The Washingtonians and Kentucky Club Sessions - Duke Ellington 1924-1928

Now available!  Duke Ellington's earliest and rarest titles in one incredible set demonstrating how Ellington's genius evolved through the hot jazz & swinging dance band traditions of the 1920s.

 

When Duke Ellington took over the Washingtonians from Elmer Snowden in 1924, a band of rare quality launched the careers of some of the greatest musicians in Jazz history - including Ellington himself – as composer, bandleader, pianist and future genius in the world of music.

The essential and earliest recordings of the first Duke Ellington incarnation, The Washingtonians. Including the rare Blu-Disc and Gennett sides with Bubber Miley, Sonny Greer, Charlie Irvis, Don Redman, George Thomas and a host of world class soloists and sidemen. All heard in the best sound ever with extensive notes by Ellington expert Joel O’Sickey.

THE WASHINGTONIANS

    1    Choo Choo (Gotta Hurry Home)
    2    Rainy Nights
    3    I'm Gonna Hang Around My Sugar
    4    Trombone Blues

DUKE ELLINGTON'S WASHINGTONIANS 

    5    Georgia Grind
    6    Parlor Social Stomp

DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA 

    7    (You've Got Those) Wanna-Go-Back-Again Blues
    8    If You Can't Hold The Man You Love

DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS WASHINGTONIANS 

    9    I'm Just Wild About Animal Crackers
    10    Li'l Farina

DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS KENTUCKY CLUB ORCHESTRA 

    11    East St. Louis Toodle-O
    12    Birmingham Breakdown
    13    Immigration Blues
    14    The Creeper
    15    The Creeper
    16    New Orleans Low-Down
    17    Song Of The Cotton Field

DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA 

    18    What Can A Poor Fellow Do?
    19    Black And Tan Fantasy
    20    Black And Tan Fantasy
    21    Chicago Stomp Down

DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS COTTON CLUB ORCHESTRA 

    22    Red Hot Band
    23    Doin' The Frog

THE WASHINGTONIANS 

    24    Sweet Mama (Papa's Gettin' Mad)
    25    Stack O'Lee Blues
    26    Bugle Call Rag

 

Please note: The Frog booklet for this release failed to make clear that besides providing the excellent notes for this issue Joel O'Sickey together with Nick Dellow and Mark Berresford provided the majority of the original 78 transfers, which Nick then restored together with the other transfers provided. The label pictures on page 16 were from the Joel O'Sickey collection and Randy Stehle kindly provided his copy of Vocalion 1086 for transfer.