DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940, Vol. 2 | The Classics Chronological Series – 820 (1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1940 may not have been as popular with the general public as that of Glenn Miller, but they were one of the great big bands of all time. The best way to acquire their music is to get all of the alternate takes, which are available through RCA/Bluebird, but the Classics series has done a fine job of reissuing all of the master takes. This particular disc has a small-group session apiece led by altoist Johnny Hodges and cornetist Rex Stewart along with nine songs from the big band. Among the gems are "In a Mellotone," "Five O'Clock Whistle," "Warm Valley" (heard twice), "Daydream," and "Linger Awhile." In addition, the four classic Jimmy Blanton-Duke Ellington bass-piano duets (which include "Pitter Panther Patter" and "Mr. J.B. Blues") are included and find Blanton sounding quite futuristic, almost like Charles Mingus 15 years later. Scott Yanow Tracklist :

DUKE ELLINGTON AND HIS ORCHESTRA – 1940-1941 | The Classics Chronological Series – 837 (1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Starting with the first selection by Barney Bigard's small group, Ray Nance succeeded Cootie Williams (who had left to join Benny Goodman) as Duke Ellington's trumpet soloist. The Ellington orchestra was so strong that Williams' departure did not make much of a difference. After all, the band still featured such soloists as Rex Stewart, Lawrence Brown, Joe Tricky Sam Nanton, Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, Harry Carney, Jimmy Blanton, and Ellington himself, with vocals from Ivie Anderson and Herb Jeffries and writing by Ellington and Billy Strayhorn. Other than the first four numbers on this disc (taken from a Barney Bigard small-group date), the full orchestra is heard throughout the CD. Among the more memorable numbers are "Flamingo" (Herb Jeffries' big hit), the original version of "Take the 'A' Train," "Jumpin' Punkins," "Blue Serge," "Just a-Sittin' and a-Rockin," the original recording of "I Got It Bad" (featuring Ivie Anderson), and a pair of Ellington piano solos. Scott Yanow  Tracklist + Credits :