This is the discography of recordings by Duke Ellington, including those nominally led by his sidemen (mainly in the 1930s and early 1940s), and his later collaborations (mainly in the 1960s) with musicians with whom Ellington had generally not previously recorded.
Discography
editStudio albums
editLive albums
edit| Year | Title | Label | Year recorded | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | Black, Brown, and Beige | Victor | 2 × 12" 78 rpm | |
| 1954 | The Seattle Concert | RCA Victor | ||
| 1956 | Ellington at Newport | Columbia | ||
| 1956[2] | Duke Ellington and the Buck Clayton All Stars at Newport | Columbia | ||
| 1958 | Newport 1958 | Columbia | live concert with studio work, later full concert released as Live at Newport 1958 | |
| 1959 | Live at the Blue Note | Roulette | ||
| 1965 | Concert in the Virgin Islands | Reprise | ||
| 1966 | The Duke at Tanglewood | RCA Victor | with the Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Arthur Fiedler | |
| 1966 | A Concert of Sacred Music from Grace Cathedral | Status | See: Sacred Concert (Ellington) | |
| 1967 | Soul Call | Verve | ||
| 1967 | The Stockholm Concert, 1966 | Pablo | with Ella Fitzgerald | |
| 1967 | Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur | Verve | with Ella Fitzgerald | |
| 1970 | 70th Birthday Concert | Solid State | ||
| 1971 | Togo Brava Suite | United Artists | ||
| 1973 | Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II | Columbia | 1958 | |
| 1973 | The Great Paris Concert | Atlantic | 1963 | |
| 1973 | Yale Concert | Fantasy | 1968 | |
| Posthumous live albums | ||||
| 1975 | The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World | Pablo | 1967 | Various artists |
| 1975 | Third Sacred Concert | RCA | 1973 | |
| 1975 | Eastbourne Performance | RCA | 1973 | |
| 1977 | The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1947 | Prestige | 1947 | |
| 1977 | The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943 | Prestige | 1943 | |
| 1977 | The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1944 | Prestige | 1944 | |
| 1977 | The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1946 | Prestige | 1946 | |
| 2001 | Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live | Storyville | 1940 | |
| 1983 | All Star Road Band | Doctor Jazz | 1957 | |
| 1985 | All Star Road Band Volume 2 | Doctor Jazz | 1964 | |
| 1986 | In the Uncommon Market | Pablo | 1963–66 | |
| 1991 | Hot Summer Dance | Red Baron | 1960 | |
| 1995 | Live at the Whitney | Impulse! | 1972 | |
| 2002 | Duke Ellington at the Alhambra | Pablo | 1958 | |
Compilations
editListed here are all compilations released during Ellington's lifetime, in addition to all significant compilations, excluding the aforementioned[na 1] box sets.
| Year | Title | Label | Date recorded | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | The Duke | Columbia | ||
| 1943 | A Duke Ellington Panorama | Victor | 1927–1940 | 4 x 78 RPM |
| 1943 | Ellingtonia, Vol. One | Brunswick | 1927–1931 | 4 × 78 RPM |
| 1944 | Ellingtonia, Vol. Two | Brunswick | 1928–1931 | 4 × 78 RPM |
| 1949 | Mood Ellington | Columbia | 10-inch LP | |
| 1955 | The Duke and His Men | |||
| 1955 | Here's the Duke | Columbia | ||
| 1955 | Duke's Mixture | Columbia | ||
| 1955 | Blue Light | Columbia | 1934–1939 | |
| 1956 | The Music Of Duke Ellington Played By Duke Ellington | Columbia | Unclear if all or only some tracks were previously released | |
| 1956 | In a Mellotone | RCA Victor | 1940–1942 | |
| 1959[3] | Ellington Moods | Jazz Legacy | ||
| The Duke's D.J. Special | Fresh Sound Records | |||
| 1964 | Daybreak Express | |||
| 1964 | Great Times! | Riverside | with Billy Strayhorn | |
| 1965 | Jumpin' Punkins | RCA Victor | 1940–1941 | |
| 1967[4] | Johnny Come Lately | |||
| 1968 | Duke Ellington's Greatest Hits | Columbia | ||
| Posthumous compilations | ||||
| 1982 | The Girl's Suite and The Perfume Suite | Columbia | 1957 & 1961 | |
| 1985 | Happy Reunion | Sony | 1958 | two sessions from 1958 |
| 1986[5] | The Blanton–Webster Band | RCA/Bluebird | 1940–1942 | |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956 | LMR | 1956 | The Private Sessions Volume One |
| 1987 | Dance Concerts, California 1958 | LMR | 1958 | The Private Sessions Volume Two |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions, New York, 1962 | LMR | 1962 | The Private Collection Volume Three |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions New York 1963 | LMR | 1963 | The Private Collection Volume Four |
| 1987 | Dance Dates, California 1958 | LMR | 1958 | The Private Sessions Volume Six |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions 1957 & 1962 | LMR | 1957, 1962 | The Private Collection Volume Seven |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, San Francisco, Chicago, New York | LMR | 1957, 1965–1967 | The Private Collection Volume Eight |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions New York, 1968 | LMR | 1968 | The Private Collection Volume Nine |
| 1987 | Studio Sessions New York & Chicago, 1965, 1966 & 1971 | LMR | 1965–1967, 1971 | The Private Collection Volume Ten |
| 1988 | The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970 | LMR | 1968, 1970 | The Private Collection Volume Five |
| 1991 | Braggin' in Brass: The Immortal 1938 Year | Portrait | 1938 | |
| 1993 | Duke Ellington's Incidental Music for Shakespeare's Play Timon of Athens | adapted by Stanley Silverman; posthumous recordings of previously unreleased compositions | ||
| 2003 | Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band | Bluebird | 1940–1942 | from the Centennial set of 1999 |
| The Duke Box 2[6] | 1952–1972 | Storyville | 7-CD/1-DVD set | |
| The Private Collection (1956–1971) | 1956–1971 | Saja | 10-CD set | |
Session appearances
edit- The Complete Porgy and Bess (1956) (Bethlehem) – limited involvement of "Duke Ellington and his Famous Orchestra"
Hit records
editThis section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2023) |
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Footnotes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
UK | |||
| 1927 | "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" | 10 | [na 2] | ||
| 1928 | "Black and Tan Fantasy" | 15 | |||
| "Creole Love Call" | 19 | ||||
| "Doin' the New Low Down" | 20 | ||||
| "Diga Diga Doo"[7] | 17 | ||||
| "The Mooche" | 16 | ||||
| 1930 | "Three Little Words" | 1 | |||
| "Ring Dem Bells" | 17 | ||||
| 1931 | "Blue Again" | 12 | |||
| "Mood Indigo" | 3 | ||||
| "Rockin' in Rhythm" | 19 | ||||
| "Creole Rhapsody Parts 1 & 2" | 18 | ||||
| "Limehouse Blues" | 13 | ||||
| 1932 | "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" | 6 | |||
| "Creole Rhapsody" (new version) | 19 | ||||
| "Rose Room (in Sunny Roseland)" | 15 | ||||
| "Moon over Dixie" | 14 | ||||
| "Blue Ramble" | 16 | ||||
| 1933 | "Drop Me Off in Harlem" | 17 | |||
| "Sophisticated Lady" | 3 | ||||
| "Stormy Weather" | 4 | ||||
| "I'm Satisfied" | 11 | ||||
| "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" | 13 | ||||
| 1934 | "Daybreak Express" | 20 | |||
| "Cocktails for Two" | 1 | ||||
| "Moon Glow" | 2 | ||||
| "Solitude" | 2 | ||||
| "Saddest Tale" | 9 | ||||
| 1935 | "Merry-Go-Round" | 6 | |||
| "In a Sentimental Mood" | 14 | ||||
| "Accent on Youth" | 6 | ||||
| "Cotton" | 4 | ||||
| 1936 | "Isn't Love the Strangest Thing?" | 12 | |||
| "Love Is Like a Cigarette" | 8 | ||||
| "Clarinet Lament" | 12 | ||||
| "Echoes of Harlem" | 19 | ||||
| "Oh Babe! Maybe Someday" | 8 | ||||
| "Jazz Lips" | 20 | ||||
| "Yearning for Love" | 16 | ||||
| 1937 | "The New East St. Louis Toodle-Oo" | 16 | |||
| "There's a Lull in My Life" | 12 | ||||
| "Scattin' at the Kit Kat" | 9 | ||||
| "Caravan" | 4 | ||||
| "Azure" | 13 | ||||
| "All God's Chillun Got Rhythm" | 14 | ||||
| 1938 | "Harmony in Harlem" | 15 | |||
| "If You Were in My Place (What Would You Do?)" | 10 | ||||
| "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart" | 1 | ||||
| "The Gal from Joe's" | 20 | ||||
| "Lambeth Walk" | 7 | ||||
| "Prelude to a Kiss" | 18 | ||||
| 1940 | "You, You, Darlin'" | 28 | [na 3] | ||
| "Ko Ko" | 25 | ||||
| "At a Dixie Roadside Diner" | 27 | ||||
| "Sepia Panorama" | 24 | ||||
| 1941 | "Flamingo" | 11 | |||
| "Take the 'A' Train" | 11 | ||||
| "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" | 13 | ||||
| 1942 | "Hayfoot, Strawfoot" | 10 | [na 4] | ||
| 1943 | "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" | 8 | 1 | ||
| "Perdido" | 21 | ||||
| "Take the 'A' Train" (re-entry) | 19 | ||||
| "Bojangles" | 19 | ||||
| "A Slip of the Lip" | 19 | 1 | |||
| "Sentimental Lady" | 19 | 1 | |||
| 1944 | "Do Nothin' till You Hear from Me" | 10 | 1 | ||
| "Main Stem" | 23 | 1 | |||
| "My Little Brown Book" | 4 | ||||
| "Someone" | 7 | ||||
| "I Don't Mind" | 9 | ||||
| 1945 | "I'm Beginning to See the Light" | 6 | 4 | ||
| "Don't You Know I Care" | 10 | ||||
| "I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues" | 4 | ||||
| 1946 | "Come to Baby, Do" | 13 | |||
| 1948 | "Don't Be So Mean to Baby" | 15 | |||
| 1953 | "Satin Doll" | ||||
| "Boo Dah" | 30 | ||||
| 1954 | "Skin Deep" | 7 | |||
Singles
edit- "The Asphalt Jungle" (1961) (Columbia)
Footnotes
editEarly years: 1920–1940s
edit- ^ a b As the long-player format didn't become a significant part of the industry until the late 1940s, Ellington's record output before 1947 consisted largely of singles, from labels such as RCA Victor, Okeh, and Brunswick. They represent the bulk of his work that has been collected in box sets, while material from other labels is scattered. The most comprehensive source for Ellington's early work are the multi-volume The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra Classics releases, although that series omits alternate takes, which can be found in other collections.
- ^ During the 1920s and 1930s, Ellington and his band recorded for almost every label (BluDisc, Pathé, Perfect, Victor, Brunswick, Columbia Records, Okeh, Vocalion, Cameo, Romeo, Lincoln, Banner, Domino, Jewel, and Hit of the Week).
- ^ By the 1940s, Ellington's recordings featuring Jimmy Blanton and Ben Webster, garnered praise of his work as being "the best Ellington", according to critic Bob Blumenthal.[8]
- ^ Activity in the commercial recording industry was restricted during the 1942–1944 musicians' strike which including a recording ban, but Ellington did make annual visits to Carnegie Hall. In the January 1943 concert, Ellington introduced his first extended suite, "Black, Brown and Beige".
1950s
edit- ^ Ellington began the 1950s with his career seemingly in decline with several musicians leaving, Lawrence Brown, Sonny Greer, and Johnny Hodges, although Brown and Hodges later rejoined. After the orchestra's appearance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, with Paul Gonsalves running through 27 choruses of "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", Ellington's profile revived.
1960s
edit- ^ In the 1960s, Ellington made recordings with Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Coleman Hawkins, and Frank Sinatra, among others. He continued to write and record extended suites, such as his religious "Sacred Concerts", the "Perfume Suite", and the "Latin American Suite".
References
edit- ^ Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1947-08-23.
- ^ Duke Ellington - Duke Ellington and the Buck Clayton All-Stars at Newport Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved 2023-02-12
- ^ Duke Ellington - Ellington Moods, retrieved 2023-02-12
- ^ Duke Ellington - Johnny Come Lately, retrieved 2023-02-12
- ^ Gold, Gerald (December 7, 1986). "Bluebird Flies Once More". The New York Times. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
- ^ Mosey, Chris (December 14, 2016). "Duke Elllington And His Orchestra: The Duke Box 2". All About Jazz. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ Brothers, Thomas (2018). Help!: The Beatles, Duke Ellington, and the Magic of Collaboration. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393246247.
- ^ The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide, p. 70.
External links
edit- AllMusic Duke Ellington discography page
- Discogs Duke Ellington page
- Discography of American Historical Recordings, University of California Santa Barbara
- Duke on the Web, The illustrated encyclopedia of Duke Ellington's records
- Ellingtonia.com – "Duke Ellington Complete Discography"
- Red Hot Jazz – concentrates on Ellington's recordings in the 1920s
- A Duke Ellington Panorama
- The Duke Ellington Society, TDES, Inc.
- The Dooji Collection of Duke Ellington's 78 RPM record labels
- http://ellingtonweb.ca/