Search - Duke Ellington :: Money Jungle

GREAT RECORD--BUT GET REMASTERED VERSION!!

Harvey M. Canter | tarzana, ca United States | 11/28/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I won't go into depth on this amazing record--'cuz I ain't that deep! An amazing album, the one that really got me into jazz. I originally had it on vinyl, and the record has an unbelievable sense of drama and pace as it goes from song to song. This older, original CD release always annoyed me because the tracks are in the order they were recorded at the sessions, in order to preserve the "historical value". Well, that is really dumb. That is like putting out a version of a movie in the order they shot it day by day, rather than the final assembled version that hits the screen. On Money Jungle version 1, each song is great, but the old CD lost the power of the sequencing. I used to reprogram the order on my CD player to get it right--but what a pain! They should have released it in the proper, final sequence, then told you what order to program it in if (for some bizarre reason) you wanted to hear it in the "historical" sequencing. Isn't it just as "historical" to release it in the order that Messrs. Ellington et. al. thought it should go in? I've just never seen a packaging move that was so stupid--especially coming from a label like Blue Note, one of the great prestige labels.Fortunately, I just noticed there is a newer REMASTERED version that is in the proper order and with some xtra cuts. So it is off to one-click that baby and trade the old one in! Seriously folks, a truly amazing, far-out, gorgeous album by three serious cats. Get it, daddy-o!"

The Power of Three

S. Finefrock | Raleigh, NC | 12/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So many times in the history of music, there have been summits where musical heavyweights are brought together on a promising project that ends up falling short of it's promise. Not the case here by a long shot! Jazz fans do not need any introduction to the staggering acheivements of these three titans of Piano, Composition, Bass and Drums. All three bring their full talents to this project. Mingus and Roach do not merely support Ellington, they push him and battle him. Ellington responds in kind with playing with fire on the uptempo numbers (one can see where Monk was influenced by the Duke) and with beautiful subtleness on the ballads. The three play off each other as if the had been a combo for years.All in all, this would have to be one of my 10 favorite jazz disks, and one that I will recommend without hesitation."