DUKE ELLINGTON — Ellington Uptown (aka Hi-Fi Ellington Uptown) (review)

DUKE ELLINGTON — Ellington Uptown (aka Hi-Fi Ellington Uptown) album cover

Album · 1951 · Progressive Big Band

5/5 · 2015-01-31
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We don’t normally think of Duke Ellington as an LP oriented sort of artist, much of his best music came out before the LP existed, and once it became the medium of choice, Ellington was beginning to lean on recording his past hits. One notable exception is “Ellington Uptown”, one of the earlier ‘long playing’ albums Duke ever recorded, and it’s a power packed release laden with fine gems. Alongside “Such Sweet Thunder” and “Ellington at Newport”, “Ellington Uptown” is possibly the best LP of Duke’s lengthy career. As if the original LP wasn’t already good enough, the 2004 CD re-issue added the excellent “Controversial Suite” and “The Liberian Suite” to make it ‘the one Ellington CD you should own if only own one‘.

Even without the two added suites, the original album carries an excellent variety of material. Album opener “Skin Deep” is a flamboyant mini concerto for jazz drums that features Louie Bellson and his newly invented double bass drum. The power and volume of this piece was once considered a good test for a hi-fi system. “The Mooche” follows with some classic Ellington styled slinky noire minor key chords and crying vocal like horns. The double clarinet solo has one clarinet drenched in reverb for an interesting proto-exotica effect.

“Take the ‘A’ Train” is probably one of the most overplayed songs in jazz history, and its often subjected to unimaginative heavy handed arrangements that sound nothing like the subtle and complex, yet charming version on here. Betty Roche’s vocals are light and sexy and display the modern bop influence of the time. Scat singing is often the dreaded bane of the jazz world, but that’s because most can’t do it like Betty with her effortless flow of onomatopoeia cool. “A Tone Parallel to Harlem”, which follows, is one of Ellington’s most ambitious works ever. It’s a thirteen and a half minute 3rd stream type construction that seeks to rush someone through Harlem at night where they will hear a variety of musical styles, often jammed right up next to each other. Of all of Ellington’s work’s in this direction, “Tone” is probably the best at showing true concert hall type development, as it often can remind one of a work by Stravinsky or Gershwin.

“Uptown” closes with classic rave up Ellington swing in the name of “Perdido”, thus completing the entire picture and including at least one example for all of Ellington’s major styles. As mentioned earlier, the CD re-issue also includes two more suites. “The Controversial Suite” was Ellington’s satirical shot at the musical arguments of the day that tended to pit modernist boppers against traditional Dixieland revivalists, tired arguments that exist in similar forms today. Turning both sides of the argument upside down, Ellington’s suite jumps from style to style so that all bases are covered from early New Orleans to modern avant-garde, all tongue-in-cheek. Finally we get to “The Liberian Suite”, which is practically a mini-album in itself and also one of Ellington’s top creations.

The original "Ellington Uptown" captured the band playing a definitive mixture of their music while performing at the peak of their abilities, making it one of the most essential Ellington discs. When the two additional suites are added to the original, this easily becomes one of the more salient collection of recordings in jazz history.