The Ellington Suites

The Ellington Suites
Studio album by Duke Ellington
Released	1976
Recorded	April 4, 1959, April 27, 1971 & October 5, 1972
Genre	Jazz
Label	Pablo
Producer	Norman Granz
Duke Ellington chronology
Live at the Whitney (1972) The Ellington Suites (1959-1972) This One's for Blanton! (1972)

The Ellington Suites is the tenth studio album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington which collects three suites recorded in 1959, 1971 & 1972 released on the Pablo label in 1976.^[1] The album won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band in 1976.^[2] Ellington wrote the "Queen's Suite" for Queen Elizabeth II who was presented with a single pressing of the recording which was not commercially issued during Ellington's lifetime.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 3 stars and states "Although there are some good moments from Ellington's orchestras of 1959 and 1971-72, few of the themes (outside of "The Single Petal of a Rose" from "The Queen's Suite") are all that memorable. But even lesser Ellington is of great interest and veteran collectors may want to pick this up".^[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[4]

Track listing

All compositions by Duke Ellington except as indicated

1. "Queen's Suite: Sunset and the Mocking Bird" (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) - 3:50
2. "Queen's Suite: Lightning Bugs and Frogs" - 2:52
3. "Queen's Suite: Le Sucrier Velours" - 2:46
4. "Queen's Suite: Northern Lights" (Strayhorn) - 3:37
5. "Queen's Suite: The Single Petal of a Rose" - 4:08
6. "Queen's Suite: Apes and Peacocks" - 3:05
7. "Goutelas Suite: Fanfare" - 0:31
8. "Goutelas Suite: Goutelas" - 1:12
9. "Goutelas Suite: Get-With-Itness" - 1:55
10. "Goutelas Suite: Something" - 5:22
11. "Goutelas Suite: Having at It" - 3:35
12. "Goutelas Suite: Fanfare" - 0:34
13. "Uwis Suite: Uwis" - 7:51
14. "Uwis Suite: Klop" - 2:00
15. "Uwis Suite: Loco Madi" - 5:52

• Recorded April 4, 1959 (#1-6), April 27, 1971 (#7-12) & October 5, 1972 (#13-15)

Personnel

• Duke Ellington – piano
• Russell Procope - alto saxophone, clarinet (tracks 1-4, 6, 13-15)
• Harry Carney - baritone saxophone (tracks 1-4, 6-15)
• Cat Anderson, Shorty Baker, Ray Nance, Clark Terry - trumpet (tracks 1-4, 6)
• Quentin Jackson, Britt Woodman - trombone (tracks 1-4, 6)
• John Sanders - valve trombone (tracks 1-4, 6)
• Jimmy Hamilton - clarinet, tenor saxophone (tracks 1-4, 6)
• Johnny Hodges - alto saxophone (tracks 1-4, 6)
• Paul Gonsalves - tenor saxophone (tracks (tracks 1-4, 6-12)
• Jimmy Woode - bass (tracks 1-6)
• Jimmy Johnson - drums (tracks 1-4, 6)
• Mercer Ellington, Money Johnson, Cootie Williams - trumpet (tracks 7-15)
• Eddie Preston - trumpet (tracks 7-12)
• Johnny Coles - trumpet (tracks 13-15)
• Booty Wood - trombone (tracks 7-15)
• Malcolm Taylor - trombone (tracks 7-12)
• Chuck Connors - bass trombone (tracks 7-12)
• Norris Turney - alto saxophone (tracks 7-15)
• Harold Minerve - alto saxophone, clarinet (tracks 7-12)
• Harold Ashby - tenor saxophone, clarinet (tracks 7-15)
• Joe Benjamin - bass (tracks 7-15)
• Rufus Jones - drums (tracks 7-15)
• Vince Prudente - trombone (tracks 13-15)
• Russ Andrews - tenor saxophone (tracks 13-15)
• Wulf Freedman - electric bass (track 15)

References

1. A Duke Ellington Panorama accessed April 12, 2010
2. Grammy Awards Database
3. Yanow, S. Allmusic Review accessed April 12, 2010
4. Swenson, J. (Editor) (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 69. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.