Duke in Washington

& His Famous Orchestra.
Personnel includes: Duke Ellington (leader, piano); Betty Roche, Kay Davis (vocals); Johnny Hodges, Otto Hardwick (alto saxophone); Jimmy Hamilton, Skippy Williams (tenor saxophone, clarinet); Al Sears, Paul Gonsalves (tenor saxophone); Harry Carney (baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet); Ray Nance (trumpet, violin); Clark Terry, Willie Cook, Wallace Jones, Taft Jordon, Rex Stewart (trumpet); Joe Nanton, Wilbur DeParis, Lawrence Brown, Britt Woodman, Juan Tizol, Quentin Jackson (trombone); Fred Guy, Aaron Bell, Oscar Pettiford, Junior Ranglin, Jimmy Wood (bass); Sam Woodyard, Sonny Greer, Dave Black (drums).
Principally recorded between December 8, 1943 & April 29, 1969 in Washington, D.C. Includes liner notes by Theodore R. Hudson.
Digitally remastered by Jack Towers.
This collection finds Duke Ellington and his orchestra in and around his birthplace of Washington D.C. from World War Two through the late 1960s. The recordings range from scratchy radio broadcast dates from military shows to grand concert performances at Howard University and even a moving solo selection from the Nixon White House.
The listener is provided with a large swath of Ellington's greatness including rousing performances of Johnny Mercer's "G.I. Jive," "Happy-Go-Lucky Local," and "Take the 'A' Train." Most selections are typically truncated, but the lone epic "(A Tone Parallel to) Harlem" also offers a taste of Ellington's magnificent command of the long form. As this collection illustrates, Duke and his men obviously saved something special for the nation's capital.