On January 10, 1957, during a snowy Thursday evening, the Duke Ellington Orchestra played a concert at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa. The performance was taped by the school with sophisticated gear, and the subsequent LP was released in limited supply. As a result, it has always been a highly sought-after album.
Last week, Carl Woideck emailed with news that all the tracks were up on YouTube. Which is great to hear, since copies of vinyl copies very hard to come by and expensive when they surface. According to the notes on the back of the album jacket, the music was captured on a Magnecorder tape machine with two Shure cardioid microphones and an RCA model S-77D. The tape speed was set at 7.5 i.p.s., with the RCA wide-angle mic placed in front of the band, five feet off the floor. The pair of Shures were mounted on booms 15 feet up from the floor and placed on each side of the band, slightly toward the front.
Also notable is the following: “The following day, our own Herbie Hancock, spurred on by Jimmy Woode, Sam Woodyard and Quentin Jackson, graciously consented to a jam session in Younker Lounge, for two hours captivated the audience as they uninhibitedly and effortlessly improvised. Then the Ellington band went on its way, and behind them remained an indelible mark of jazz history, of which this album is a living example." By the way, Hancock was a freshman at the time and double majoring in electrical engineering.
The band was comprised of Ray Nance, Cat Anderson, Willie Cook and Clark Terry (tp); Britt Woodman, John Saunders and Quentin Jackson (tb); Johnny Hodges and Russell Procope (as); Paul Gonsalves and Jimmy Hamilton (ts); Harry Carney (bs); Duke Ellington (p), Jimmy Woode (b) and Sam Woodyard (d).
The tracks are Stompin' at the Savoy, Black and Tan Fantasy, Newport Up, Clarinet Melodrama, Perdido, Prelude to a Kiss, All of Me, Blue Skies, Skin Deep, Medley (Don't Get Around Much Anymore, Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me, In a Sentimental Mood, Mood Indigo, I'm Beginning to See the Light, Sophisticated Lady, Caravan, It Don't Mean a Thing, Solitude, C Jam Blues, I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart, Don't Get Around Anymore and a Monologue).
Odd that Take the A Train and Satin Doll were absent, but there was only so much time.
JazzWax clips: All of the tracks in album order can be found here.
Here's Stompin' at the Savoy...
And here's Newport Up...
Last week, Carl Woideck emailed with news that all the tracks were up on YouTube. Which is great to hear, since copies of vinyl copies very hard to come by and expensive when they surface. According to the notes on the back of the album jacket, the music was captured on a Magnecorder tape machine with two Shure cardioid microphones and an RCA model S-77D. The tape speed was set at 7.5 i.p.s., with the RCA wide-angle mic placed in front of the band, five feet off the floor. The pair of Shures were mounted on booms 15 feet up from the floor and placed on each side of the band, slightly toward the front.
Also notable is the following: “The following day, our own Herbie Hancock, spurred on by Jimmy Woode, Sam Woodyard and Quentin Jackson, graciously consented to a jam session in Younker Lounge, for two hours captivated the audience as they uninhibitedly and effortlessly improvised. Then the Ellington band went on its way, and behind them remained an indelible mark of jazz history, of which this album is a living example." By the way, Hancock was a freshman at the time and double majoring in electrical engineering.
The band was comprised of Ray Nance, Cat Anderson, Willie Cook and Clark Terry (tp); Britt Woodman, John Saunders and Quentin Jackson (tb); Johnny Hodges and Russell Procope (as); Paul Gonsalves and Jimmy Hamilton (ts); Harry Carney (bs); Duke Ellington (p), Jimmy Woode (b) and Sam Woodyard (d).
The tracks are Stompin' at the Savoy, Black and Tan Fantasy, Newport Up, Clarinet Melodrama, Perdido, Prelude to a Kiss, All of Me, Blue Skies, Skin Deep, Medley (Don't Get Around Much Anymore, Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me, In a Sentimental Mood, Mood Indigo, I'm Beginning to See the Light, Sophisticated Lady, Caravan, It Don't Mean a Thing, Solitude, C Jam Blues, I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart, Don't Get Around Anymore and a Monologue).
Odd that Take the A Train and Satin Doll were absent, but there was only so much time.
JazzWax clips: All of the tracks in album order can be found here.
Here's Stompin' at the Savoy...
And here's Newport Up...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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