Duke Ellington - Indigos (10 tracks) +Album Reviews

When will Sony/Columbia re-visit this gem?

05/23/1999

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This has to be my all time favorite Ellington record but this CD version has major problems. It was an early CD release, back when the technology was still new and not fully understood. As a result it sounds positively dreadful. It sounds like the band is stuck in a old metal garbage can. And I wish it didn't, because the only copies of this I have on LP are a bit on the noisy side. But what can you expect- I think everyone who owned this album play it a lot. Now if Sony will only re-issue this from the original tapes, in the original song order (duh!), without all the ticks and pops but with that marvelous tone and clarity on the LP. They could charge me $50, maybe even $100. So 5+ Stars for the music, 1 Star for the sound and I'll average it to 2 Stars.

Also Sony should re-issue it with both versions on one CD. When the album was recorded it was done twice- one version for stereo and then again in mono. The LP's are clearly two different performances. Having them back to back on a CD would allow for some interesting comparisons of how this great band approached the material and solos."

A celebration of soloists

Robert C. Topper | Richardson, Texas | 06/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Some years ago, maybe fiftenn or twenty, I bought a cassette tape which had several Ellington cuts on it. The only information it had about the recordings was that they had been on the Columbia label, absolutely nothing else. I was particularly intrigued by the version of "Solitude", and I often wondered when it was done. Other Ellington cuts on that tape included "Mood Indigo" and "Prelude to a Kiss". Listening to the sidemen didn't help in determining the recordig time, as I could recognize Harry Carney (now that pinned the date down, didn't it?) and Johnny Hodges, but that's about all. Finally with the help of Charlie the Collector of KAAM radio, we located this album, with this CD version adding some cuts not on the original LP.What atracted me then as now to "Solitude" is the concert-style arrangement, with Ellington playing most of it solo out of time, then joined by the rhythm section with the full band coming in only towards the end. In fact, each track on this album features soloists, rather than being ensemble pieces: Ellington on "Solitude", "Night and Day" and "All the Things You Are"; Paul Gonsalves on "Where or When"; Shorty Baker on "Mood Indigo" and "Willow Weep for Me"; Johnny Hodges on "Prelude to a Kiss"; Jimmy Hamilton on "Tenderly"; Harry Carney and Ray Nance (on trumpet) on "Dancing in the Dark"; and Ray Nance (on violin) and Ozzie Bailey (vocal) on "Autumn Leaves". All are excellent, with my only criticism being that on "All the Things You Are", when the rhythm section joins and Ellington has to play in time, his arpeggios seem rushed and choppy. It's as if he were trying to do too much in the allotted time and still stay on the beat. Don't expect to dance to this album. Just sit back with a good Merlot, listen and enjoy."

Interpreting Color as Sound

Dorrit H. Sterner MD | Philadelphia | 01/10/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Duke Ellington's compositional style has been referred to as painting with sound. That is to say, his melodies and orchestrations tend to evoke images of blending color to the listener. I have loved this recording since I was about 9 years old listening to my father's LP version. To my mind, this recording is not only intrinsically beautiful, but also one of the best examples of Ellington's painting with sound available. A BIG added plus is the much longer version of Autumn Leaves on the CD version. It was a haunting arrangement on the LP. This longer version with its extended violin solo is one of the most unique recordings in all of jazz."

Heart of Darkness

Dorrit H. Sterner MD | 02/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Nice, subtle music, but not essential," says Scott Yanow in a review of this album for MSN. Perhaps I am not enough of a jazzophile nor enough of an Ellington expert to comment authoritatively on what is and is not 'essential' in the Duke's discography. However, if, like me, you feel that the qualities that define music as 'essential' are, primarily, that it should be spell-binding and moving, then I recommend that you buy Indigos and disregard Yanow's remarks.

I cannot think of an Ellington recording from the 1950s which is more musically rewarding or captivating than this (though I can, of course, think of others which are as good in their own ways). Forget the fact that there are no new or 'difficult' compositions on this album, nor that it consists of standards - only a few of which are by Ellington. The attraction here is the way in which the Duke used his "real instrument," the orchestra, to plumb unimagined expressive depths with night-dark, often desolately sombre (but still danceable!) arrangements of familar songs. These arrangements are unlike any you will here elsewhere. The insistent 'beat, beat, beat of the tom-tom' in Cole Porter's 'Night and Day' is rendered haunting, almost menacing in an arrangement which features Ellington and the tenor sax maestro Paul Gonsalves; in 'Willow Weep for Me' Ellington and his collaborators take us on a wonderful voyage through every conceivable shade of melancholy; and the sublime, meditative trio rendering of Kern's 'All The Things You Are,' in which the Duke takes centre-stage, is in my view one of the loveliest things he ever recorded.

There is nothing trivial or slight about this record. It is a tour-de-force of sustained drama quite equal to some of the Ellington-Strayhorn suites of the period. And musical merit aside, it is quite simply bliss to listen to: gorgeously moody and hypnotically affecting. My only complaint, which relates to the label and not to the Duke's music-making, is that this CD reissue, while including cuts that were left out of the original LP (such as 'All The Things You Are') inexplicably omits one of the original line-up ('The Sky Fell Down'). However, this is not sufficient reason not to buy, especially at mid-price. Treat yourself."

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