Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
2. Me and You
3. Grievin'
4. Little Posey
5. My Last Goodbye (hj)
6. The Gal From Joe's
7. Tootin' Through The Roof
8. Day In, Day Out
9. Merry-Go-Round
10. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
11. Ko Ko
12. Blue Goose
13. So Far, So Good
14. Cotton Tail
15. Concerto for Cootie
16. Jack The Bear
17. Boy Meets Horn
18. The Sergeant Was Shy
19. Never No Lament

Disc 2:

1. It's Glory
2. The Mooche
3. The Sheik Of Araby
4. Sepia Panorama
5. Ko Ko
6. There Shall Be No Night
7. Pussy Willow
8. Chatterbox
9. Mood Indigo
10. Harlem Airshaft
11. Ferryboat Serenade
12. Warm Valley
13. Stompy Jones
14. Chloe
15. Bojangles
16. On The Air
17. Rumpus in Richmond
18. Chaser
19. The Sidewalks Of New York
20. The Flaming Sword
21. Never No Lament
22. Caravan
23. Clarinet Lament

Disc 3:

1. Slap Happy
2. Sepia Panorama
3. Boy Meets Horn
4. Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
5. Oh babe, Maybe Someday
6. Five O'Clock Whistle
7. Fanfare
8. Call Of The Canyon
9. Rockin' in Rhythm
10. Sophisticated Lady
11. Cotton Tail
12. Whispering Grass
13. Congo Brava
14. I Never Felt This Way Before
15. Across The Track Blues
16. Honeysuckle Rose
17. Wham
18. Star Dust
19. Rose of the Rio Grande
20. St Louis Blues
21. Warm Valley
22. God Bless America

Disc 4:

1. Take The A Train
2. Hayfoot Strawfoot
3. It Can't Be Wrong
4. What Am I Here For?
5. Mainstem aka Altitude
6. Could It Be You
7. Goin' Up
8. Don't get Around Much Anymore
9. Nevada
10. Things Ain't What They Used To Be
11. Take The 'A' Train
12. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
13. Mainstem aka Altitude
14. I Don't Want Anybody At All
15. Johnny Come Lately
16. Thing Ain't What They Used To Be
17. Moon Mist
18. You'll Never Know
19. Tonight I Shall Sleep
20. I Don't Know What Kind Of Blues I Got
21. Don't Get Around Much Anymore
22. Moon Mist
23. Introduction
24. I Wonder Why
25. Goin' Up

Disc 5:

1. Star Spangled Banner
2. Introduction by Duke Ellington
3. Take The A Train
4. Moon Mist
5. Tea For Two
6. Honeysuckle Rose
7. Star Dust
8. The C Jam Blues
9. West Indian Influence
10. Lighter Attitude
11. New World A-Coming
12. Floor Show
13. Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Disc 6:

1. Introduction by Duke Ellington
2. Ring Dem Bells
3. Medley
4. Jack The bear
5. Do Nothin' 'til you hear from me
6. Summertime
7. Cotton Tail
8. Black and Tan Fantasy
9. Rockin' In Rhythm
10. Sentimental Lady
11. Trumpet In Spades
12. Things Aint What They Used To Be
13. Announcer and Duke Ellington Introduction
14. G.I Jive
15. Amor, Amor
16. Frankie and Johnny

Disc 7:

1. Take The A Train
2. Suddenly It Jumped
3. Laura
4. Kissing Bug
5. Stompy Jones
6. Solid Old Man
7. Carnegie Blues
8. In A Mellotone
9. Fancy Dan
10. Things Aint What They Used To Be
11. Black and Tan
12. Mood To Be Wooed
13. Frantic Fantasy
14. The C Jam Blues
15. Air Conditioned Jungle
16. On The Sunny Side of the Street
17. Rockin' In Rhythm
18. Take The A Train
19. The Blues
20. Sono

Disc 8:

1. Solid Old Man
2. Singin' in The Rain
3. Three Cent Stomp
4. Tulip or Turnip
5. Take The A Train
6. Hy'a Sue
7. The C Jam Blues
8. Passion Flower
9. Clementine
10. Just A-Sittin And A-Rockin
11. One O'Clock Jump
12. Unbooted Character
13. Paradise
14. How You Sound
15. It's Monday Every Day
16. Caravan
17. Cotton Tail

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #84716 in Music
• Released on: 2007-03-06
• Number of discs: 8
• Format: Box set

Album Description
The Duke Box contains a generous serving of more than eight hours of music from what many consider the greatest decade of the greatest orchestra in the history of jazz.

What's more, the Duke and his men, among them the incomparable Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, Lawrence Brown, "Tricky" Sam Nanton, Harry Carnet, Rex Stewart, Barney Bigar d and Jimmy Blanton are captured live in dance halls, night clubs, concert halls and radio studios...with a you-are-there feeling absent from most commercial recordings.

We are lucky indeed that these slice-of-life sound documents survivie, or were made in the first place, such as the unique Fargo dance date, and hearing it chronologically places this grand music in a very special and illuminating perspective.

There are numbers you may know but never heard like this before and when there are several versions, each is different , and then there are some things that even seasoned Ellingtonians will encounter for the first time. So come on in for your special date with the immortal Duke!

Customer Reviews

Ellington at his best
It's increasingly difficult to get a good sampling of Duke Ellington's music from any source other than a "collector's" label. The Duke Box offers a great sampling of Ellingtonia, for $9 a disc. The sound is always at least adequate and sometimes excellent. The Fargo performances, 2.5 hours on discs 2 and 3 are incredible -- clear, vibrant sound and incredible musicianship. They're among the very best Ellington recordings. Thank you, Storyville!

Too pricy for the content
Two of the recordings are excellent and representative of Duke's live performances. The Fargo recordings are outstanding. The other material is superfulous, and at times the fidelity suffers. The Concert at Carnagie Hall was quite good from a historical perspective.

I would recommend that Blue Note issue the Fargo recordings as a solo album at a lower price. True lovers of Duke and the big band sounds might find the box album a good buy. I am a collector, and a lot of this stuff I have on other disks. I would recommend other albums--- the Blanton recordings, with the phenomenal bass of Jimmy Blanton. Also, the live Newport Jazz Festival recordings (2-cds) are very good.

Some things are better remembered, than relived.
The packaging is well done. Transcription to new media excellent. The end result is less than priceless.

The music is as flat as it was on 78's or AM radio. As technology has evolved are tastes change. By the standards of fifty years ago the recordings are very good but we've come to expect more, "The Duke" is a disappointment. Most of my listening to music is done on a high end CD player in my car. The player brings out the "tinny-ness" of recording technology of the past. It's not pleasant listening and it soon will end up parked on a shelf and forgotten. The "good old days" really were not.