Track Listing

1. Tourist Point of View
2. Bluebird of Delhi (Mynah)
3. Isfahan
4. Depk
5. Mount Harissa (Prelude)
6. Mound Harissa
7. Blue Pepper (Far East of the Blues)
8. Agra
9. Amad
10. Ad Lib on Nippon

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #405861 in Music
• Released on: 1999-07-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Album Description
This recording of the FAR EAST SUITE is the culmination of a ten-year-long endeavor, the fulfillment of a marriage between a research project and a dream. The idea of blending Asian and Middle Eastern instruments and sensibilities into the multicultural melange of Duke Ellington and collaborator Billy Strayhorn's musical travelogue first occurred in 1989 while I was a doctoral research fellow at the Smithsonian Institution's newly acquired Duke Ellington Collection. During the fellowship, I was able to examine many of the thousands of original and copied manuscripts, scores, sketches and band parts as yet uncataloged in the archives. In 1991, I premiered a precursory project, a new version of Ellington's 1928 Cotton Club "jungle music" classic, "The Mooche," at the tenth anniversary of the Asian American Jazz Festival at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum. After completion of my doctoral coursework at UC Berkeley in 1992, I was hired by the Smithsonian to direct the Jazz Oral History Program, serve as curator of musical culture and assist in the completion of the Duke Ellington traveling exhibition, Beyond Category: The Musical Genius of Duke Ellington. Thus, the heretofore dream of first-hand accessibility to Ellington's musical magic was realized during my four years at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

A similar albeit more extensive process of intensive research and study was conducted for a new FAR EAST SUITE. The nine-movement Ellington-Strayhorn original is a musical portrait of the countries and people who welcomed them and the Orchestra on their tours in the 1960s. This new arrangement was originally conceived as a fitting commemoration of the Duke Ellington centennial, a celebration of his homage to Asia and the Middle East. The FAR EAST SUITE seemed ideally suited as a musical mirror of today's global community, a scintillating tapestry of contrasting moods, compositional styles, approaches to modality and tonality, and always the blues. There is only one commercial release of the Ellington Orchestra performing the FAR EAST SUITE, although various versions of "Ad Lib on Nippon" and the July 1963 recording of "Isfahan" (originally titled "Elf") are currently available on CD. Through examining original manuscripts, orchestral parts and subsequent transcriptions, and by creating a score reduction from the original 15- to a 12-piece orchestra with the invaluable arranging and copying assistance of Dan Nielsen, a blueprint for a new interpretation was constructed. The process now involved creating an arrangement incorporating and showcasing the distinctive talents of the members of Asian American Orchestra.

Amazon.com
Of all the compositions Duke Ellington rolled out during his 1960s tenure on the U.S. State Department international touring circuit, Far East Suite was clearly the jewel in 1966--and has remained so since. The Ellington orchestra's famed recording of the work is cited as the best of his '60s material. And perhaps he could have imagined the suite as it appears in the thriving context of percussionist Anthony Brown's Asian American Orchestra. Brown spirits the work away, keeping central parts extra-Ellingtonian, with flourishes from different band sections running headlong across each other, especially on "Ad Lib on Nippon." Brown's band is incredibly resourceful, making a dozen players frequently sound like a much fuller orchestra. Jon Jang plays a double-take-worthy rendition of the original's piano parts, sprucing them with big keyboard blasts here and there but otherwise remaining largely faithful to the score. The horn soloists step out from the tight arrangements in stunning fashion, especially Hafez Modirzadeh's tenor solo on "Mount Harissa" and Melecio Magdaluyo's growling baritone on "Agra." The band interpolates several traditional Asian melodic additions into the Ellingtonian foundation, adding Chinese wind instruments beautifully to "Blue Pepper" and enlivening the overall piece with elements that make it in many ways even more compelling than the original. Brown has been nominated for a 1999 Grammy Award for this work, recognition of a flawless nod to and updating of an Ellington classic. It's one of the most thoughtful and creative tributes to the Duke on record. --Andrew Bartlett

Randy McElligott, JAZZIZ July 1999
"This is a monumental work played elegantly with Style and respect to the composers. One of the top Jazz recordings of 1999, and highly recommended to anyone who would like to hear an excellent orchestra play an Ellington classic. Looking forward to other recordings in the near future.

Anthony Brown has done a fantastic job of retaining Ellington's mood and intentions, as well as integrating them into his orchestra with superb results. Pick up a copy and bask in this fascinating work."

Customer Reviews

Great arrangement of a classic work!
Words cannot really describe this rendition by the Asian American Orchestra. The original was wonderful. In the spirit of Ellington, Anthony Brown and the AAO have taken this piece to the next level. They just didn't perform it, but interpreted this work from their own experiences. Bravo!

imaginative and powerful
It's hard to describe the way this music builds from Ellington's foundation and adds a layer of interpretations that truly underscores it ability to cross cultures. The Orchestra is a unique gathering of talents -- certainly preofessional and capable in jazz and indigenous instruments. But the performance is infused with a special energy, as we imagine the piece has a special meaning to these artists. The work has that feeling of a personal and summary statement that jazz can bring these seemingly disparate musical traditions together. Get the CD, but see them live if you get the chance!