Duke Ellington And His Orchestra Ellington Uptown

180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl! Pressed at Pallas in Germany!
For Columbia Records, Duke Ellington was already so important in the early 50s that this album was released in the representative Masterworks series, actually reserved for intellectual classical music and Broadway shows. In addition, this LP clears up the criticism that the early 50s were an unproductive period for the Duke, every single one of the dynamic tracks in concert length exposes this opinion as untenable.
The driving force behind the Duke Ellington band of that time was the young Louis Bellson, his revolutionary double bass drum technique and his rare ability to build coherent drum solos can be heard particularly well in the first track of the LP, the self-composed "Skin Deep", a showpiece of the audiophiles of the time. Classics from the Duke's hit parade have been extensively reworked, singer Betty Roche sends the "A-Train" on a journey to the land of bebop, "The Mooche" puts clarinetists Jimmy Hamilton and Russell Procope in the spotlight and Ellington's boogie-woogie piano provides the impetus for a charged "Perdido" for trumpeter Clark Terry.
The highlight of the LP is a sharply drawn, probably unbeatable version of "A Tone Parallel To Harlem" in idiomatic swing, which leaves far behind any of the 'symphonic' style performances that appear more frequently at pop concerts. Another argument in favor of this LP is the excellent sound quality, which is due to the best of Columbia's recording engineers.
Recorded in December 1951 and 1952, Ellington Uptown joins stunning, extended works of recent vintage ("A Tone Parallel to Harlem", "The Liberian Suite," "The Controversial Suite") with fresh looks at such bona fide classics by Ellington and alter ego Billy Strayhorn ("The Mooche," "Take the 'A' Train)," as well as "Perdido," co-written by longtime star valve trombone soloist Juan Tizol. Ellington (1899-1974) was justly acclaimed for his portraits of various principal players; "Harlem" is a portrait-in-sound of daily life in the world's most famous African-American community. Vocalists also take star turns herein, with Betty Roche's jauntily bopping rendition of "'A' Train," and Al Hibbler's moving "I Like The Sunrise," the first movement of "The Liberian Suite." And there's Louie Bellson establishing himself as the dean of double bass drums on his "Skin Deep." Now expanded by six bonus cuts, and remastered to enhance the album's already spectacular sound, Uptown is a high water mark in the annals of Elingtonia.

Features:

• Limited Edition Audiophile Re-Mastered
• 180g Vinyl Pressing
• Pressed at Pallas in Germany
  

Musicians:

• Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney, Russell Procope (sax)
• William Anderson, Clark Terry (tp)
• Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman (tb)
• Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington (p)
• Betty Roche (voc)
• Wendell Marshall (b)
• Louis Bellson (dr); a.o.

Selections:

Side A
1. Skin Deep
2. The Mooche
3. Take the "A" Train
Side B
1. A Tone Parallel to Harlem
2. Perdido