SwingDJs

three things:

1. i'm bored
2. there's no generic "duke ellington" artist thread yet (!)
3. it's the duke's birthday on april 29th, and i'll be dj'ing that night

so let's discuss ellington. i'll start it off in random fashion:

from the 20's, i really like "the mooche" (1928, on "the okeh ellington") and "saturday night function" (1929, on the rca centennial set). baby cox's trumpet-like vocal on "the mooche" is particularly awesome.

for Duke in the 20s, I recommend this album: Mrs. Clinkscales to the Cotton Club 1924-1929

It's not a complete set for those years, but for 4 discs it's a good value.

choice tracks:

-east st. louis toodle-oo or Harlem Twist
-jubilee stomp
-got everything but you
-yellow dog blues
-diga diga doo
-black beauty
-the mooche
-doin' the voom voom
-flaming youth
-tiger rag

Hey, I want to be distracted; I'll play.

Duke Ellington: I like him. In an obsessive way.
I DJ a lot of his stuff, mostly from the 30s (though I'm hot for the late 20s too).

Surprisingly (well, I surprised myself when I checked my playlists), the song (with the most 'generic' appeal for the widest range of tastes) that I play most for dancers is 'Joog Joog' (1949, got it from this chronological classic). It's not my personal favourite, but it always, always goes down a treat. Dancers always scrumple up their noses at the warbly beginning. But it's irresistible, it's chunky but light-hearted, it has lyrics, it's later (as in not in the 20s) rather than earlier Ellington. It's also quite slow and easy going. I often match it with 'Solid as a rock' (Basie version) or 'Celery Stalks at Midnight' (I have a Doris Day version I like) when I'm convincing a crowd of new (or hostile) dancers that they'd like to lindy hop. These songs always make me smile and feel nice - they're not hard going or particularly challenging. I guess that's how I like my lindy hop: nice, smiley.


I also overplay 'Back Room Romp' (1937 Rex Stewart and His 52nd Street Stompers), because I love it so much I want to marry it. I also overplay 'Posin' (1937, actually credited to Johnny Hodges and his Orch).

A song I play when I'm restarting a very late night lindy crowd (or pulling a crowd away from blues) is 'B-Sharp Boston' (1949, from that Chron Classic above - which I'm very glad I bought, even though it's 1949-50). I like it a lot.

I play a lot of stuff which was made famous by Ellington, but I play versions by all sorts of other artists (of course, That LCJO album is included there).



My absolute favourite Ellington song is 'Stompy Jones' (1934, by Ellington and his Orch). I also like 'Squatty Roo' (1941) and 'Shout em Aunt Tilly' (1934).
... actually, I have a million 'favourite' Ellington songs. A million. A million million. <3

So many good ones for 50 years.

Some of the lesser mentioned or 'surprise' ones-

Tunes -
Change My Ways - late 40s
Autumn Leaves - late 50s with incredible vocal by Ozzie Bailey
Are You Sticking? - 41?
Satin Doll - 1969 with Wild Bill Davis on organ! The only SD I have ever really liked. He rocks out royal!
http://www.amazon.com/70th-Birthday-Con ... B000005H06
Hayfoot, Strawfoot - just for fun - 1943 broadcast where the vocalist forgets to sing, so the band keeps playing anyway. No soloist fills in.(Have a sing with Duke Ellington's band contest!)

Albums-
Midnight in Paris - surprisingly good
http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Paris-Du ... 139&sr=1-1

All the great Columbia LPs from the mid 50s to the early 60s - very few duds

dogpossum wrote:I also overplay 'Back Room Romp' (1937 Rex Stewart and His 52nd Street Stompers), because I love it so much I want to marry it,

I'm trying to give that one a rest at the moment, for pretty much exactly the same reason. A couple more that I love to distraction are Pussy Willow (I use the one from the Complete Legendary Fargo Concert) and Wailing Interval (Swingin' with the Duke)

On the much slower side, Ain't The Gravy Good (Cootie Williams & His Rug Cutters), Dooji Wooji (Duke Ellington, Johnny Hodges And His Orchestra - in Small Bands 1973-41) & Tough Truckin' (Duke Ellington's Sextet) are among my many favorites.

Such bad capitalization around this thread... just had to fix the thread title.

dogpossum wrote:I also overplay 'Posin' (1937, actually credited to Johnny Hodges and his Orch).

Do you mean 'Peckin', as on this CD ...

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=am ... fixqugldhe

Far too many to list them all, but some recent faves:

Steppin' Into Swing Society
The Duke Steps Out
Oh Babe! Maybe Someday
Goin' Nuts
Freeze And Melt

"flaming youth" sounds like an excellent slower lindy track. i don't know how i missed that one before. there are two (very similar) takes on the centennial rca set. thanks, freddie!

i love "peckin'" and i've played it for dancers before, but it didn't go over well, i believe. i should try again.

"shout em aunt tilly" is another one i somehow missed on the rca set. great stuff!

Two of my favorites:

"Jubilesta," from Duke's Men - The Small Groups, Vol. 1
"Krum Elbow Blues," from Duke's Men - The Small Groups, Vol. 2.

Matthew wrote: "Krum Elbow Blues," from Duke's Men - The Small Groups, Vol. 2.

i don't have that one, but the mora's modern swingtet version ("20th century closet", 2004) is very good.

i've ordered the mosaic ellington small groups set, so i'll soon be basking in small group goodness.

yeah, flaming youth. that one and Yelllow Dog Blues are two nice slow ones. Also love Steppin' into swing society.

Peckin' didn't go over well? It's a pretty chill song to start, but by the end it swings pretty good i think.

here's a smear of Ellington tunes I've been playing lately (in no order):

-Scattin at the Kit Kat
-Jazz a la Carte
-main stem
-the gal from joe's
-pussy willow (already saw the Fargo recording mention, i like it too)
-Hyde Park
-Stompy Jones
-jungle nights in harlem
-back room romp
-jack the bear
-jubilesta
-drummer's delight
-the boys from harlem
-swingin' on the campus
-smorgasbord and schnapps
-ko ko (Fargo)
-Harlem AirShaft (Fargo)

favorite Ellington song : Rockin' in Rhythm (in order of insanity endings)

-Okeh 1931
-Brunswick 1931
-RCA 1931
-Fargo 1940
-Newport 1959
-Soul Call 1966

lipi wrote:

Matthew wrote: "Krum Elbow Blues," from Duke's Men - The Small Groups, Vol. 2.

i don't have that one, but the mora's modern swingtet version ("20th century closet", 2004) is very good.

i've ordered the mosaic ellington small groups set, so i'll soon be basking in small group goodness.

I just heard a clip of the Mora version, and I much prefer the Ellington one. Mora's sounds a bit dark, but Ellington's sounds nasty. I think you'll like it.

fredo wrote:favorite Ellington song : Rockin' in Rhythm (in order of insanity endings)

LOL!

One overlooked Ellington tune I really like for dancing: The Sidewalks of New York, recorded in 1940. Musically it's a trifle, but it's got a great, relaxed but driving mid-tempo groove going.