I suspect you also noticed, Ralph, that there is a vinyl reissue of the two record 70th Birthday Concert on the market these days. I've still got the original, it sounds fine, and I've backed it up to CD against the day I screw it up some way. Those who don't have the original need to get the new release. Happiness is owning the most Ellington music one can find.

Happy Birthday, Duke, and Thanks.

I think it is time for both Cheapskate and Jazzfan to give us their lists of their top 5-10 cds/lps of Duke's R2D4. I don't want to put anyone on the spot, but this helps me start getting into his music in the right way.

This may be an impossible task, but I think you guys are up to it.

Listening to the WKCR stream through ITunes and it sound decent. I tried Real One but only got the left channel.

OK, Jim, it'll take a little while to winnow down my list, but I'll get one out to you in a day or so. I'm surprized your collection isn't heavy on Ellington in one way or another already - performances by the Ellington band or perfomances of Ellington tunes by others. How you could have such fine Basie stuff and be short on Ellington is amazing.

To get you started, rush out and get the recent pressing of "...and his mother called him Bill" an RCA Victor originally released in 1967 as a tribute to Billy Strayhorn. It's number one on my list. All Strayhorn tunes. Half of loving Ellington is loving Billy Strayhorn. You'll love this record.

We have an excellent used LP store north in the Buckhead section of Atl. I will be up their tomorrow seeing what Duke treasures they may have.

Thanks.

ps You know us Andy Williams fans are somewhat challenged!

OK, Jim here's a bit of a list to get you started with Ellington. It only goes back to about the '40's, but I think all of the stuff is available now either on CD or Vinyl. I have some older stuff going back as far as the late 20's when the Ellington band included Fred Guy on banjo doing "East St. Louis Toodle-Ooo" but you probably won't find that stuff anywhere, unless, of course..........

The "Ellington 70th Birthday Concert" set that I mentioned in my response to Ralph is something of a retrospective with the 60's band playing just about the full scope of Duke's stuff. Very jolly live performance. Two record set out now from Pure Pleasure.

I got a Columbia remastered 3 CD set some time ago that covers early 40's recordings. It is titled "Duke Ellington - The Blanton-Webster Band" I think it might still be available.

"Piano in the Background" is a full band recording from 1960 available on Columbia CD. Mostly tunes you'll know featuring Hodges, Procope, Gonzalves etc. and with both Duke and Billy Strayhorn on piano

"Piano in the Foreground", the companion to the above from Columbia is piano trio stuff with a mix of tunes you know and probably don't as well as some improvisations.

"Dukes Big Four", a Pablo release from 1973 is available analog and digital. It features Ellington, Joe Pass, Ray Brown and Louis Bellson. All familiar Ellington compositions

Two Verve titles, "Side By Side" and "Back to Back" feature Duke and Johnny Hodges with Ben Webster, Roy Eldridge, Strayhorn, and others sittiing in. My copies are vinyl, that may be the only format available.

As a pianist, you may enjoy two piano trio recordings which are, I think, available in various formats, "This One's for Blanton" with RAy Brown and "Money Jungle" with Charlie Mingus and Max Roach.

A really big band recording and one that is fun for audiophiles is a Columbia release on vinyl entitled "Ellington Jazz Party in Stereo". The band is joined by about a dozen symphonic percussionists playing everything from vibes to glockenspiels and everything in between. Enormous sound stage and all the tonal tests you might want. Also musically, lots of fun

I have a couple favorite tributes to Duke by some jazz greats that came out on Pablo: "Memories of Duke" with Clark Terry, Joe Pass, Ray Brown, Jack Wilson, and Ray Serverino, and "A Celebration of Duke" with Zoot Sims, Clark Terry, Sarah Vaughn, and Mickey Roker. All Ellington music, of course.

That ought to get you started. Let me know if you liked them. I sure do. The best, however in my book, is still. "...and His Mother Called Him Bill". If I could have only one, that would be it.

Fred Kaplan played the recently remastered Masterpieces By Ellington CD on Blue Note for me a few weeks ago. It was the Duke's first LP (1950), so he spent a lot of time stretching arrangements he'd condensed to meet 78rpm disc side restrictions. It's mono, but the sound is sublime.

The core recording, as released on LP was "Mood Indigo," "Sophisticated Lady," "The Tattooed Bride," and "Solitude." The CD includes three songs recorded later: "Vagabonds," "Smada," and "Rock Skippin' at the Blue Note." The band is top-notch: Johnny Hodges, Cat Anderson, Ray Nance, Lawrence Brown, Quentin Jackson, Sonny Greer, Mercer Ellington, Russell Procope, Jimmy Hamilton, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney, and Wendell Marsh. This one's a must have for people like me who think they know their Ellington.

More great info.

At my FAV used record store in in ATL, FantasyLand @ Buckhead, I found a used RCA Vistor CD of Duke Ellington Greatest Hits 1996 ($7). The CD section for Duke was all of 3 CDs, surprisingly, or not so, I guess.

The LP section was sad except for one sealed LP that I kicked myself for not buying half way home. I will go back. Not sure what it was, but heck, it was sealed for Pete's Sake! Sorry Pete.

The selections range from 1928 to 1967 recordings and include:
Take The A Train 1941
Mood Indigo 1945
I'm Beginning To See The Light 1944
Sophisticated Lady 1945
I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good 1941
Perdido 1942
Solitude 1941
I Can't Give You Anything But Love 1928
Prelude To A Kiss 1945
Drawing Room Blues 1946
Caravan 1945
In A Sentimental Mood 1945
It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)1945
Lover Man 1946
Lotus Blossom 1967

I thought this would be a good place to start. Great vocals on this disc with Kay Davis, Marion Cox, and Marie Ellington. Very nice.

Sounds really nice on my 20 cents/watt stereo! LOL

Don't have that one yet, Wes, but I will in a couple of days. Thanks.

A big thanks to you and Clay for your lists. You can tell you guys always handed in your homework assignments in time and well done.

I have really been enjoying the Ellington Greatest Hits CD. I am especially interested in how good the 1928 recordings sounds. I was very surprised. I think Edison was listed on the engineering credits! LOL I have some Nat King Cole from the 40's not this good.

How cool would it have been to hear Mozart, Beethoven, List, Wagner, et al playing their own music live. We needed our current technology sooner.

Now we've gone from live performance being king to recorded music truncated to MP3's. One large step for man...one huge leap backward for mankind. I say this listening to DMP's Warren Bernhardt, Amelia's Song, in 2 channel DSD. We get it.

Thanks, Jim, for pushing Ralph's announcement thread further in the direction of the music. That really is our common ground here, and we seem to visit it too seldom.

Inspired by your buying trip, I took time out from other stuff today to visit my local used vinyl source and picked up a couple of winners (at least I hope): "Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker Carnegie Hall Concert Vol 2" and "Byrd at the Gate" Charlie Byrd Trio plus Clark Terry and Sheldon Powell. Gotta scrub 'em up and see how they sound. Sometimes it seems we forget that that's what the gear is for.

In listening to Columbia'a WKCR I thought it was really neat to hear clicks and pops from the vinyl they were playing time to time. That is real for me. If they weren't they sure fooled me.

When we are talking about an educational experience, quality is not the key component. This was and is about access to information, the Duke and his music. Well worth the time spent even on streamed radio. This is just a new vehicle that replaced the AM radio that I grew up listening to as a kid, WLS in Chicago. Clay will remember. After listening, running down to Cook's Record Shop and buying the 45's. The good old days.

Clay and all of us should find the used vinyl shops in each of our areas. There are great treasures to be found for sure. It is great fun rummaging around the bins looking for that one treasure.

"...I thought that my original announcement was about music. "

Of course it was, Ralph, which is why I said, "...further.." (or should that have been farther?)

"Thanks, Jim, for pushing Ralph's announcement thread FURTHER in the direction of the music."

I figure it's safe to assume you're always talking about the music even when you're into the 21st Century techniques for getting to it. I thought you knew that. Didn't intend to slight you.