Duke Ellington - The Great Paris Concert - 2 x 180g Vinyl LPs

2 LP set.

The Great Paris Concert is a 1973 live double album by jazz legend Duke Ellington. This set came about, in part, as a result of Ellington's signing to Frank Sinatra's Reprise label in November 1962, with the ending of his exclusive contract to Columbia. Six numbers from the three Paris dates were initially edited and released by Reprise as part of the ten-song Duke Ellington's Greatest Hits, but the bulk of the performances from those shows didn't surface until many years later as The Great Paris Concert on two LPs.

This album "The Great Paris Concert" is raw and largely unedited, and depicts the full Ellington band in extraordinary form, oozing excitement--from the saxophone showcase on the opener, "Rockin' in Rhythm," the various sections of the band take flight at different points throughout this set, which includes such contemporary numbers as Ellington's theme music for an all but forgotten television series, The Asphalt Jungle, and excerpts from Such Sweet Thunder. Johnny Hodges is showcased in several solos, most notably on "Suite Thursday," a work whose original studio incarnation he missed appearing on; Cootie Williams ("Tutti for Cootie"), Paul Gonsalves ("Cop Out"), Ray Nance ("Bula"), and Cat Anderson ("Jam with Sam") get their own moments in the spotlight.

Musicians:
Duke Ellington, piano
Cat Anderson, trumpet
Cootie Williams, trumpet
Lawrence Brown, trombone
Paul Gonsalves, saxophone
Johnny Hodges, saxophone
Harry Carney, clarinet, saxophone
Jimmy Hamilton, clarinet, saxophone
Russell Procope, clarinet, saxophone
Ray Nance, violin, cornet

Features:
• Audiophile mastering onto silent 180g Vinyl
• Pressed at Pallas in Germany
• Double LP
• Re-mastering by Ray Staff at Air Mastering

Selections:
LP 1
Side A:
1. Kinda Dukish/Rockin' In Rhythm
2. On The Sunny Side Of The Street
3. The Star-Crossed Lovers
4. All Of Me
5. Theme From Asphalt Jungle
Side B:
1. Concerto For Cootie
2. Tutti For Cootie
3. Suite Thursday In Four Movements: Misfit Blues/Schwiphti/Zweet Zurzday/Lay-By

LP 2
Side C:
1. Perdido
2. The Eighth Veil
3. Rose Of The Rio
4. Cop Out
5. Bula
Side D:
1. Jam With Sam
2. Happy-Go-Lucky Local
3. Tone Parallel To Harlem