Duke Ellington - Masterpieces by Ellington

Hybrid Mono SACD Remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the Original Analog Tapes!

Masterpieces by Ellington was recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio on Dec. 19, 1950. Some otherwise hard-to-find recordings of major compositions from Duke's career are featured. Amazingly, it took Columbia Records until the very end of 1950, two years into the LP era and the transition from disc to magnetic tape recording, to get Duke Ellington and His Orchestra into the studio to cut a long-playing record.

For the first time in his recording career, Ellington was able to forego the three-minutes-and-change restrictions in running time of the 78 RPM disc — he and the band rose to the occasion with extended (11-minute-plus) 'uncut concert arrangements' of 'Mood Indigo,' 'Sophisticated Lady,' and 'Solitude,' augmented with one splendid newer work, 'The Tattooed Bride,' says allmusic.com

Even in this august company, 'The Tattooed Bride' is a swinging virtuoso piece that, as everyone present must have known, couldn't possibly have been captured in this manner in any era before this session — this was also one of the last sessions to feature the classic Ellington lineup with Johnny Hodges, Lawrence Brown, and Sonny Greer, before their exodus altered the band's sound, and so it's a doubly precious piece (as is the whole album), among the last written specifically for this lineup.

Features:
• Hybrid Mono SACD
• Remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes
• This Hybrid SACD is playable on ALL SACD and CD Players!

Musicians:
Duke Ellington, piano
Billy Strayhorn, piano
Russel Procope, saxophone
Paul Gonzalves, saxophone
Johnny Hodges, saxophone
Jimmy Hamilton, saxophone
Nelson Williams, trumpet
Andrew Ford, trumpet
Harold Baker, trumpet
Ray Nance, trumpet
William Anderson, trumpet
Quentin Jackson, trombone
Lawrence Brown, trombone
Tyree Glenn, trombone
Mercer Ellington, horn
Sonny Greer, drums
Wendell Marshall, bass
Yvonne, vocals

Selections:
1. Mood Indigo
2. Sophisticated Lady
3. The Tattooed Bride
4. Solitude
Bonus Tracks:
5. Vagabonds
6. Smada
7. Rock Slippin' At The Blue Note