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Smått och Gott
Fler bilder från Cirkus 1966
Också DESS-medlemmen m.m Boris Enquist var på Cirkus 1966 med sin kamera. Han har försett webbplatsen med några av de bilder han tog och själv framkallade.
Jimmy Jones listens. Cirkus 1966
Nästa medlemsmöte
Nu är det bara fyra dagar tills nästa medlemsmöte. Det äger rum nästa torsdag den 27 april kl. 17:00-20:30 och på det välkomponerade programmet står kåseri av Gert Palmcrantz och live musik med Ulf Johansson-Werre. Lokal är som vanligt Franska Skolans aula, Döbelsgatan 3, Stockholm.
Gert Palmstierna kommer att berätta om Ellington och spela upp sällan hört eller outgivet material.
Ulf Johansson-Werre har lovat att demonstrera olika stilarter inom jazzen både på piano och på trombon.
Slut upp mangrant!
Ellington at Cirkus in 1966 – TV Concert set 2
Something To Live For
The first set of Cirkus concert was undoubtedly telecasted by Swedish Television (and was also rebroadcasted by the French TV-station M6 around 1990). However, it is more doubtful if the second set was ever broadcasted. The new DESOR lists it as “Pre-rec for SR telecast” and so far a video copy of a telecast of the second set has not surfaced. Fortunately, copies of the soundtrack of the second set exist and we are happy to give DESS’ members the opportunity to listen to this. The origin is unknown and the audio material seems to come from two different sources, judging from the sound quality, which is somewhat different for the Ellington and Fitzgerald parts. Any additional information from the members about this would be appreciated.
The following songs are played:
Take The A Train & intro*Black And Tan Fantasy#* Soul Call* Wings And Things* Jam With Sam are all played by Ellington and the orchestra (more…)
Ellington at Cirkus in 1966 – TV Concert set 1
Imagine My Frustration
The performance at Cirkus in Stockholm on February 8, 1966 was carried out as one concert with an intermission. Both sets are believed to have been broadcasted by Swedish Television, but video copies of the second part still remain missing – or was it ever broadcast? We however have audio copies and DESS members can now find a copy of the first part in the “Goodies Room”. As mentioned earlier, the format of the concerts during Ellington’s 1966 tour to Europe was that Duke and the orchestra played the first part of the program with Ella Fitzgerald and her trio playing the second. This routine was repeated after the intermission.
The concert starts with Take The A Train after which Ellington announces West Indian Pancake which is a new number where Paul Gonsalves shows what he is able to do . Neaxt the “Piano player” sits down at the piano to tinkle at tune known to everybody as Kinda Dukish which continues into one of the Ellington oldies, Rockin’ In Rhythm. La Plus Belle Africaine, one of Ellington’s more ambitious works, is also new for this season, and is often played in the years to come. To conclude the first part of the concert, Ellington announces The Opener as the closing number. (more…)
Ellington at Cirkus in 1966 – rehearsal
On September 15, 2016, we published an article by Jan Bruér with his recollections of the rehearsal for Ellington’s telecast from Cirkus in Stockholm on February 8, 1966. In his article, Jan says that during the rehearsal, the director of the telecast, Lars Egler, announced that Ellington was going to record a piano solo and asked for silence. He remembers that Duke played “a wonderful solo version of Serenade To Sweden and also did a retake of it.”
Actually, Ellington recorded three songs in front of the TV cameras – in addition to Serenade To Sweden also Looking Glass and The Queen’s Gard. Together with footage from the beginning of the rehearsal, they were included in a 23 minutes telecast that was aired on Swedish Television on March 19, 1966 – the day before the broadcast of the concert itself. The TV-program is not availabe to DESS but it is archived at the Swedish National Library in Stockholm.
However, DESS members can listen to and download the full soundtrack in the “Goodies of the Month” section of the website. Here is a sample:
Serenade to Sweden
https://ellington.se/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/serenade-to-sweden.mp3
Indigo 1963
Indigo!
This very word makes you think about Duke Ellington’s music.
It has been used in some of his song-titles but in 1963, Swedish Television used this word as a title of a telecast from the famous concert venue in Stockholm, Cirkus. It was to be Alice Babs’ first appearance and collaboration with Duke Ellington and his orchestra.
The telecast was the brain-child of program producer Arne Arnbom, one of the creative and innovative producers at Swedish Television at that time.
He had a strong interest in ballet and jazz and had already produced some program merging them together like “Sax Appeal” from 1960 with music by the pianist/composet Nils Lindberg. Arnbom had also produced TV programs for Swedish Television with the Swe-Danes. Arne Arnbom was also a child-hood friend of Alice Babs.
Towards the end of 1962, Arnbom went to New York to present the project to Duke’s organization. He told them that he wanted to have a Swedish singer included in the program and that this singer should be Alice Babs.
To give a sense of her singing to his Ellington counterparts, he presented them with the LP album “Alice & Wonderband”, which Babs had recorded with Arne Domnérus’ orchestra in mid-1959 and which included three Ellington songs – “Prelude To A Kiss among them.
The project and Babs were accepted and the program was recorded on February 7, 1963 following Ellington’s concert at the Stockholm Concert Hall the night before. It was broadcasted on April 6, 1963.
“Indigo” is undoubtedly one of the best telecasts with Ellington and his band. Bringing in Alice Babs to sing and adding ballet performances choreograph by the famous Swedish choreographer Birgit Cullberg makes it very special. Arne Arnbom’s direct and almost ascetic pictorial language contributes also a lot to this.
It is a great pleasure to be able to offer our members to share it by viewing and downloading it its totality in the Goodies Room. A clip from the show can be seen below:
Jan Bruér minns Cirkus 8 feb. 1966
Som ung Ellingtonfreak lyckades jag på något sätt nässla mig in på (i) Cirkus när Dukes orkester och Ella repeterade inför samma dags TV-inspelningar. Min kamera plockade jag med men också min enkla super-8 filmkamera och tog några stumpar stumfilm(!). I båda fallen svartvitt, dyrbar färg var inte att tänka på.
Jag satt ganska nära estraden för att få orkestermedlemmarna i hyfsad närbild, exempelvis några fina shots på en smajlande Hodges.
Men jag upptäckte snart att Duke sneglade lätt irriterad på mig när jag använde filmkameran, det smattrade lite om den, och med sin fina hörsel stördes han uppenbarligen av det ovanliga kameraljudet i en inspelningsstudio. Nästan som lite avlägset kulsprutesmatter faktiskt! Så jag slutade filma och använde enbart den vanliga 6×6-kameran. Det hade Duke uppenbarligen inget emot eftersom inte bara jag fotograferade.
Där satt bland andra Norman Granz med sin fina Hasselbladare och plåtade – bilder som jag tror han använde på skivomslag från de inspelningar från detta tillfälle han senare gav ut på sitt märke Pablo. Granz sitter till höger på bilden av trumpetsektionen nedan.
Vid repetitionerna bar alla sina scenkostymer – utom Duke. Han var avspänt klädd i en vardaglig tunn blå tröja. Klokt, eftersom det kunde bli väldigt varmt i studion när alla strålkastare tändes.
Jag lyckades också ta en del bilder av Ella både i full swing och när Jimmie Jones ger sina anvisningar till henne och orkestern. Det togs också bilder på Duke och Alice Babs som dök upp framme vid flygeln, för att hälsa och kramas.
Producent Lars Egler, som syns i vit skjorta med ryggen mot kameran på första bilden ovan, lät TV-kamerorna gå i gång även under repet, vilket resulterade i ett särskilt fint halvtimmesprogram som sändes kort innan första delen av de två konserterna (inför ett fullsatt Cirkus) sändes senare under året.
Plötsligt under repetitionerna anbefallde Egler: Allmän tystnad! Det skulle göras en ljudupptagning med ett pianosolo av Duke.
Inför en publik bestående av sina musiker samt diverse löst folk – inklusive Alice, Granz, Benny Åslund och mig – och televisionens anställda spelade Duke en underbar soloversion av sin gamla Serenade to Sweden. Han gjorde dessutom en ännu bättre omtagning plus något annat mer okänt stycke (inte Lotus Blossom!).
Denna sju-åtta minuters improviserade pianostund blev för mig höjdpunkten av allt som hände i Cirkus denna dag. Och vad användes pianoinspelningen till? Svar: delar av den spelades upp under de avslutande massiva publikapplåderna.
Hoppas att någon insiktsfull medarbetare i studiopersonalen sparat detta unika pianosolo av Duke! Men fan tro’t!
Författare: Jan Bruér (2016)
Två bildspel med fler av Jan Bruérs bilder från Cirkus kommer att finnas i Ellington-arkivet. Respektera att Jan Bruér äger rättigheterna till bilderna. Kontakta honom eller DESS för ev. användning av dem.