......2002-12-19

ELLINGTON FLYING SOLO = UNDERRATED MASTERWORKS!!!.......2001-01-10

Average customer rating:

Ellington Suites

Manufacturer: Challenge
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jazz | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0009V10PY
Release Date: 2005-08-09

Tracks:

Tourist Point Of View
Bluebird Of Delhi
Isfahan
Depk
Agra
Amad
Ad Lib On Nippon
The Spring
The Run
The Meander
The Giggling Rapids
The Lake
The Falls/Whirlpool
The River
The Neo-hip-hot Cool-kiddies Community
Village Of The Virgins
The Mother, Her Majesty The Sea
The Spring

Average customer rating:

The Ellington Suites
Duke Ellington & His Orchestra
Manufacturer: Japanese Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00005R126
Release Date: 2002-01-08

Tracks:

Queen's Suite: Sunset and the Mocking Bird/Lightning Bugs and Frogs/Le - Duke Ellington
Lightning Bugs and Frogs
Sucrier Velours
Nothern Lights
Single Petal of a Rose
Apes and Peacocks
Fanfare
Goutelas
Get-With-Itness
Something
Having at It
Fanfare
Uwis
Klop
Loco Madi

Album Description

Japanese 20-bit K2 Super Coding remastered reissue of 1959 album, packaged in a limited edition miniature LP sleeve.

Album Details

20bit Digitally Remastered Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

Average customer rating:

The Private Collection, Vol. 5: The Suites, New York, 1968 & 1970
Duke Ellington
Manufacturer: Unidisc Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Swing General | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Classic Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Contemporary Big Band | Swing Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00001ZTK2
Release Date: 1996-02-27

Tracks:

Degas Suite: Introduction-Opening Titles/Race/Racing/Piano ...
River: the Spring/The Run/The Meander/The Giggling Rapids/The Lake/The

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music