I recently found a flat-out awesome version of "Cotton Tail" on an cheap CD called "Duke Ellington Presents..." This may be the version that you mentioned, but if not, definitely check it out. It's insanely fast - somewhere around 340.Greg Avakian wrote:BTW, that is the version of "Cotton tail" I played at NADC.
Remastered Duke Ellington
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Duke Ellington's two Bethlehem LPs were the Duke Ellington Presents album and Historically Speaking. (Both rec. in 1956.) They were also released together on a cd ELLINGTON '56 from the French "Charly" label with great liner notes by Brian Priestly. I have the "Cotton Tail" there counted at 315, but when you get that fast... hehe. It's fast. 
Lots of other great dance tunes on there: "In A Mellow Tone," "Unbooted Character," "Jack The Bear," and the simply titled "Blues." Solomon Douglas plays the drastically slowed-down "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" for blues dancing. He told me about this CD.
My favorite "cotton tail," hands down, is the one from the Ella song books... mmm, verve.
Lots of other great dance tunes on there: "In A Mellow Tone," "Unbooted Character," "Jack The Bear," and the simply titled "Blues." Solomon Douglas plays the drastically slowed-down "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" for blues dancing. He told me about this CD.My favorite "cotton tail," hands down, is the one from the Ella song books... mmm, verve.
Old thread, but I just found another sound comparison from the current Duke Ellington Music Society Newsletter, copied here for your reading pleasure:
That "more recent" ASV released they mention is of some mid-to-late 20's Ellington recordings.Quality competition ASV – RCA – Dreyfus
DEMS 04/3-33
DEMS wrote in the review of ASV 5310 (DEMS 99/4-22/1): It must be said that Alun Morgan was very happy with the perfect sound quality: "some of the early 1940s tracks sound better than the BMG CDs forming the Blanton-Webster band package." It would be interesting to have these tracks compared with the 24 CD box. We found a serious comparison on the Duke-Lym list:
I just acquired Dreyfus 36732 — "Take the A Train" (DEMS 02/1-17/8) and wished to compare it to the ASV 5310 "Stomp, Look and Listen". It turns out that this is a bit difficult, as the 2 releases only have 3 songs in common: Perdido, Chelsea Bridge and Stomp, Look and Listen. The ASV was mastered in 1999, the Dreyfus in 2001.
One other caveat in comparing the two is the fact that the Dreyfus is significantly louder then the ASV; not by a small amount. I'm uncertain if the ASV was mastered too low or if the Dreyfus is using lots of compression to lift the perceived level. When I have a chance, I'll check them both on a digital meter to see, as I'm curious on that point. If I was going to hazard a guess, it would be some of each.
Here's what I found:
1. Perdido - both masterings are enjoyable and both are miles beyond RCA's 24 CD box. This was the only one of the 3 comparisons I found close. The ASV has more detail while the Dreyfus has an all around more pleasing tonal balance. A toss up depending on your preference. I'm not certain which I prefer.
2. Chelsea Bridge - Dreyfus wins this one easily. ASV used either a warped or off center 78. While the Dreyfus also has a bit of pitch inconsistency, it's much more stable then the ASV.
3. Stomp, Look and Listen - I prefer both the tonal balance and the detail of the ASV on this one. At similar volume, the ASV just sounds more realistic. Both versions have more reverb then I'd like; it's more apparent on the Dreyfus. Again, both versions trounce RCA's 24 CD box.
As far as the ASV and the Dreyfus go, if you buy them both you get 41 unique songs from Duke's 40's RCA period (the Dreyfus also has a couple late 30's CBS recordings) between them in best sound ever - so I recommend them both!
Geff Ratcheson
Earlier complaints about the Blanton/Webster 3 CD set were mentioned in DEMS 97/4-10/6. The transfers on the 24 CD set were much better but according to Geff Ratcheson still not on the level of ASV and Dreyfus. Speaking of the 24 CD set he wrote: "I'm not real fond of the sound of the 40's material on it."
Sjef Hoefsmit
A more recent ASV release (with a remarkable good quality) is mentioned in this Bulletin, 04/3-44.
DEMS
The 40-disc Duke set is unbelievably cheap right now. First person to get there could grab it at $34.50 + S&H ($2.50); the rest could grab it in the $40 range. I usually see it in the $50-60 range.
Click here.
I got the Dreyfus editions a couple of weeks ago, and I must say that I'm not that impressed by them. Sure, they have a "fuller" sound, but this is due to compression and artificial stereo enhancement (argh!). There IS terrible distortion on some tracks. For instance, the loud part (the end) of 'The C Jam Blues' sounds horrible compared to other versions I have. You can achieve the same sound by taking the Centennial Edition tracks and playing around with SoundForge for a while.Lawrence wrote: The Dreyfus remasters are definitely "cleaner" and FAR less distorted with pops and "ffpts" noises. I hadn't really noticed it, before, but on the Centennial Edition/Blanton Webster recordings, the higher tones are almost all distorted with scratchy, distortion "clips". The Dreyfus is near-perfect in terms of distortion. But the Dreyfus editions do not have the enhanced frequency range/depth of the Centennial Edition.
So, buyer beware. Dreyfus is not a hifi label, but a cheapo French reissue label.
I'm not sure if we listened to the same Dreyfus recordings, because I know what you seem to be describing, and that is definitely NOT what I heard. The Dreyfus recordings I heard were mastered much "flatter" than the re-mastered Centennial Edition versions, on which the bass and treble had been boosted to sound more modern on modern sound systems. Indeed, the reason I considered the Dreyfus recordings superior and cleaner was because they did NOT have that compression and artifical enhancement you described.anton wrote:I got the Dreyfus editions a couple of weeks ago, and I must say that I'm not that impressed by them. Sure, they have a "fuller" sound, but this is due to compression and artificial stereo enhancement (argh!). There IS terrible distortion on some tracks. For instance, the loud part (the end) of 'The C Jam Blues' sounds horrible compared to other versions I have. You can achieve the same sound by taking the Centennial Edition tracks and playing around with SoundForge for a while.Lawrence wrote: The Dreyfus remasters are definitely "cleaner" and FAR less distorted with pops and "ffpts" noises. I hadn't really noticed it, before, but on the Centennial Edition/Blanton Webster recordings, the higher tones are almost all distorted with scratchy, distortion "clips". The Dreyfus is near-perfect in terms of distortion. But the Dreyfus editions do not have the enhanced frequency range/depth of the Centennial Edition.
So, buyer beware. Dreyfus is not a hifi label, but a cheapo French reissue label.
Mosaic is coming out with a new Duke Ellingtion Small Group set featuring recordings from 1936-1940. 8 CDs. Mosaic also does the best job of remastering old recordings of any recording company, so it should be a great set. It also will be limited to 10,000 copies.
http://www.mosaicrecords.com/prodinfo.a ... =235-MD-CD
http://www.mosaicrecords.com/prodinfo.a ... =235-MD-CD
I have pre-ordered my copy. Mosaic is worth supporting!Lawrence wrote:Mosaic is coming out with a new Duke Ellingtion Small Group set featuring recordings from 1936-1940. 8 CDs. Mosaic also does the best job of remastering old recordings of any recording company, so it should be a great set. It also will be limited to 10,000 copies.
Side note: Stuff from Proper, Definitive, etc., you might as well download from the Internet since it is pirated anyway. I have bought some 30 Proper box sets, but only because it's a convenient way to gather some of those tracks.
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GemZombie
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I wouldn't consider that pirated. Copyright laws are shorter lived in the UK, but they still have to wait 50 years or more before the music is considered public domain.anton wrote:I have pre-ordered my copy. Mosaic is worth supporting!Lawrence wrote:Mosaic is coming out with a new Duke Ellingtion Small Group set featuring recordings from 1936-1940. 8 CDs. Mosaic also does the best job of remastering old recordings of any recording company, so it should be a great set. It also will be limited to 10,000 copies.
Side note: Stuff from Proper, Definitive, etc., you might as well download from the Internet since it is pirated anyway. I have bought some 30 Proper box sets, but only because it's a convenient way to gather some of those tracks.
There are still production costs and such, so I can't see the justification here.
Well, I could issue my own Duke Ellington collection with the best remasters I can find in my collection and try to make some bucks. I will also have some production costs (like, buying the Mosaic set). No, wait, that would be piracy...GemZombie wrote:I wouldn't consider that pirated. Copyright laws are shorter lived in the UK, but they still have to wait 50 years or more before the music is considered public domain.anton wrote:I have pre-ordered my copy. Mosaic is worth supporting!Lawrence wrote:Mosaic is coming out with a new Duke Ellingtion Small Group set featuring recordings from 1936-1940. 8 CDs. Mosaic also does the best job of remastering old recordings of any recording company, so it should be a great set. It also will be limited to 10,000 copies.
Side note: Stuff from Proper, Definitive, etc., you might as well download from the Internet since it is pirated anyway. I have bought some 30 Proper box sets, but only because it's a convenient way to gather some of those tracks.
There are still production costs and such, so I can't see the justification here.
What I mean is that those labels don't contribute to our community in terms of high-quality remasters from the best sources. They merely re-iterate what's already out there.