DUKE ELLINGTON (1899 – 1974)

Duke Ellington: Black, Brown & Beige - Louie Bellson & His All-Star Orchestra with Clark Terry, conducted by Maurice Peress

Duke Ellington: Black, Brown & Beige - Louie Bellson & His All-Star Orchestra with Clark Terry, conducted by Maurice Peress

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Having been present at the Carnegie Hall premiere of Black, Brown and Beige (I was hired by Duke to do promotional work for him), I can relate very closely to this brilliant reincarnation for which Louie Bellson and Maurice Peress deserve much credit. A slight correction: the work was not performed only once in its entirety. Actually, it was previewed the night before Carnegie Hall, when we heard it at a high school in Rye, New York. At that time Duke acceded to a suggestion that the heart-on-sleeve patriotism of "Black, Brown and Beige fighting for the red, white and blue" be eliminated. The entire work, but for that deletion, was performed at Carnegie Hall, then a week later in Boston, and I believe once more about a month after that. Subsequently, as Mr. Peress states, he only used excerpts. I always regretted that he was unnecessarily discouraged by the reviews of music reporters, who in those days knew absolutely nothing about jazz and were not qualified to criticize him. I am delighted that a half century later, with this splendid recording, a masterpiece will take on an entire new lease on life. - Leonard Feather
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Rather than try to recreate Duke Ellington's famous "Black, Brown & Beige," Louie Bellson's big band does a reinterpretation of the 50-minute work on this CD that takes a lot of liberties with the composition. A little more space is allocated to solos, Johnny Hodges's famous "Come Sunday" melody statement is given to Clark Terry, Joe Williams sings "The Blues" and such players as trumpeter Barrie Lee Hall, Art Baron on plunger trombone, pianist Harold Danko and baritonist Joe Temperley are heard from. This version does give some new life to the classic suite. In addition, Bellson's band plays five of the drummer's originals including the boppish "Hawk Talks" and "Skin Deep." The shorter orchestral pieces fit into the general mood of the respectful but fairly creative tribute.
All Music Guide
11/29/2024

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