Duke Ellington - Hi-Fi Ellington Uptown (1956) [Japanese SACD Reissue 2000] SACD ISO + DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

Ellington Uptown (also released as Hi-Fi Ellington Uptown) is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded for the Columbia label in 1951 & 1952. Three factors stand out in the interpretation of Ellington's music on this album: Betty Roche's vocal on a multi movement version of "Take The 'A' Train", the addition of Louie Bellson on drums ("Skin Deep"), and the updating of old Ellington material that is made new and fresh. Jazz critic and historian Ted Gioia notes that the work is among "Ellington's more visionary projects" and is "a masterpiece by almost any measure".

Even back in the early '50s, Columbia Records took Duke Ellington seriously enough to place this album on its prestigious Masterworks label, heretofore reserved mostly for highbrow classical music and Broadway shows (later in the decade, though, it was retitled Hi-Fi Ellington Uptown and reissued on the pop series with an additional piece, "The Controversial Suite"). Also, this LP explodes the critical line that the early '50s was a relatively fallow period for the Duke; any of these smoking, concert-length tracks will torpedo that notion. The young Louie Bellson was powering the Ellington band at that time, and his revolutionary double-bass drum technique and rare ability to build coherent drum solos are put to astounding use on his self-penned leadoff track, "Skin Deep," which was quite a demonstration piece for audiophiles at the time. Old favorites from the Ellington hit parade are given extended treatments, with singer Betty Roche taking the A-train for a bebop-flavored ride, "The Mooche" spotlighting clarinetists Jimmy Hamilton and Russell Procope, and Ellington's boogie-woogie piano kicking off a super-charged "Perdido" for trumpeter Clark Terry. Another feature of this record is the great sound quality, a benefit of being entrusted to Columbia's best engineers.

Tracklist:

01. Skin Deep
02. The Mooche
03. Take The "A" Train
04. Perdido
05. Controversial Suite (Parts 1 & 2)

Track "1" - Recorded on February 29, 1952 in Fresno, California
Tracks "2 & 4" - Recorded on July 1, 1952 in New York, New York
Track "3" - Recorded on June 30, 1952 in New York, New York
Track "5" - December 11, 1951 in New York, New York


Thanks to the Origianl ripper!
Uncompressed SACD ISO size > 1,62 GB
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