''Eastbourne Performance'' is a live album by the American pianist, composer and band leader
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
, featuring his concerts at the
Congress Theatre in
Eastbourne
Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...
, England, in December 1973. It was released on the
RCA
RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
label in 1975. It is his last concert to have been commercially released.
Reception
The
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
review by
Scott Yanow
Scott Yanow (born 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author.
Life and career
Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles.
Beginning in 1974, Yanow was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles and was the jazz e ...
states: "The Ellington Orchestra was a bit weaker than it had been (many of the veterans had either died or retired) but it was still a mighty outfit... Actually the most impressive soloist on the album ... is Ellington himself... A fitting ending to a truly remarkable career".
[Yanow, S. AllMusic Reviewaccessed April 8, 2010] The compilers of ''
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings
''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...
'' commented: "The Eastbourne set is not quite as bad as its reputation. There are dreadful moments for Moore and Watkins, and some of the features seem redundant... But a final 'Creole Love Call' retains its elegance, and Ellington himself ... sounds very good on 'Pitter, Panther, Patter' – his very last officially recorded feature."
Track listing
:''All compositions by Duke Ellington except as indicated''
# "The Piano Player"
# "
Creole Love Call"
# "Don't You Know I Care (Or Don't You Care to Know)" (
Mack David
Mack David (July 5, 1912 – December 30, 1993) was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning the period between the early 1940s and the early 1970s. David was credited with writing ...
, Ellington)
# "
I Can't Get Started
"I Can't Get Started", also known as "I Can't Get Started with You" or "I Can't Get Started (With You)", is a popular song. It was written in 1936 by Vernon Duke (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics) and introduced that year in the revue ''Ziegfeld Fo ...
" (
Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke ( 16 January 1969) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter who also wrote under his birth name, Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for " Taking a Chance on Love," with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche (1940), "I ...
,
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin (born Israel Gershovitz; December 6, 1896 – August 17, 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs in the English language of the ...
)
# "New York, New York"
# "Pitter Panther Patter" (Ellington, Jimmy Blanton)
# "
How High the Moon
"How High the Moon" is a jazz standard with lyrics by Nancy Hamilton and music by Morgan Lewis. It was first featured in the 1940 Broadway revue '' Two for the Show'', where it was sung by Alfred Drake and Frances Comstock. In ''Two for th ...
" (
Nancy Hamilton,
Morgan Lewis)
# "
Basin Street Blues" (
Spencer Williams
Spencer Williams (October 14, 1889 – July 14, 1965) was an American jazz and popular music composer, pianist, and singer. He is best known for his hit songs " Basin Street Blues", " I Ain't Got Nobody", " Royal Garden Blues", " I've Found a N ...
)
# "
Tiger Rag
"Tiger Rag" is a jazz standard that was recorded and copyrighted by the Original Dixieland Jass Band in 1917. It is one of the most recorded jazz compositions. In 2003, the 1918 recording of "Tiger Rag" was entered into the U.S. Library of Cong ...
" (
Nick La Rocca,
Eddie Edwards,
Henry Ragas
Henry Walter Ragas (November 2, 1890 – February 18, 1919) was a jazz pianist who was a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the first jazz band to record commercially.
Background
He played piano with the Original Dixieland Jass Ba ...
,
Tony Sbarbaro,
Larry Shields
Lawrence James Shields (September 13, 1893 – November 21, 1953) was an early American dixieland jazz clarinetist. He was a member of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, the first jazz band to record commercially.
Background
Shields was born i ...
, Harry Da Costa)
# "Woods"
# "Meditation"
*Recorded in concert at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, England on December 1, 1973.
Personnel
*
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
– piano, conductor
*
Mercer Ellington
Mercer Kennedy Ellington (March 11, 1919 – February 8, 1996) was an American musician, composer, and arranger. His father was Duke Ellington, whose band Mercer led for 20 years after his father's death.
Biography Early life and education
Elli ...
,
Money Johnson,
Johnny Coles
John Coles (July 3, 1926 – December 21, 1997) was an American jazz trumpeter.
Early life
Coles was born in Trenton, New Jersey, on July 3, 1926. He grew up in Philadelphia and was self-taught on trumpet.
Later life and career
Coles spent his ...
, Barry Lee Hall – trumpet
*Vince Prudente,
Art Baron, Chuck Connors – trombone
*
Harry Carney
Harry Howell Carney (April 1, 1910 – October 8, 1974) was a jazz saxophonist and clarinettist who spent over four decades as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He played a variety of instruments, but primarily used the baritone saxophon ...
,
Harold Ashby,
Russell Procope,
Geezil Minerve, Percy Marion –
reeds
*
Joe Benjamin –
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
*Rocky White – drums
*Anita Moore, Money Johnson – vocals
References
{{Duke Ellington
1975 live albums
RCA Records live albums
Duke Ellington live albums
Live albums published posthumously