Harlem

Product Description:

Personnel: Duke Ellington (piano); Cootie Williams, Cat Anderson, Rolf Ericson, Herbie Jones (trumpet); Lawrence Brown, Buster Cooper, Chuck Connors (trombone); Johnny Hodges, Russell Procope, Jimmy Hamilton, Paul Gonsalves, Harry Carney (reeds); Jimmy Woode (bass); Sam Woodyard (drums).

Recorded live at the Konserthuset, Stockholm, Sweden on March 9, 1964. Includes liner notes by Stanley Dance.

Digitally remastered by Phil De Lancie (Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California).

Before the band hit the stage, the Duke must've said, "Let's blow these cats out of the concert hall!" Recorded live in March 1964 in Stockholm (and never previously released), the band attacks its repertoire with an almost manic abandon. Check out the opener, entitled "The Opener": Paul Gonsalves plays a solo that sounds like Ornette Coleman, while the band plays at a tempo that would exhaust most so-called "punk rock" bands! "Blow by Blow" is another wailer, and "Caravan" becomes an ominous almost-tango. The Duke reserves elegance and restraint ("Satin Doll"--lovely but powerful)--but not by much! Was he listening to rock and roll at the time, or just drinking a lot of coffee? We may never know--just get this album, if you're an Ellington fan, or a fan of hard-swinging modern big bands.