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Ellington DR Broadcasts (36)
The third ”goodie” in February is program 36 in the Duke Ellington series of broadcast by the Danish Radio in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. The broadcast is available in the “Goodies” section of the website.
The program was broadcasted on 10 November 1985 and presented by Jørgen Frigård.
The broadcast starts with a short excerpt of Eggo (take 7) from the film The Jaywalker. It was heard in its entirety in program 35.
Frigård then continues the program with a section of another song from “The JayWalker” – Traffic Extension – followed by an excerpt of an interview from 1985 in which Thad Jones tells about his experience playing in the Ellington band for a week in August 1963.
Frigård follows up the interview with a portion of Asphalt Jungle as Ellington played it at Olympia in Paris on 1 March 1963. He heard Thad Jones use it in one of his jazz lectures at Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen.
Then the focus turns to Billy Strayhorn. In an interview from March 1962, Ellington talks about the pleasure to sit down in a studio with a new Strayhorn arrangement and start to work on it. It leads into an early version of Amad from Far East Suite recorded at a stockpile session 17 March 1965.
The broadcast ends with eight selections from the stockpile session 25 August 1972 with Ellington at the piano and Anita Moore and Tony Watkins doing the vocals. Azix Lateef is on drums on Loca Madi. The selections are:
Melancholia, Loco Madi, Le Sucrier Velours, The Blues Ain’t, I’m Afraid, I Don’t Know About You (take 3 and 4), New World A-Comin’ (complete) and Lotus Blossom (nc)
Mercer Ellington with Marian McPartland
For many years, the jazz pianist Marian McPartland – once married to the trumpeter Jimmy McPartland – had a weekly program – “Piano Jazz” – on National Public Radio in the United States.
In the program she interviewed fellow pianists (and sometimes other instrumentalists) and performed music related to them. McPartland stayed with the program for 23 years from 1978 to 2011.
Mercer Ellington was the guest on the program broadcast on May 21, 1994.
In a relaxed atmosphere, Mercer talks about Duke Ellington but also Billy Strayhorn and shares thoughts with McPartland on their approach to music. In-between, McPartland gives personal interpretations of some of their songs like “Things Ain’t What They Used to Be”, “Chelsea Bridge” and “In My Solitude”.
They also sit down together at the piano to play a version of “C Jam Blues”.
Fler foton från Cirkus 1966
Den här gången är det DESS’ ordförande Leif Jönsson som står för dem.
“Det var den 8 februari 1966. Jag kom till Cirkus vid lunchtid och hittade en liten sidodörr genom vilken jag kom in i byggnaden. I en axelväska hade jag med mig kamerautrustning, framför all min Minolta SR-7 med blixtaggregat.
I ett omklädningsrum bakom scenen uppehöll sig alla musikerna samt några utomstående. Duke syntes dock inte till där och inte heller Ella. Jag förenade mig med dem och packade upp mina kameragrejor.
Stämningen var tidvis uppsluppen och det var lätt att få kontakt.”
Så Leif började klicka på sin kamera och ingen protesterade, säger han.
DR Ellington Broadcasts (11)
The 11th Ellington program broadcasted by the Danish Radio in the mid-1980s based on the Mercer Ellington donation is the second “Goodie” for the month of November.
As usual, it is available in the “Goodies of the Month” section of the DESS Lobby (DESS-rummet).
It was broadcasted on February 8, 1985 and this time the program presenter was Bent Schjarff.
With one exception, it covers two stockpile recording sessions – May 15, 1963 and May 18, 1965.
It starts with five selections from May 15, 1963. “Stoona” was recorded with Alice Babs two and a half month earlier in Paris. Here it is different version with Ray Nance and Johnny Hodges as soloists.
“Serenade To Sweden” was also part of the recording session with Babs. The version in the program has Shorty Baker and Ray Nance at the center.
Then comes “Bad Woman” (aka Walk Right In) and Schjarff let us follow the evolution of the song in the studio by offering to two slightly different takes – take 8 and take 10.
The May 15, 1963 section ends with “Harmony In Harlem” in a new arrangement with Johnny Hodges, Ray Nance, Jimmy Hamilton and Paul Gonsalves as soloists.