Far East Suite
Far East Suite | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by Duke Ellington | ||||
Released | June 1967 | |||
Recorded | December 19–21, 1966 | |||
Studio | New York City | |||
Genre | Jazz, big band | |||
Length | 45:14 | |||
Label | Bluebird/RCA | |||
Producer | Brad McKuen | |||
Duke Ellington chronology | ||||
|
Far East Suite is a 1967 concept album by American jazz musician Duke Ellington, inspired by his group's tour of Asia. Ellington and longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn wrote the compositions.
Strayhorn died in May 1967, making Far East Suite one of the last albums recorded during his life to feature his compositions. The album won the Grammy Award in 1968 for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Large Group or Soloist with Large Group.
The album was reissued in 1995 with four previously unreleased alternate takes.[1] In 2003, Bluebird Records issued the album on CD with additional bonus takes.
Background
The album's title is something of a misnomer. As critics Richard Cook and Brian Morton wrote, "It really should have been The Near East Suite."[2] Strictly speaking, only one track – "Ad Lib on Nippon", inspired by a 1964 tour of Japan – is concerned with a country in the "Far East". The rest of the music on the album was inspired by a world tour undertaken by Ellington and his orchestra in 1963, which included performances in Damascus, Amman, Ramall'ah, Kabul, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore (now Bengaluru), Madras (now Chennai), Bombay (now Mumbai), Calcutta (now Kolkata), Columbo, Kandy, Dacca (now Dhaka), Lahore, Karachi, Tehran, Isfahan, Abadan, Baghdad, and Beirut. The band arrived in Ankara but U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated the day before its concert, and the State Department cancelled the tour. Scheduled performances in Istanbul, Nicosia, Cairo, Alexandria, Athens, Thessaloniki, and a week added to the tour for Yugoslavia were cancelled.
In early 1964, while on tour in England, Ellington and Strayhorn performed four pieces of music for the first time ("Mynah", "Depk", "Agra", and "Amad"), which they called "Expressions of the Far East". By the time of the recording sessions in December 1966 Ellington and Strayhorn had added four more pieces. One, the latter's "Isfahan" was formerly known as "Elf", and had in fact been written months prior to the 1963 tour.
Legacy
Ellington very rarely performed the pieces that made up The Far East Suite. Cook and Morton have suggested that "Isfahan", which later became a jazz standard, "is arguably the most beautiful item in Ellington's and Strayhorn's entire output."[2] The album had a big impact on the Asian American jazz movement[citation needed]. In 1999, Anthony Brown recorded the entire suite with his Asian-American Orchestra. Unlike the 1967 album, Brown's version used Eastern instruments along with standard jazz instruments.
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Penguin Guide to Jazz | [2] |
Cook and Morton, writing for The Penguin Guide to Jazz, give the album a four-star rating (of a possible four), noting that "Ellington's ability to communicate points of contact and conflict between cultures, assimilating the blues to Eastern modes in tracks like 'Blue Pepper (Far East of the Blues),' never sounds unduly self-conscious. This remains a postwar peak."[2] Scott Yanow, writing for Allmusic, calls this one of Ellington's "more memorable recordings,"[1] describing it as an example of "Ellington and Strayhorn in their late prime," and as such, "quite essential."[3]
Participating in Down Beat' s Blindfold Test shortly after the album's release, composer-arranger Clare Fischer was played track #7, "Agra." A longtime admirer and student of Ellington's work, Fischer had no trouble identifying the artist, awarding the track five stars, citing both "Duke's immensely creative writing" and his inexplicable ability to transcend "this same old tired instrumentation of trumpets, trombones and saxophones," while "perfect[ly] utilizing the men's specific sounds." In addition, Fischer praised Ellington's ability to "take an exotic-sounding idea and create something – you might call it sophisticated crudity. It gives both qualities that I look for – an earthy quality and the sophisticated quality."[4]
Track listing
(All compositions by Ellington & Strayhorn except 9. by Ellington.)
- "Tourist Point of View" – 5:09
- "Bluebird of Delhi (Mynah)" – 3:18
- "Isfahan" – 4:02
- "Depk" – 2:38
- "Mount Harissa" – 7:40
- "Blue Pepper (Far East of the Blues)" – 3:00
- "Agra" – 2:35
- "Amad" – 4:26
- "Ad Lib on Nippon" – 11:34
- 1995 reissue bonus tracks
- "Tourist Point of View" (alternative take) – 4:58
- "Bluebird of Delhi (Mynah)" (alternative take) – 3:08
- "Isfahan" (alternative take) – 4:11
- "Amad" (alternative take) – 4:15
Personnel
- Duke Ellington – piano
- Mercer Ellington – trumpet, flugelhorn
- Herbie Jones – trumpet, flugelhorn
- William "Cat" Anderson – trumpet
- Cootie Williams – trumpet
- Lawrence Brown – trombone
- Buster Cooper – trombone
- Chuck Connors – bass trombone
- Johnny Hodges – alto saxophone
- Russell Procope – alto saxophone, clarinet
- Jimmy Hamilton – tenor saxophone, clarinet
- Paul Gonsalves – tenor saxophone
- Harry Carney – baritone saxophone
- John Lamb – double bass
- Rufus Jones – drums
References
- ^ a b c Far East Suite at AllMusic
- ^ a b c d Morton, Brian; Richard Cook (2010) [1992]. The Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in the 1001 Best Albums. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (10th ed.). New York: Penguin. pp. 437–438. ISBN 978-0-14-104831-4.
- ^ Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2002). "The Far East Suite (Special Mix)". All Music Guide to Jazz: The Definitive Guide to Jazz Music. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. p. 384. ISBN 0-87930-717-X.
- ^ Feather, Leonard. "Clare Fischer – Blindfold Test". Down Beat. October 18, 1967. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
- v
- t
- e
- Harlem Jazz, 1930
- Ellingtonia, Vol. One
- Ellingtonia, Vol. Two
- Braggin' in Brass: The Immortal 1938 Year
- The Blanton–Webster Band
- Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band
- Smoke Rings
- Liberian Suite
- Great Times!
- Masterpieces by Ellington
- Ellington Uptown
- The Duke Plays Ellington
- Ellington '55
- Dance to the Duke!
- Ellington Showcase
- Historically Speaking
- Duke Ellington Presents...
- The Complete Porgy and Bess
- A Drum Is a Woman
- Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956
- Such Sweet Thunder
- Studio Sessions 1957 & 1962
- Ellington Indigos
- Black, Brown and Beige
- Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque
- The Cosmic Scene
- Happy Reunion
- Jazz Party
- Anatomy of a Murder
- Festival Session
- Blues in Orbit
- The Nutcracker Suite
- Piano in the Background
- Swinging Suites by Edward E. and Edward G.
- Unknown Session
- Piano in the Foreground
- Paris Blues
- Featuring Paul Gonsalves
- Midnight in Paris
- Studio Sessions, New York 1962
- Afro-Bossa
- The Symphonic Ellington
- Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session
- Studio Sessions New York 1963
- My People
- Ellington '65
- Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins
- Ellington '66
- Concert in the Virgin Islands
- The Popular Duke Ellington
- Far East Suite
- The Jaywalker
- Studio Sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, San Francisco, Chicago, New York
- ...And His Mother Called Him Bill
- Second Sacred Concert
- Studio Sessions New York, 1968
- Latin American Suite
- The Pianist
- New Orleans Suite
- Orchestral Works
- The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970
- The Intimacy of the Blues
- The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
- Studio Sessions New York & Chicago, 1965, 1966 & 1971
- The Intimate Ellington
- The Ellington Suites
- This One's for Blanton!
- Up in Duke's Workshop
- Duke's Big 4
- Mood Ellington
- Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live
- Black, Brown, and Beige
- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1943
- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1944
- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: January 1946
- The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1947
- Ellington at Newport
- Dance Concerts, California 1958
- Dance Dates, California 1958
- Newport 1958
- Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II
- Duke Ellington at the Alhambra
- Live at the Blue Note
- Hot Summer Dance
- The Great Paris Concert
- A Concert of Sacred Music
- In the Uncommon Market
- Soul Call
- Yale Concert
- 70th Birthday Concert
- Togo Brava Suite
- Live at the Whitney
- Third Sacred Concert
- Eastbourne Performance
- Blue Rose
- Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book
- Side by Side
- Back to Back
- The Great Summit
- First Time! The Count Meets the Duke
- Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
- Money Jungle
- Duke Ellington & John Coltrane
- Serenade to Sweden
- Ella at Duke's Place
- The Stockholm Concert, 1966
- Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur
- Francis A. & Edward K.
- It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing
- "African Flower"
- "All Too Soon"
- "Azure"
- "Black and Tan Fantasy"
- "Black, Brown and Beige"
- "C Jam Blues"
- "Come Sunday"
- "Cotton Tail"
- "Creole Love Call"
- "Day Dream"
- "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue"
- "Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me"
- "Don't Get Around Much Anymore"
- "Drop Me Off in Harlem"
- "East St. Louis Toodle-Oo"
- "Echoes of Harlem"
- "Everything but You"
- "I Ain't Got Nothin' but the Blues"
- "I Didn't Know About You"
- "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)"
- "I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart"
- "I'm Beginning to See the Light"
- "I'm Just a Lucky So-and-So"
- "In a Mellow Tone"
- "In a Sentimental Mood"
- "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
- "Just A-Sittin' and A-Rockin'"
- "Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don't Tease Me)"
- "The Mooche"
- "Mood Indigo"
- " Prelude to a Kiss"
- "Rocks in My Bed"
- "(In My) Solitude"
- "Sophisticated Lady"
- Queenie Pie (unfinished opera)
by Billy Strayhorn |
|
---|---|
by Juan Tizol |
|
members
- Hayes Alvis
- Cat Anderson
- Ivie Anderson
- Harold Ashby
- Alice Babs
- Shorty Baker
- Butch Ballard
- Art Baron
- Aaron Bell
- Louie Bellson
- Joe Benjamin
- Barney Bigard
- Lou Blackburn
- Jimmy Blanton
- Wellman Braud
- Lawrence Brown
- Harry Carney
- Johnny Coles
- Willie Cook
- Buster Cooper
- Kay Davis
- Wild Bill Davis
- Wilbur de Paris
- Bobby Durham
- Mercer Ellington
- Rolf Ericson
- Jimmy Forrest
- Victor Gaskin
- Peter Giger
- Tyree Glenn
- Paul Gonsalves
- Sonny Greer
- Fred Guy
- Jimmy Hamilton
- Otto Hardwick
- Shelton Hemphill
- Rick Henderson
- Al Hibbler
- Johnny Hodges
- Major Holley
- Charlie Irvis
- Quentin Jackson
- Hilton Jefferson
- Herb Jeffries
- Freddie Jenkins
- Money Johnson
- Herbie Jones
- Wallace Jones
- Taft Jordan
- Al Killian
- Queen Esther Marrow
- Wendell Marshall
- Murray McEachern
- Louis Metcalf
- James "Bubber" Miley
- Harold "Geezil" Minerve
- Ray Nance
- Tricky Sam Nanton
- Oscar Pettiford
- Eddie Preston
- Russell Procope
- Junior Raglin
- Betty Roché
- Ernie Royal
- Al Sears
- Joya Sherrill
- Willie Smith
- Elmer Snowden
- Rex Stewart
- Billy Strayhorn
- Billy Taylor
- Clark Terry
- Juan Tizol
- Norris Turney
- Ben Webster
- Arthur Whetsel
- Cootie Williams
- Nelson Williams
- Skippy Williams
- Booty Wood
- Jimmy Woode
- Britt Woodman
- Sam Woodyard