In 1936 Duke Ellington had been leading a big band for a little more than 10 years and he was an international star, possibly the highest-paid black entertainer in the United States. At this point he undertook a series of small-group sessions. Some of the standout tracks: "Tough Truckin'," "Indigo Echoes," "Love in My Heart," "Pyramid" "Chasin' Chippies" and "Delta Mood."
None of them are very famous; most are based on the templates of better-known Ellington songs. They are all marked by Ellingtonian arrangement methods, and in many places the band just flies. Most of these weren't issued as Ellington records. The most prominent of his sidemen -- Johnny Hodges, Cootie Williams, Barney Bigard -- were listed as bandleaders; on one session, the trumpeter Rex Stewart, new to the Ellington organization, was drafted as leader. (He ended up spending nine years with the band.) Why did this happen? To keep great, underpaid, underrecognized musicians with him for the long haul, Ellington needed strong diplomatic skills. And, it seems, making cheaper list-price records that could be aimed more directly at jukeboxes was also a factor. A hit kept the experiment going: "Caravan," from 1936, the first and very widely heard version of it.
Ellington's music tends to be consumed on CD these days either by canonical collections of his early music or by his later, more carefully programmed LPs; this is a giant serving of early work, with unreleased alternate takes, offering the real truth from a great period of a great band.
Disc 1
01] Tough Truckin'
02] Tough Truckin' (alt tk)
03] Indigo Echoes
04] Indigo Echoes (alt tk)
05] Relaxatious (alt tk)
06] Relaxatious
07] Lazy Man's Shuffle
08] Lazy Man's Shuffle (alt tk)
09] Clouds In My Heart (alt tk)
10] Clouds In My Heart
11] Frolic Sam (alt tk)
12] Frolic Sam
13] Caravan
14] Caravan
15] Stompy Jones
16] Stompy Jones
17] Mood Indigo/Solitude
18] Sophisticated Lady/In a Sentimental Mood
19] I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me (alt tk)
20] I Can't Believe That You're In Love With Me
21] Downtown Uproar (alt tk)
22] Downtown Uproar
23] Digga Digga Do (alt tk)
24] Digga Digga Do
Disc 2
01] Blue Reverie
02] Blue Reverie (alt tk)
03] Tiger Rag
04] Tiger Rag
05] My Honey's Lovin' Arms
06] Did Anyone Ever Tell You? (alt tk)
07] Did Anyone Ever Tell You?
08] Alabamy Home
09] Where Are You?
10] Lament For a Lost Love [originally released as 'Solace']
11] Lament For a Lost Love [originally titled 'Solace'] (alt tk)
12] Four and One-Half Street (alt tk)
13] Four and One-Half Street
14] Demi-tasse (alt tk)
15] Demi-tasse
16] Jazz a La Carte
17] Jazz a La Carte (alt tk)
18] Foolin' Myself (alt tk)
19] Foolin' Myself
20] A Sailboat In The Moonlight (alt tk)
21] A Sailboat In The Moonlight
22] You'll Never Go To Heaven (If You Break My Heart)
23] You'll Never Go To Heaven (If You Break My Heart) (alt tk)
24] Peckin'
25] Peckin'
26] Peckin'
Disc 3
01] Get It Southern Style (alt tk)
02] Get It Southern Style
03] Moonlight Fiesta
04] Moonlight Fiesta (alt tk)
05] Sponge Cake and Spinach (alt tk)
06] Sponge Cake and Spinach
07] If You're Ever In My Arms Again (alt tk)
08] If You're Ever In My Arms Again
09] The Back Room Romp (A Contrapuntal Stomp) (alt tk)
10] The Back Room Romp (A Contrapuntal Stomp)
11] Love In My Heart [originally titled 'Swing Baby Swing'] (alt tk)
12] Love In My Heart [originally released as 'Swing Baby Swing']
13] Sugar Hill Shim Sham (alt tk)
14] Sugar Hill Shim Sham
15] Tea and Trumpets (LP tk)
16] Tea and Trumpets (cd tk)
17] Tea and Trumpets (78 tk)
18] Jubilesta
19] Watchin'
20] Pigeons and Peppers
21] I Can't Give You Anything But Love
22] Drummer's Delight
23] If I Thought You Cared (alt tk)
24] If I Thought You Cared
25] Lost In Meditation [originally released as 'Have a Heart']
26] Lost In Meditation [originally titled 'Have a Heart'] (alt tk)
Disc 4
01] My Day
02] Silvery Moon and Golden Sands
03] Echoes of Harlem (rehearsal take)
04] Echoes of Harlem
05] Echoes of Harlem (alt tk)
06] Jeep's Blues
07] If You Were In My Place (What Would You Do?)
08] I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart
09] Rendezvous With Rhythm
10] A Lesson In C
11] Swingtime In Honolulu
12] Carnival In Caroline
13] Ol' Man River
14] You Walked Out of The Picture
15] You Walked Out of The Picture (alt tk)
16] Pyramid
17] Empty Ballroom Blues
18] Lost In Meditation
19] Lost In Meditation (alt tk)
20] A Blues Serenade
21] Love In Swingtime
22] Swingin' In The Dell
23] Jitterbug's Lullaby
Disc 5
01] Chasin' Chippies
02] Blue Is The Evening
03] Sharpy
04] Swing Pan Alley
05] Prelude To a Kiss
06] There's Something About an Old Love
07] The Jeep Is Jumpin'
08] Krum Elbow Blues
09] I'm In Another World
10] Hodge Podge
11] Dancing On The Stairs
12] Wanderlust
13] Delta Mood
14] [The] Boys From Harlem
15] Mobile Blues
16] Mobile Blues (alt tk)
17] Gal-Avantin'
18] Blue Light
19] Blue Light
20] Like a Ship In The Night
21] Mississippi Dreamboat
22] Swingin' On The Campus
23] Dooji Wooji
Disc 6
01] Beautiful Romance
02] Boudoir Benny
03] Ain't The Gravy Good? (alt tk)
04] Ain't The Gravy Good?
05] She's Gone
06] Just Good Fun
07] Informal Blues
08] San Juan Hill
09] I'll Come Back For More
10] 'Fat Stuff' Serenade
11] Savoy Strut (alt tk)
12] Savoy Strut
13] Rent Party Blues
14] Dance of The Goons
15] Good Gal Blues
16] Finesse
17] Kitchen Mechanic's Day
18] My Heart Jumped Over The Moon
19] You Can Count On Me
20] Home Town Blues
21] Utt-Da-Zay (The Tailor Song)
22] Chew-Chew-Chew (Chew Your Bubble Gum)
23] Barney Goin' Easy
24] Just Another Dream
25] Night Song
Disc 7
01] Blues a Poppin'
02] Top and Bottom
03] Black Beauty
04] The Rabbit's Jump
05] Moon Romance
06] Truly Wonderful
07] Dream Blues
08] Skunk Hollow Blues
09] I Know What You Do
10] Your Love Has Faded
11] Tired Socks
12] Blues
13] Early Mornin'
14] Minuet In Blues
15] Lost In Two Flats
16] Honey Hush
17] Blues
18] Plucked Again
19] Pelican Drag
20] Tapioca
21] Mardi Gras Madness
22] Watch The Birdie
23] Black Butterfly
24] Dry Long So
25] Toasted Pickle
26] Give It Up
