Donate to our Spring Pledge Drive to receive 'The Complete Ellington at Newport' 2-CD set!

This week in The Music Lounge, music director Paul Abella takes a look at The Complete Ellington at Newport – the expanded two-disc set that WDCB is offering as a special incentive to contribute $120 (or more) early in our Spring Pledge Drive!

“Ellington at Newport” is special…with the “Newport Festival Suite,” “Jeep’s Blues” and “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue,” it’s a marvelous, must own, desert island, your jazz collection isn’t complete without it kind of album. It’s everything that makes jazz great.  And that’s not hyperbole.  That’s truth.  Paul Gonsalves’ 27 chorus solo in between “Diminuendo in Blue and Crescendo in Blue” nearly caused a riot. “Jeep’s Blues” inspired a running theme throughout an entire movie, “American Hustle.” And the “Newport Festival Suite” stands as one of Ellington’s great long form works.  But understand that the classic, original “Ellington at Newport” album contained ONLY those three great pieces of music.

The “Complete Ellington at Newport” 2-CD set, which WDCB is offering as a thank you gift during the Spring Pledge Drive, contains an extra hour of Ellington that’s as good as the original album.

Columbia Records gathered all of the tape from both of Ellington’s 1956 performances at Newport. The mini opening set played by a smaller version of the band is now included. As is Duke’s entire set, as played at Newport, in true stereo sound. Plus, Columbia also included studio versions of the music that the band recorded in the studio just after the live performance at Newport.

The end result is a hungry Ellington band, storming the stage like the road warriors they were. It don’t mean a thing, if it ain’t got that swing? Indeed. Personally, I love Ray Nance. The version of “Tulip or Turnip” makes me smile every time I hear it. And Ellington deciding to take things way, way, way over the top with “Skin Deep” after promising to wrap up the set? Classic. If you only have the original three-song version of “Ellington at Newport,” you’re missing those moments.

But if you make an early donation to our Spring Pledge Drive by March 10th, you can get the 2-CD set “The Complete Ellington at Newport” with a pledge of $10 per month through our Encore Club, or with a “paid-in-full” donation of $120.  Call today at 630-942-5299 or donate online at WDCB.org.

Thanks in advance, and I’ll be back soon to talk about more Spring Pledge Drive CDs.   ‘Til then… keep your ears open!