Ellington at Newport

Lovely. Not always my cupa

For me, jazz pretty much starts and ends with Miles Davis and a Kind of Blue. And whilst this record is recorded after that benchmark, the music is clearly from a jazz age beforehand. It seems to evoke the 30s and all that jazz. The dancing, the between the wars rroaring twenties and more Louis Armstrong than Miles. I'm sure it was great to work up a sweat to and dance the night away in a smoky, boozy club. Not really my bag though, even if I can admire the talent of performance. Certainly 'Skin Deep' very much reminded me of Neil Pearet on the drums Sam Woodyard on drums, a name to note.

If you had asked me a couple of days ago to sit through over two hours of jazz, I would have replied, "What did I ever do to you?" But in the spirit of this project I did. And I enjoyed it. I'll likely not be listening to jazz 24/7 now, but I'll refrain from turning the volume down if it comes ont he radio, which is what I'd have done before. The chatty segments of this album could have been removed, but at the time it was probaly important to the (likely all dead now) musicians.

Classic, near-perfect performance. You can hate jazz, but you can’t hate this. 4/5

I'm a big fan of Duke Ellington anyway, so it was extremely unlikely I wouldn't enjoy this. Surprise, surprise - I loved it. I've got the '@Newport' albums by Ray Charles, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk and will have to get this one now.

Great

Some of the songs are not my type of jazz but it’s a nice long album when you want to listen to this genre

Even if this isn't your bag, give it your attention. It's Duke Ellington for chrissakes. You'll likely end up falling in love.

Music was good, but that was a long record.

3.5 stars. The format of this (over two hours long and interludes with presenters just talking) took away from what was really good jazz big band. The standout is the iconic "Jeep's Blues".

I have never been able to get into Jazz, but I really enjoyed this. Duke is a great pianist, and his band can really make the horns sing. Also loved listening to the upright bass. This was really cool. Might be my window into jazz music

79 Based on this scale: 1 - 0 to 19 2 - 20 to 39 3 - 40 to 59 4 - 60 to 79 5 - 80 to 100 Really good album. Long for this kind of list, but some really good stuff, here.

Preventing a crowd riot is a track

Amazing jazz album, live vibes aren't really for me but it still works

Goede jazz, erg chill, ook voor live

Ellington at his best? Such a great energy here for big band/jazz lovers!

Very good album. Too long

Duke Ellington with something to prove, and making a big splash at the first Newport Jazz Festival. Not _exactly_ all live, but this is a majorly important historical artifact. The arrangements and compositions are top notch (especially if you listen the full recordings, which include a sort of Ellington 'greatest hits'). But the thing that is truly great is that the players are really playing in the moment, as best exemplified by Paul Gonsalves playing _that_ solo. And the crowd goes off!

The Duke! Was a great album, loved the peak back into history and made for an easy afternoon of listening.

Boner alert

Love it.

A monumental jazz album that evokes everything fantastic about big band jazz…that is, until the ‘60s.

Good jazz

Hatsaaaaaaaaaa

Wel een beetje lang ja. Had daar wel moeite mee

These cats are swinging

That's extreme. After listening to this album you'll understand why Ellington is "a Duke". The whole performance is near perfect. It's balanced, with a moments for soloists, and for the whole band to play. And very importantly, with the great approval of the audience. Which is great in jazz music. 4.5/5.

Big Bandmuziek die u langs alle kanten komt kietelen. Er wordt op korte tijd zoveel moois achter elkaar op u afgevuurd, je zou bijna zeggen dat het Duke Nukem is. Maar als deze Duke raak schiet, dan val je niet morsdood neer, nee, je kan niet meer stilzitten. De jazzlegende maakte al furore sinds de jaren 20, hier wordt zijn relevantie weer (letterlijk) aangeblazen in het zoveelste decennium dat zijn carriere overspande. Het kan goed zijn dat dit een historisch jazzalbum is met veel betekenis in de ongelofelijke carriere van Ellington, maar dit is voor mij gewoon muzikaal een ervaring om met volle teugen van te genieten. Ik beschouw mij niet als de grote jazzkenner maar dit is zo’n plaat waarmee je een jazzleek met zo’n oversized haak mee kan binnenhalen. De muziek is heel toegankelijk. Er zit meestal urgentie in het tempo, een gejaagdheid, een in your face aanwezigheid, wat maakt dat je je geen seconde gaat vervelen. De zachte kant masseert wanneer het even nodig is. En dan weer helemaal gaan tot op het einde met een sax die alles in stukken vaneen blaast. O wat moet dat geweest zijn om dit live te kunnen aanschouwen? Ik heb er al dansend op gekookt, en ook wel al kokend op gedanst. De tagliatelle met scampi’s en pesto heeft gesmaakt, net als dit album.

Goedemorgen, Ik moet eerlijkheidshalve toegeven dat ik dit album pas vandaag door mijn oorkanaal heb laten vloeien. Desalniettemin was het een aangename verrassing. Mijn benen hebben tijdens de gehele luistersessie geen seconde rust gehad. Aangezien het een "live sessie" was werd je teruggegatapulteerd naar de jaren 50, wat echt een meerwaarde is en het gehele album meer charme geeft. Kortom, een dikke 4 sterren.

I can't say I truly appreciate jazz, but boy do I enjoy it.

Really good performance with some serious standouts, particularly Newport Up, I Got it Bad, Jeep's Blues, and the drum solo on Skin Deep is pretty remarkable. Hoever, I think I'm more inclined to hear mellower, more piano driven music from Duke Ellington rather than Big Band, but this was good to hear. I found the audience responses interesting, too.

Class shite. The best big band jazz gets

I am not a fan of live albums so the talking annoyed me. The music was really good. I am rating the music a 4 star.

Blind album, know the artist. I feel like the album is good overall, but I don't listen to a lot of jazz to know what is good and what is great. I will say this sits on that high benchmark though.

Good ol jazz standards

I love jazz, though big band isn't my favorite style. Still, there's no denying this music. It swings, it grooves, it lifts, it moves. The players are all amazing, and they're crushing it on this date. Also, I love that this kind of music exists. That there was once a time and a place in which music this joyful could have been made.

nice and relaxing musinc

Nice

Gotta imagine this was a pretty cool show to be at. I can picture everyone dressed to the nines, bopping their heads and tapping their feet as the cigarette smoked wafted thru the venue. Sounded like all the notes were hit perfectly, Dimuendo was a really cool build, Newport Up was my favourite track overall. 4 stars

Good representation of classic jazz. Great compositions. This coming from a perso who does not enjoy jazz.

Very upbeat and positive. Loved it in the background yesterday at work!

Great album. Incredible talent on display, and fun to hear how rowdy a jazz music festival crowd could be in 1956. Will definitely listen again.

Good album, inventive yet masterful of the big band sound. The interludes adds to the immersion that this live recording sustains.

I only listened to the tracks from the original LP release, and not the full, 2+ hour concert that has since been released. I'm not a jazz connoisseur, but this was fantastic. Musicians pushing themselves and each others to achieve greatness. The energy coursing through this recording is palpable. I'm sure this is a 5-star recording for jazz enthusiasts, but I will give this a 4, as I wasn't necessarily active listening throughout the duration of the album. I would like to revisit this one day, though.

Nice album of jazz, not really a fan of concert albums, and couple of songs werent my thing

Er ikke det store jazz-hoved. Men fed energi, hvor man virkelig kan mærke stemningen. Meget blueset. Kort, lækkert album. 10/10 ville lytte igen.

Diminuendo And Crescendo In Blue vi spiega perché si batte il tempo sul 2 e sul 4. Questo album potrebbe mettere in difficoltà i non appassionati di Jazz, considerando anche la qualità della registrazione.

obsessed. I LOVE JAZZ!! especially love how it’s live, and you can hear the people in the background having fun, shouting and singing. it’s very cozy, comforting and really helps you relax. in “riot prevention” you can really feel like your apart of the crowd, not wanting the set to end.

8/10. Delightful, but got stuck in an ethical dilemma of whether I was supposed to listen to just the original LP, or the full live performance. To be safe, I decided to do both.

Jazz: I've already written this review once and it fucking deleted so lets do this again. It isn't bad and neither amazing. The extended version is yet again another irritant to the music scene with them adding sub-par music to the original album. Overall this wasn't perfect but it's jazz and hey, I love that.

Good stuff this - bright lively jazz. Really pleasant listen from the Duke.

The king of all, Sir Duke. I mean, it's two plus hours of the greatest jazz/big band composer of all time letting his band go nuts. What more could you want? To be fair, I didn't listen to this one all thew way through, but I'm going to make a safe bet that it stays consistent. I also have the same gripe I've talked about before with live albums being on this list. Sure, this record is great, but isn't it kind of cheating to give these spots to all these live albums?

An exhaustive, but never exhausting, exhibition of the iconic mover and shaker’s charismatic big band jazz control.

This is so good! The band is in top form. I’ve never heard this before. A band at their most electric, most practiced. I especially loved those wild and free, squealing clarinet solos. Fun to listen, including all the commentary and banter between numbers! Captures an amazing moment we’d otherwise never hear. 4/5

I’m guessing the original studio recorded version is the one listed in the book, so I went ahead and listened to that one Regardless of the fact that this isn’t really a live album, there’s still a lot of great playing from Ellington and his band

Да бля, здесь столько таланта скопилось, просто ужас. Но нахуя и зачем лайв????? Еще очень долго, но там гении джаза были, поэтому прощу

"Ellington at Newport" is a 1956 live jazz album by Duke Ellington from 1956. The original album was not really a recording of the concert, it was released again in 1999 using different sources to present the concert intact. Again another opportunity to hear performance done almost 60 years ago. This is not an album I would have played on my own, it was fun to close my eyes, listen to the announcer, the music and pretend to be at the show.

The Duke can do no wrong. Beautiful album. Big band is great and it's such a fun and niche sound that fits in so well with his playing. I really enjoyed this album. It's probably not a daily listen for me but I could see myself putting it on and enjoying it often. Strong 4/5 that could probably be a 5.

This is a long one... I like it, I'll usually have a jazz album on in the background, and this one was really good. 4/5

Parptastic

I'm not very knowledgeable about what makes good jazz music, but out of all the jazz albums I've been given (I think this was the fourth or fifth), I think I've liked this one the best. There's just something about the music here that feels really familiar and accessible. I'm not sure what about it makes it that way for me, but I'd definitely listen to this again.

This was one of the best jazz performances I’ve ever heard! However, I did find the track “Blues to Be There” to be somewhat forgettable, which prevents me from giving this album a 5/5. Otherwise, the rest of the tracks were perfect IMO. 9/10

I always wonder how 1001 decides which LP to post when an artist has released over a hundred, often covering the same songs. In this case I think they chose wisely. It's the album that revitalized Duke's career, and big bands apparently. It's very listenable with many hits and it's good to hear famous Duke soloists like Johnny Hodges and Ray Nance strut their stuff.

Good, but won't be entering my list of favourite jazz albums.

Groovy. Instruments work together seamlessly, complementing each other. Cool ascending and descending bass lines. Swinging drums. Sax solos were incredible. Not a big jazz fan, but this album has left me with much more intrest than before.

There are kids at jazz programs throughout the nation who train for entire school years to play literally exactly like Ellington recordings. I don’t get it at all but you can figure out why they do that. This band sounds good. Faves: A Train and the Festival Suite 4/5

7.6/10

One wants to call this a seminal record, but it’s more like a rebirth. It’s interesting to hear the complete reissue from 1999, which gives one a fuller impression of what seems like a chaotic night on the bandstand in front of a wild-sounding crowd. But the original, much shorter version packs quite a punch. Highlights include the tender “Blues to Be There” and the easy swinging of “Jeep’s Blues.” And then there’s the famous “Diminuendo” with the mind-blowing Gonsalves solo; one can’t add anything that hasn’t been said before, other than to comment it’s a wonder to hear every time (not to mention amazing that the man didn’t just spontaneously combust). Talk about seizing the moment – one time! Money Jungle might've ultimately been a better choice for this list.

Some great big band here

smokin’

I can see how this would have been a very exciting and popular album in its day!

A good listen, a very skillful and exciting band. Sounds like it would have been a great time to be there live.

Such good live energy brought down by the chatter. It’s definitely interesting to hear the time-capsule. Ellington is a trumpet beast for sure. Tried to throw this in the background but was too engaged to passively listen.

Puro jazz. Casi todo instrumental.

Excellent album with wayyyyy too much talking. It's cool that we have this little recorded artifact but a good 25+ minutes of this 2 hour album is introducing band members, talking about what jazz is, or riffing with the crowd.

The duke!!

I like it. Favorite song: the blues to be there.

PREFS : Festival Junction, Newport Up, Jeep's Blues, Diminuendo In Blue MOINS PREF : Blues To Be There

Let's be real, throughout this whole adventure I've held pretty fast to the principal of listening to every album the whole way through at least once. But I will admit that 2hrs of free form jazz was something I was unwilling to hold myself to. The 25mins I got through was ... pretty jazzy.

Lovely

Tea for Two Newport Up Day In, Day Out Diminuendo in Blue I got it Bad Jeep's Blues

[Kung Pow "that's a lot of nuts" voice]: THAT'S A LOT OF JAZZ! Great selection, meandering between cool and hot, with a splash of vocal. Very enjoyable - just occasionally the trumpet was perhaps a bit shrill for comfort. I don't mind that some of the crowd biz was faked. Fave tracks - "Blues To Be There" and "Jeep's Blues"

I'll write my review before I listen. 4 stars. Excellent background music that still punches through and I'd listen again. 2 hours later - confirmed.

Too hip

Would you believe there was a time where I would listen to Duke Ellington on cassette in my car… in high school? Don’t worry, I wasn’t in jazz band. Rather, I took guitar lessons from a shredder turned jazz and bluegrass head, and he kept throwing standards at me in my lessons until some of it rubbed off. This is a great recording and you just can’t go wrong with a triple threat of “Take the A Train,” “Sophisticated Lady,” and “I Got it Bad.” Only complaint is that it takes a little time getting there. But I could listen to this all day.

A wonderful, varied jazz album that made me feel like I was sitting in the crowd listening to it. Loved the skill of all the musicians on display here.

If you would split this into 3 or 4 records I would probably rate each of them 5 stars. The sheer length of it makes the full album feel like a bit of a chore

Agreed with the majority here, Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue is a banger.

I enjoy this style of jazz & enjoyed this album

Jazz en vivo. Un 4.

Jazz Classics

Historically, I don't love jazz. But this was classy as hell and such a smooth thing to have in the background. I haven't gotten to the point where I listen to much jazz voluntarily, but this is possibly the most enjoyment I've gotten out of it.

4.0 - Perfect brunch jazz. Bright, upbeat, sophisticated, bouncy and light. I prefer what bebop jazzmen like Thelonious Monk were doing at the time to stretch the genre but I have no knocks against this sparkling live performance performed flawlessly.

This is great. 2 hour instrument flex

I struggle with jazz but this is of course good. Ellington was brilliant.

Ég held ég hafi sjaldan heyrt svona löng trompetsóló og í svo háu pitchi, og ég er að fíla það. Svo er þetta heilt yfir mjög næs big-band. Mæli með.

Hard to rate stuff like this as it's such an early recording, that other artists have taken from it and made it better. Undeniable quality, mind.

Today is the perfect day for a jazz album. It's a cold and rainy Sunday, perfect for popping this live album on and giving it a listen! Apparently, the original recording of this live performance had an issue where one of the horn players was playing into the wrong mic so none of his stuff got recorded. Duke was told this, and they headed into the studio the Monday after the show, and re-recorded the messed up tracks, and added canned applause in to seamlessly blend the live, and studio parts together on the album. They did a great job of this, because I couldn't tell where it switched from live to studio recording. The song Diminuendo in Blue is 14 minutes of pure gold. The songs leading up to it were kind of slow, and this song just turned everything up to 11, and they proceeded to blow the roof off of the festival grounds! Duke told the sax player to solo for as long as he wanted, so the dude played 27 choruses, then collapsed because he had soloed for so long. That's bad ass! I can't hear the name Duke Ellington now without thinking of the ghost who lives in the attic of Nick Birch's house in the show Big Mouth. This music reminds me a lot of the jazz featured in the game Mafia. Overall, a phenomenal epic of jazz! It is one of the longer records, at just over 2 hrs of runtime, but it is absolutely worth the listen. There were so many talented musicians in one spot. The live recording captured lightning in a bottle with this performance. Glad I took the time to sit down and absorb this one. Absolutely something I would listen to again. Maybe not cover to cover, but in the background during a dinner party or while cooking for sure! Favourite songs: Diminuendo in Blue, Tulip or Turnip, Jeep's Blues, Part 3 - Newport Up, "Day In, Day Out", Black and Tan Fantasy, Tea for Two Least favourite songs: I Got it Bad (And That Ain't Good) 4/5

Waouw.. have never been a big fan of big band jazz, but this one here is magic! Powerful

Not exposed to Jazz much. I linked it a lot but the put-on 1950s transatlantic accent is really grating.

Nice jazz for a Saturday afternoon while cleaning and babysitting on your daughter 😉

Fantastic. More Jazz please!

I really like jazz

Electrifying set... even if some of it is studio work.

Listened to the original 5 track release, not the 1999 complete 2 hour performance. Pretty nice. 3.5/5

A live Swing album with some extended improvisational passages. The good book says that it was revolutionary in its day. For more modern ears, it's still pleasant enough for some background listening, even without being a fan of the genre. 3.5/5

I listened to the original 5 track album. Very good fun jazz. Superb soloing. Beautiful smooth bass sax and trumpet soloing. Mostly fast danceable rhythm. Really very good.

Not a big jazz guy but this is pretty awesome. I do enjoy good jazz if it’s live and the atmosphere is right, and this checks both of those boxes. Would have been amazing to be there in person. I love hearing an entire concert, especially one where the quality is this high throughout. 4 stars.

I think that the interludes are entirely unnecessary, but it's an absolutely fantastic album.

The performance stands on its own, but I like to think of it as a foil to Muddy Waters' 1960 set at the same festival. The contrast of the old guard, represented by Ellington (which is, again, outstanding), with Waters' new way is striking and makes me appreciate the latter even more. Best track: Festival Junction

Live jazz fra 50’erne, rimelig godt

hot damn these cats were cooking!! my favorite part was when the audience started to riot

Not normally a huge jazz fan as it feels too technically chaotic and doesn't hit that "cool swing" vibe for me often enough. This is as close as i've had to the finger snapping swing vibe that works for me. Enjoyed... and the solo in Diminuendo is pretty epic.

Zalige livemuziek. Het voelt zeer geapprecieerd door het publiek aan ook

Holy hell the trumpet player is incredible. Hard to believe this was recorded live, if it wasn't for the banter in between.

It took a bit to get into this (maybe someone should remaster the intro speech so it doesn't sound like my walkman is about to chew the tape). Now onto the rest of the album. It starts off sedate enough, a throwback to the big band sound. Then the party gets started. It gets wild towards the end and I can imagine people dancing on tables

8/10 - nice jazz album

Very nice. Felt like I was a part of a different time. Not a huge jazz fan but this was good

Spectacular writing and musicianship. The tunes kinda sound like a burlesque soundtrack.

Standard (no pun intended) jazz album of the jazz great.

Acredito que seja um Jazz do bom, deixei de fundo enquanto trabalhava, escutei sem problema algum.

Jazz

Need a jazz revival ASAP

A little long....but damn!

Chilll

Shoutout to Duke, just a great artist

Good jazz

very good, liked it a lot.

It's Ellington, so thoroughly professional and entertaining, but nothing out of the ordinary. Although, for Ellington, ordinary is most other people's greatness.

Ellington is obviously one of the greats. Listening to these old concert recordings is always fun to hear how people spoke back then. Live sound is really different from the recordings back then as well

I’m certainly not the audience for this so it is hard to fairly assess it. It doesn’t feel particularly progressive given what Miles Davis was doing at the same time, but my jazz knowledge is pretty limited. I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.

A well recorded jazz concert from the 1950’s.

This was much better than I anticipated.

Enjoyable. A Train and Sophisticated Lady are my two favorite Duke tunes.

Big band jazz which gets better as the album goes on. Unfortunately, the mix is quite poor, which is expected of a live album, but resultantly the feel of the album is quite reduced. Nevertheless, I can see why people would like this, and some of the blistering solos and the harmonies demonstrate the appeal of big band jazz.

Not sure how to grade this. A jazz album. Very loud. I preferred the miles davis one.

Pas mon style de jazz préféré!

I picked the only recording I could find on YouTube Music and doesn't sound very good. It sounds like there were only two mics in the whole building, one of which was put on the opposite side of the auditorium, and the other one ended up shoved halfway inside the trumpet. The music itself is great, you can tell that everyone in that room is feeling it, but I just can't get past how muddy every non-trumpet is in the band.

Clearly a different generation of jazz compared to the Miles Davises and John Coltrane's of the world, though the main difference that I personally notice as someone without much knowledge of the genre is that the saxophone is a lot busier here than in later jazz? The crowd sure sounds like they're having a good time, but it's still not for me I'm afraid.

Good jazz. Wish some of the brass didn’t go so crazy with the high notes at the end of every performance.

not a jazz kinda guy

Not a jazz hater nor a jazz appreciator. So 3 stars. The last track was cool.

Hi. Uhhh. It's cool I guess. I like the audience interaction towards the end. But it's not my style of jazz. Sorry, Duke.

еще наверное не созрел достаточно, чтобы наслаждаться подобными альбомами, слишком долго даже оригинальный альбом на час... 3

The backstory to this is really cool, and some of the crowd noise was wild. Imagine being so riled up and blown away by big band that you basically riot and start tearing down the stage. Duke Ellington was the Limp Bizkit of his day. The emcee was laughable. I would have rioted if I had to sit through that guy interrupting the music all concert. Big band isn't my jam, small band jazz just sound more modern and evergreen. Still, a cool trip down music history.

Not a big jazz guy, so it sounds great, but i wouldn't know how to comment on technicalities. Good listen.

Didn't listen to the whole thing but what I heard was nice, jazz is great

thought black and tan fantasy might be connected to the irish black and tans song maybe inspired by it or it could be a view on the marginalized communities in America at the time irregardless I like the album as much as I can but I do truly dislike live albums, very few bands can do the recorded songs justice luckily there are no lyrics here for the most of it anyway it's just pure instruments so it works and it was long enough to just digest it in the background while I was busy, I like it don't love it tho overall still fantastic work just not my taste.

In the end it's still jazz that ends up as background nusic

An interesting listen for sure, especially all the very dated commentary. Performances sure were different in the 1950s. Ellington is obviously an exceptional musician and his band is also top notch. I just know so little about this kind of jazz. It doesn’t speak to me personally, but it’s objectively good…. Or maybe even great. I’m just not qualified to say much about it. Apologies, but because of my own ignorance and the music isn’t my taste, I have to give it a 3.

I don’t know how to rate jazz. I am sure this was great

silky smooth jazz with a lot of pathos and patina. it's a lot to just browse through and enjoy. occasionaly this might be enjoable but certainly not an everyday listen.

horny and danceable but otherwise not my thing

I imagine this slaps for people who like jazz, but I am not one of those people. 2.5

Good, but could do without the occasional obnoxious trumpet and the crowd noise that gets more prominent later in

Good jazz

Not my usual genre but I really enjoyed this album. Ellington's jazz orchestra is a nice mix of big band and smaller jazz groups. Accessible (i.e. not too complex) jazz by good musicians in a live atmosphere worked for me. The really high pitched trumpet at the end of a couple songs was actually painful though.

Solid Jazz listen.

I mean it was ok not rlly my type of listen

This one really takes me back…wait. This album is 70 years old! This was a party back then. Tame by today’s standards.

very good vibe, lots of talking though

Very good, but it drags a bit too much for me. 3

3 de 5 Uno de los en vivo más legendarios de la historia del jazz, es mundialmente reconocido por el electrizante solo de 27 coros del saxofonista Paul Gonsalves en "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue", que llevó al público a un explosivo frenesí sin control. El lanzamiento de este trabajo consagró el resurgimiento de la carrera de Ellington. A destacar: Track 2 - Festival Junction Track 4 - Newport Up Track 6 - Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue Track 7 - Take the "A" Train Track 10 - Skin Deep

Maybe live jazz is where it’s at for me, because this record is a lot more exciting than a lot of the studio-bound jazz of the period seems to be. The band seems to feed off the audience, and the crowd noise adds to the excitement. This is never going to be my favorite type of music (it seems just so abstract to me) but on this one, I can just barely spy why people loved it. Best track: “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue”

6/10 - jazz is always welcome but there are better jazz albums out there

A lot of talking and the horns are a little too high pitched

Pretty chill jazz, good background music.

Ton of wasted time with them talking and introducing the people playing the instruments. This is one of those things I think it was probably better to experience live in a music hall with a bar or whatever around a bunch of tables in 1956, not as a live album in 2026. The music is still pretty good though.

No denying this gentleman is a phenomenal pianist and composer. Sadly, when there are no lyrics, I feel the tracks pass over me, pleasantly of course, but just over me without reaching me. I don’t have a Jazz gene to do this album a creditable review.

High quality music, just not my cup of tea.

I start reading reviews and Wikipedia, this is weird before I even listen to a note. I'm wondering was it the 1956 album that scored the entry into OG 1001, perhaps in conjunction with the hype about the gig, or maybe the exhaustive/exhausting 1999 album? Wikipedia page includes a narrrative of the original concert - says the 1956 album was only 40% live - says of the 1999 double CD that "the Voice of America live recording and live Columbia tapes were painstakingly pieced together using digital technology to create a stereophonic recording of the best-known Ellington performance of the past 50 years" - then gives a track listing for the 'complete' CD that doesn't match the concert sequence as narrated up the page? So I'm not sure if I 'have to' listen to the whole 2 hours. From reading reviews here, it seems many people think they should listen to all 2 hours, but quite a few people don't complete that .... I decide to listen to everything on the 1956 LP (the available artifact for most of the period when Ellington's career was boosted), and I'll start with the CD version of at least Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue. Re the big band feel generally: I was pleased that Diminuendo in particular is a LOT jazzier than the big band style I was expecting. Re the big saxaphone solo: I don't find it as exciting as I was expecting from the write-ups. The big drum solo: I was not a fan. The festival showpiece (parts 1-3, studio version): listening to part 1 felt like a chore, old-fashioned and formulaic ("big band" that says little and goes nowhere); part 2 was a bit more interesting (but I couldn't pick a relation to part 1); part 3 was more with-it (I like an uptune and some crunchy horn chords). Jeep's Blues (studio version): this was my favourite track - smooth, but also enough flair in soloes and other band interplay to hold my interest :-) Overall, for me it's Okay, 6/10.

Onhan tuo alansa legenda, ja ihan kovaakin kuultavaa. Mutta alkaa kyllä äkkiä toistaa itseään.

Kyllä tätä kelpaa kuunnella 👌🏼

Good jazz and swing but no singalong ability

Fav song: Jeep’s Blues (track 5) I don’t normally like jazz but this was actually pretty good

Review - two Newport live recordings in a row, bizarre. Never really listened to Duke Ellington but this was good. Hard to find the original 45 minutes track listing rather than the 1999 extended edition that's like 2.5hrs long but worth it - original was good. Score - 7.5/10 Need to listen? YES

not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue

a ver, muy lindo de escuchar, pero son 2 horas de disco!!!!!!!! me muero del aburrimiento solo prestandole atencion a esto. es muy buena musica, mas de fondo. pero el disco en si como album nose me cansa. aunque se nota una charla en la musica, ademas de las presentaciones no ?

Listening session: may 25th, while eating breakfast and getting ready in the morning Listened to before: no Thoughts: this must be some really good jazz (like the drum solo in Skin Deep), and I liked some parts, but 2 hours was too long for me to enjoy Favourite tracks: Pt. I-Festival Junction, Pt. II-Blues to Be There & Skin Deep

Que grande duke. Buen disco de jazz

I do like jazz and do recognize Duke Ellington's talent but this was a LOT of jazz to sit through. Grew a bit tired of it by the end...

Virtuosic but too trad for this dad

Cómo toca esta gente es impresionante. Nota: 3.4

Not my favorite genre. Very talented performers, though. 2.5/5.

Det må erkendes at de er dygtige til deres instrumenter - og tror da også at det er en rimelig fed oplevelse live. Med det sagt er det næppe noget, som jeg kunne finde på at sætte på hjemme i stuen.

*74 Formel: + Skud ud til Clark Terry på trompeten + holy shit der er stemning på crowd + de spiller ualmindeligt tight - anders må få ret i at det er lidt noget tissemands-jazz = det er nok nært best in class - men det er ikke rigtig min favorit class.

Ved ikke hvad tissemandsjazz er, men jeg synes det her er helt okay. Big band jazz er ikke min favorit jazz genre, men det er svært at komme uden om hvor dygtig the Duke var og synes både det svinger og er lækkert. Er også godt med på hvor vigtig koncerten var, men synes ikke jeg får specielt meget ud af denne live optagelse i den sammenhæng.

Great easy listening for a jazz album. I thought it was exciting at times and sad in others. It’s crazy how expressive jazz can be. I really feel like during this experience, especially listening to this album I have started to get it.

Heard of duke Ellington but never this album. 2 jazz albums in a row is interesting. Going to be hard to live up to miles Davis. Festival junction is a banger. Way more going on with this song than any of the miles Davis songs I just heard. Really cool horns obviously. Less piano with this one. Blues to be there is more similar to a miles Davis song. Less put together, very horn heavy. Still pretty good. Really really cool sounds on Newport up. Incredible horns. Doesn’t even need anything else. These songs feel a lot more orchestrated compared to miles Davis. I like that better, but I bet jazz purists don’t. Jeeps blues is very audibly pleasing. Definitely the best one so far. Awesome horns on diminuendo. They feel almost triumphant. Just a positive/fun song. With that being said it didn’t need to be 15 mins long. Great piano on a train. Supplemented by an awesome trumpet that comes in around the 2 mins mark. Sophistacted lady is just ok. Not too impressed with the rendition. Some cool sounds for sure just doesn’t grab me. Drums are crazy on skin deep. This has to be one of the first drum solos. I really like the live element as well. This is a really cool album. Not as polished as some of the jazz albums I’ve heard so far but just really fun. So many good elements. 3.4/5 stars.

I've never really found the genre to be captivating, but this was a nice easy listening experience.

Live jazz album. Did they have to include the intros of all the musicians?? Sorry this is bog-standard jazz (by today's standards) with way too much speaking included. I'm sure it's historical, but it's not very fun to listen to. Diminuendo In Blue is a nice track, but far too long. Crowd love it, it's positively a riot for the 50s Ooh Skin Deep goes hard with the drums Best track - Black and Tan Fantasy, Tulip or Turnip, Skin Deep 3 stars - spoken sections are annoying but get less and less throughout and the musical skill and crowd enjoyment also grows

Great jazz.

Nice jazz, amazing trumpet skills, but not something I would want listen to generally speaking

Solid live jazz album Standout song: Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue

C'était pas mal plus l'fun que d'écouter Deep Purple au Japon la veille.

Bara fínasti jazz (ef maður hlustar á upprunalegu plötuna). Ekkert of kreisí, og nokkrir góðir hook-ar.

The year is 1956, and everyone is breathing jazz. This album feels less like a standalone record and more like a time capsule from another era. For about an hour, you get to experience a small piece of history. The band is excellent, and the music flows effortlessly. That being said, while I admire the craftsmanship, I couldn’t truly connect with it emotionally. I found myself more fascinated by the era surrounding the album than by the album itself. "Blues to Be There" is my top pick.

A bit long hey yho

-este album se siente a esos videos en tiktok que parecen pinturas de acuarela pero como que se empiezan a mover -vibes de Soul la peli -el jazz esta underrated -hubo un momento en que si se sintio medio larguito, pero chance es porque no escucho jazz muy seguido -vibes de que los Aristogatos tocan esto lol

While jazz isn’t really my thing I can appreciate the musicianship demonstrated on this record. It’s flawless and hard to believe it’s live. Unfortunately I find jazz to be a bit long winded and dare I say boring! Sorry! But this gets an extra star from me because of the playing.

Not a huge jazz fan, but I’m sure this was a classic in its day

Big band jazz isn’t my thing, and I suspect I’m not going to come across a recording that is going to change my mind, but I didn’t mind this. I’m of two minds about the live format: I didn’t care for the announcer or the crowd noise; that said, the band has an energy on record here that might have been difficult to reproduce in the studio. The issue for me, and this is all a matter of taste, is that I just don’t care that much for this as an active listen. I prefer this on in the background rather than something I’m paying close attention to.

Going from Duke Ellington to Snoop Dogg was quite the change and what a difference 40 years makes! Interesting to hear the most popular style of music before Elvis/Chuck Berry/Beatles. Sped up jazz with big beats and fun solos. Not my favorite music but interesting to hear this slice of Americana. Set the tone for a generation that 'if you become a great musician, you'll be successful & famous.'

I still don't like Jazz, but this is a very cool time capsule of a major musical moment that is essential. I will also never listen to goddamn two hours of jazz in a row again.

the music was fine but why do i have to listen to an album where every second song is him talking. i’m over live albums

Duke Ellington's performance on July 8th, 1956 in Newport, Rhode Island.

Interesting. Not my cup of tea but good piano vibe

First jazz album for me, pleasant. Didn’t feel too detached for me given the year of release.

Pretty smooth jazz performance. The guy on the trump had rent due I guess because he kinda went in.

Great Songs: Pt. 1-Festival Junction, Sophisticated Lady, Day In, Day Out Good Songs: Black and Tan Fantasy, Tea for Two, Take the "a" Train, Pt. II- Blues to Be There, Pt. III-Newport Up, Diminuendo in Blue, Jeep's Blues, Tulip or Turnip, Skin Deep Mid Songs: The Star Spangled Banner, Duke Introduces Cook & Tune, Duke Announces Strayhorn's a Train & Nance Duke Introduces Festival Suite, Pt. I, Duke Announces Soloists / Introduces Pt. II, Duke Announces Hamilton, Gonsalves, & Terry / Duke Introduces Carney & Tune, Duke Announces Grissom & Tune, Duke Introduce Tune(s) and Paul Gonsalves Interludes, Duke Introduces Johnny Hodges, I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good), Duke Calms Crowd, Introduces Nance & Tune, Riot Prevention, Mood Indigo, Studio Concert Bad Songs: Father Norman O'Connor Introduces Duke & the Orchestra, Duke & Band Leave Stage, Duke Announces Nance & Procope / Introduces Pt. III, Announcements, Pandemonium

Nice old style jazz.

ohh me encanta este género de música

Funny to get this album directly after the Who's Live at Leeds. It leads to comparison. While I usually like this album, I certainly enjoyed listening to it again. The Live at Leeds blows it away with both its fidelity and skill. Duke is not Townsend, of course, and he was going for something different: a greater soundscape and certainly more lyrical moments. Those don't have as well, or as desirable as, the Who's raw talent. In other words, I would take Ellington in the studio and the Who live any day.

Funky jazz

The first song blew me away. Full of texture, raw and interesting was over before I knew it and I was looking forward to more. 5/5 2nd song was a bit too slow for my liking but not bad. 2/5 3rd song kinda just had me stressed the whole time... 2/5 4th song we're back to the slow stuff the 1st song was so good come on... I'll admit that this one is more interesting than the 2nd song 3/5 5th song... 15 minutes... the bar is high the crowd slowly getting louder during the solo is so crazy to me... I hate solos and this one has been going on for so long.... is it ever going to end... I kinda can't believe this crowd sound is real, at concerts I've been at their will be the occasional holler during a solo or something, this is constant. okay the solo is finally over. This ending is genuinely amazing why did they spend so long on a dull solo????? 2/5 -> 4/5 wtf do I rate this begrudging 3 carried by the 1st song and the last 2 minutes of the last song

I'm giving this points for the obviously great musicianship alone and influence he has had on the genre and music as a whole, but this older/more traditional jazz is just something that I don't find myself personally resonating with all that much, plus the fact that this is a live recording isn't ideal either as it doesn't sound too clear. 3/5

A pretty lively big band set--but not nearly as great as Duke's earlier eras--except for the famous solo in 'Diminuendo/Crescendo' which gets everyone hopping. That's a blast.

Loose and swingy; virtuosic. I listened to this one on background, I admit.

Sure. Fine. My general reaction to every jazz record I've had on this list. Perfectly pleasant to listen to...nothing that gets me excited or that I’ll likely listen to again.

Too long, too much announcing, and trumpet too loud. Otherwise enjoyed this album. Rating: 5/10 Favorite Song: Tea for Two

largo como puteada de tartamudo pero i like jazzzzz

Buenas cosas, pero larguísimo. Me gustó igual

Netto gutes Album, Brutto viel Schrott und sinnlose Saalaufnahmen dabei

Jeder gerade Song ist überraschend gut. Jeder Ungerade ist langweiliges Gerede darüber wie gut die geraden Songs sind...

Oof, that was long, and a live album, which I personally don't like. The album is kinda ok, but the recording is not great and there are introductions as well. I can kinda see why it is on the list butvit was hard to enjoy with the poor recording in an outsoors event. Not my favourite jazz album from this list. 3/5

Nice jazz

a 2+ hour live album (compilation?) that keeps in all the annoying parts of listening to live music. awesome. that said, it's duke ellington so credit where credit's due. probably not coming back to this when the studio takes are much more listenable though. tulip or turnip is a gardening banger though favorites: the star spangled banner (lol), black and tan fantasy, take the 'a' train, tulip or turnip

Enjoyable. ★★★

This has felt a little more lackluster(?) than other Jazz albums I've heard on this journey, but it hasn't been without it's charms. I was surprised how much air was utilised in "Blues To Be There"; there were times I had to check that the track was still playing. Listening to a recording of something like this live, and from so long ago, I can't help but feel that something is missing that was there for the audience when it was recorded in '56. "Diminuendo And Crescendo In Blue" started well enough, but the longer it goes on, the easier it is to lose focus, especially as the audience noises do more to interrupt than enhance the atmosphere. Overall, this another one of those albums that was simply "nice enough".

I can't tell one jazz from another. Probably obvious if you read my notes for other albums. This seemed like a decent enough jazz to me though.

There is a lot of Jazz in this list. I don't mind it, and enjoy it, but it is not a genre I listen to purposefully or collect. It was a good listen. I would listen to it again, but not necessarily by choice. 3 stars

I really liked the jazz of Ellington of the 50s. Im actually a jazz lover, Ive heard before to Ellington, however I didnt listen this album before. I just have one note about something in particular of this album and is the high pitched trumpet that I didnt LOVE but recognise as a new musical sound.

Finally managed to listen to this - I enjoyed the big band jazz and appreciated the musicianship all round. You could tell there were technical problems with the recording, and the chap who talks in between stuff got way too much time on this record, but all in all quite enjoyable. Made a nice change.

Less yakking more music

this isn’t really my kind of music however I really like that sense of nostalgia this gives me and I just created a nostalgia playlist haha what a coincidence but anyway the sax playing is phenomenal. as someone who isn’t the hugest fan of jazz but can appreciate good music, I think this album shows a high degree of quality playing aswell as amazing vocals!!

Clearly great but I’m not really into big band jazz—feels too old timey for me.

Me gusto la primera(la conocia) y la ultima del album

Ik vind big bands altijd leuk om te kijken op youtube. Ook duke ellington heb ik op youtube gezien en heel leuk. Ik vind het wel minder leuk om dit als album voor mijzelf te luisteren. Het is wel heel goed, maar ik mis toch de experience van de show

Big band Jazz is meestal niet mijn favoriete jazz. Duke Ellington staat ook niet bij mijn favoriete jazz muziekanten. Het is een smaak ding, van mij hoeft de dansbare swing ook niet. Op dit twee uur durende album zitten zeker goede momenten, maar als geheel is het niet interessant genoeg voor mij. Het live gevoel voegt zeker iets toe, maar de opname is niet optimaal, je krijgt meer de sfeer mee, niet zozeer de individuele muzikanten. De composities zijn goed en de arrangementen voor de band zijn leuk, maar daardoor gaat ook een groot deel van het improvisatorisch wat je meer in bebop etc tegen komt, iets wat ik zelf leuker vind. Ik zal de technische capaciteit van Duke Ellington zeker niet ter discussie stellen. Zijn album met Coltrane vind ik bijvoorbeeld vele malen sterker, juist omdat daar het improvisatorische en de interactie veel meer tot zijn recht komt.

It's good but some of the sharp horn bleating is off-putting for me

I've got a soft-spot for big band jazz. It's weird because I rarely ever choose to put it on, but I almost always enjoy listening to it. There's some really interesting history about the recording of this album and the re-release for CD in 1999, so I ended up listening to this twice so that I could try and hear the differences between what was recreated for the original LP versus what was remixed and remastered from the performance for the re-release. Maybe not one I'll come back to often, but gotta give it credit for multiple listens in one sitting. 3.25/5

There are trumpet sounds I wouldn't think possible. I just wish it wasn't a live album. It drags it down a decent amount unfortunately.

Jazz isn’t my fave but overall it was fun and interesting. Prefer the more lively, but could all be background music for a classy glass of wine on the deck. crescendo in blue a fave.

Some really really good solos

Very impressive for a live performance and how long it went. Overall good but not my thing

Technically wonderful but it's not my style. I'm not a fan of the high-pitched trumpet. 3/5

Very nice

I like his jazz better than others but I’m still not an overall fan of jazz.

objectively good music and good musicians but oh my this was a looong listen for someone who's only sorta into jazz

I looked up if I wasn’t listening to the jungle book soundtrack, but turns out that’s even something different

Sounds pretty good! I’m not a big enough jazz fan to understand all the nuances of the music, though.

Litt mye snakking for min del.

Bueno para poner de fondo 8 am

Jazz clasico, como si estuvieras en un bar por los años 50

Jazz works better live

I've enjoyed that but it hasn't made me want to listen to it again. There's nothing wrong but maybe there's nothing catchy about it.

Maybe I'm simple minded, this kind of jazz shares with some classical music a kind of lack of discernible pattern of cycle that i don't really like. Talented musicians for sure though.

You really feel like you were there but I’m not sure I’d like to listen to it again

Good album, I think it lacks a lot on punchy-ness within the production but that could be a result of the times, overall solid album with a lot of somber and enchanting hooks.

Strong start! Probably the best jazz album I’ve received so far. It is however unbearably long and there is no reason to include the announcements as well. A high 3

Great live jazz album that's filled with interesting moments and incredible music. 3.8/5

I don't know enough about jazz to distinguish too much between groups and styles, but this was enjoyable

Enjoyment

Phenomenal sound quality. The experience is ruined a little bit by all the breaks for introductions, crowd control, etc. I would have preferred more music and less of what was happening at the actual performance.

Djass er laumuuppáhald og þetta var barasta nokkuð góð plata. Það sem togar hana niput voru þessar kynningar þó svo að ég átti mig á að þetta voru live tónleikar og þá er verið að spjalla. Mér fannst það bara brjóta stemmninguna aðeins of.

This is hard to rate. I love swing and Ellington is an all time great and you must hear him before you die. I just don’t think this is such a great account of his work. So I guess three stars because that’s what they have on the list.

One of those ones where I know it’s good, but just didn’t take me anywhere

DA DUKKKKE!!!! Can I interest you in a bag of cool jazz. decent album.

Good big band jazz worth a Sunday morning listen.

I get it, they’re all fabulous musicians, but this did not do a great deal for me sitting listening at home. Too long, some of it obviously not live and all the intros are tedious. Probably would have got more enjoyment from the original release with only a few tracks on it

A live show? (Sorta, apparently re-recorded parts) It’s wild to me something this chill and rehearsed was such a provocative, big deal. Never heard of Gonsalves before so that’s on me how little I know of this era. Of note, this was in part a comeback of sorts, Ellington was well into his career by this point. Likewise Sinatra and Wee Small and Miles had been kicking around for a while before getting his own band. In short, none of these first releases are debuts or sui generis, but rather the work of journeymen.

not bad

Still no clue what makes a good Jazz album vs a less good one. This is just background noise to me. I did enjoy Diminuendo and Crescendo in Bluez though.

I enjoyed this more then I was expecting, especially hearing the crowd and the introductions, even though this isn’t my normal cup of tea.

A pretty good listen, though only so much that Jazz can do for me. The band clearly deliver a high quality performance that captures the audience, and from what I read this is a big moment in reviving Ellington’s career. It is very long though, so as a non-Jazz fan it was probably more than I’d like. The rather drawn out emcee interludes didn’t help!

Wasn’t quite in the jazz zone yesterday, but have added to my list to revisit

Disc 1 - 3/5 The Star Spangled Banner - 2/5 Black and Tan Fantasy - 4/5 Tea for Two - 3/5 Take the "A" Train - 3.5/5 Pt. I-Festival Junction - 3.5/5 Pt. II-Blues to Be There - 3/5 Pt. III-Newport Up - 3/5 Sophisticated Lady - 3/5 Day In, Day Out - 4/5 Diminuendo In Blue - 3/5 Disc 2 - 2.5/5 I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) - 3/5 Jeep's Blues - 3/5 Tulip or Turnip - 3/5 Riot Prevention - 3/5 Skin Deep - 2.5/5 Mood Indigo - 3/5 Studio Concert - 2/5 Pt. I-Festival Junction - 2.5/5 Pt. II Blues to be There - 2.5/5 Pt. III-Newport Up - 2/5 I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) - 2.5/5 Jeep's Blues - 2.5/5

It was long. It was live jazz. So it didnt feel as long as it was.

Favourite tracks: Tea for Two, Take the "A" Train I'm not sure I'm well versed enough in music theory and all that jazz (ha, get it?) to fully appriciate this album. I like it, don't get me wrong, but having it on in the background while I do other things is probably not the best way to enjoy it. Every track sort of blended into the same song in my brain and I could not tell you off the top of my head any memorable moments. But maybe that's just my shitty memory at play. Either way, I wouldn't mind this if it came on, but I wouldn't seek out to listen to this in my free time. Also the squeeling trumpet solos were not it. I hated them. 3/5

Couldn't find the original tracklist, only the CD version which is probably close to the full show. Great big band album, not sure why it's listed unless there's some historical context.

There are quite a few gripes I have with the 1001 albums to hear before you die list, and one of the biggest crimes I would argue this list does is skipping over so much essential music history and excluding some stellar projects that are much more deserving of a spot for some "niche picks." One of those niche picks I have a problem with is the one and only Duke Ellington project on the entire list is a live album from 1956. It quite honestly undermines a whole discography of influence from both Duke being a pioneering Black artist in the Jazz community as well as having some of the greatest compositions known to man in his discography like In a Sentimental Mood. Besides my obvious frustration at the author I do have to say I was pleased with this project and thought Duke and his orchestra did a pretty solid job here all things considered but didn't blow my mind by any means. It is a nice live album from an era where those seemed a lot more rare and reserved for some of the best of the best, so I am glad Duke was willing to represent his talent in such a stunning way. Not much to say here musically, it is just solid.

I tend to get irritated with some the jazz records on this list for being the bad kind of jazzy - as in excruciating to the nerves. It's a welcome relief being treated to some good old big band swing. Of course there are outbreaks of 'higher, faster, louder' fever, evidence of a hot live show. I should divulge that this in fact reminded me of Harry Connick Jr's record 'Red Light, Blue Light' - of course he's borrowing the Ellington and Sinatra style from long before he was born. I don't know if this is still controversial anywhere, but Mr. Jr. did a good job evoking some classic big band jazz.

Great stuff, especially when played in the background while I work.

Difícil formular uma review que faça muito sentido sobre esse álbum. Eu gosto de muitas músicas do Duke Ellington, mas ele teve a infelicidade de cair numa sequência de live albums nesse desafio e eu sinceramente não aguento mais escutar live albums (por mais históricos que eles sejam). As músicas são maravilhosas, mas as interrupções e introduções da banda e de outros convidados são muito chatas de se escutar. 3/5.

Gosto muito de Duke Ellington mas esse album live aí nao da

It's a pretty nice jazz album.

Not my thang, but I appreciate it

You can feel the atmosphere right away. There’s excitement in the room, a sense that something important is happening, and when the band really catches fire it’s genuinely thrilling. At the same time, not every stretch holds that intensity. Some passages feel more like you’re appreciating the context than being swept up in the sound itself. I like dipping into it for the high points, and I respect what it represents, but as a full listen it doesn’t completely pull me in from start to finish.

3/5

Looooong

This seems like it'd be good, but it's actually (a) live (b) jazz, so it seems it's got a personal ceiling of 3. But it's cool that people were so Moved to Dance at the actual performance, and that DukeE was born in the 1800s. That's a while ago now!

fun. peak into the past with the intros and crowd reactions. interesting how the high pitched squeaking bass instruments was considered pleasant or good…

I liked this one although I wasn't in the right mindset when listening to it. The energy was great and the arrangements classic. Especially enjoyed the clarinet playing (!) A quality record that I'll give a flat 3

This is another album where I appreciate the artistry and musicianship, but just can't really get into it and enjoy listening to it. I think I would have enjoyed the performance if I'd actually seen it live. I probably won't listen to this again except as background music while I'm trying to work.

I kind of tapped out on this. Big band jazz doesn’t do it for me at all, but I appreciate what’s going on.

decent tunes, but way way too long of an album.

Solid

Ellington at Newport lives up to its reputation largely because of Paul Gonsalves’ extraordinary 27-chorus tenor solo on “Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue.” It’s a genuine eruption: the band locks in, the crowd erupts, and the energy feels raw and unrehearsed in the best way. That one extended moment is still one of the most thrilling things captured on a jazz record. The rest of the album is excellent but more predictable, Hodges at his most lyrical on “I Got It Bad” and “Jeep’s Blues,” Carney’s warm baritone, the familiar orchestral elegance of “Mood Indigo” and “Sophisticated Lady.” It’s beautifully played big-band swing, but it mostly reaffirms what Ellington had already mastered for decades rather than pushing into new territory. Overall, it’s a strong, important live document with one transcendent highlight. The complete concert editions sound much better than the original patched LP. 7/10

Not the best jazz ever but still good

All time classic