music.wikisort.org - CompositionBlack, Brown, and Beige, subtitled A Duke Ellington Tone Parallel to the American Negro, is a live album of phonograph records by Duke Ellington featuring the suite of the same name in live performance in 1943.
Released under the Victor Showpiece designation, the album was the first release of the suite, which has primarily been perceived in retrospect as a botched attempt by Ellington to capture his feelings on race in the United States through music.[1] Consequently, it has been studied as an interesting work highlighting Ellington's complex relationship with race relations.[2]
1946 live album by Duke Ellington
Black, Brown, and Beige |
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Released | February 1946 |
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Recorded | January 23, 1943 |
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Venue | Carnegie Hall |
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Genre | Orchestral jazz |
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Label | Victor |
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Background and reception
Professional ratingsReview scores |
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Source | Rating |
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Allmusic |     [3] |
Modern Screen | (very favorable)[4] |
Radio Mirror | (favorable)[5] |
Billboard | (inconclusive)[6] |
New York Herald Tribune | (very unfavorable)[7] |
Ellington's agency, William Morris, promoted the concert heavily, and articles appeared in Time magazine, Newsweek and The New York Times preceding the event.[1] When performed at Carnegie Hall in January 1943, the suite opened to both positive and negative reviews[8] – Some critics, whether approaching the piece from a Jazz or Classical music background, complained of the wrong blend of the two genres.[9] Record producer John Hammond offered some positive comments on the work, but mainly criticized Ellington for leaving the blues:
But the more complicated his music becomes the less feeling his soloists are able to impart to their work. . . It was unfortunate that Duke saw fit to tamper with the blues form in order to produce music of greater "significance."[1]
Music critic and author Paul Bowles, of the New York Herald Tribune was very critical, stating: "Presented as one number it was formless and meaningless. . . . The whole attempt to fuse jazz as a form with art music should be discouraged. The two exist at such different distance from the listener's faculties of comprehension that he cannot get them both clearly into focus at the same time. One might say they operate on different wavelengths; it is impossible to tune them in simultaneously."[7]
When the album was packaged and released in early 1946, both Radio Mirror and Modern Screen wrote favorable reviews, with the latter praising the composition for its ambition[4] and the former denoting the album "a must".[5] Billboard magazine offered a lukewarm reception: "While it may not be a great musical composition, nor hold the popular appeal of his other pieces, it's Ellington music throughout."[6]
Aside from the criticism of Ellington's technique, some have posed the piece was diminished by Ellington understating his feelings through music, perhaps for fear of damaging his image and reputation with white audiences.[1][10] Despite this, Ellington was acclaimed for his booking at Carnegie Hall being the first of its kind for African-American performers, and has earned praise for his attempt to use the event to spur a conversation on race.[1]
The album made no appearances on early Billboard album charts.[11]
Track listing
The live suite, recorded February 23, 1943 and edited down to 4 minutes per side in 1946,[4] was featured on a 2-disc, 12", 78 rpm album set, Victor SP-9.
Disc 1: (28-0400)
Disc 2: (28–0401)
- III. The Blues
- IV. Three Dances
a. West Indian Dance
b. Emancipation Celebration
c. Sugar Hill Penthouse (Beige!)
Personnel
- Duke Ellington – piano
- Rex Stewart – cornet
- Shorty Baker, Wallace Jones – trumpet
- Ray Nance – trumpet, violin
- Lawrence Brown, Joe Nanton – trombone
- Juan Tizol – valve trombone
- Otto Hardwicke – alto saxophone, clarinet
- Johnny Hodges – alto saxophone
- Chauncy Haughton – clarinet, tenor saxophone
- Ben Webster – tenor saxophone
- Harry Carney – baritone saxophone, clarinet, alto saxophone
- Fred Guy – guitar
- Junior Raglin – bass
- Sonny Greer – drums
References
- "Black, Brown, and Beige: One Piece of Duke Ellington's Musical and Social Legacy". Symposium. 51: 11. October 1, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
- "Biography by William Ruhlmann". AllMusic. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- AllMusic Review by AllMusic at AllMusic. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- "Best Hot Jazz". Modern Screen. Vol. 32, no. 5. Dell. April 1946. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- "New Records". Radio Mirror. Vol. 26, no. 1. Macfadden Publications. June 1946. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- "Record Reviews". The Billboard. March 30, 1946. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
- Bowles, Paul (January 25, 1943). "Duke Ellington in Recital for Russian Relief". New York Herald Tribune.
- Audie Cornish (February 22, 2019). "A Sprawling Blueprint For Protest Music, Courtesy of the Jazz Duke" (Podcast). NPR. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
CORNISH: "I was reading that, at the time, this crowd included Eleanor Roosevelt and Count Basie and Frank Sinatra. And, like, this was supposed to be a big, revelatory moment from him. But it also, in the end, got really mixed reviews, right? He took a lot of criticism for it." MCBRIDE: "Right. First of all, you have an African-American bandleader and composer playing a piece about the history of the American Negro in 1943 at Carnegie Hall. That alone might get you a couple of bad reviews before you even play a note. I think there were a lot of critics who sort of deemed themselves experts on fine music, you know, classical music. So when you have this African-American composer using timpanis, violins but mixing it with swing rhythms, African rhythms, I'm sure a lot of reviewers had no idea what they were listening to. How do you write about something you don't know about?"
- Pierpont, Claudia (May 10, 2010). "Black, Brown, And Beige". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
Black, Brown and Beige" was torn apart by the major critics... Judged as jazz, the composition was deemed unrecognizable; judged as classical music, it was found "formless and meaningless," a series of poorly connected parts that did not add up to a whole.
- Pierpont, Claudia (May 10, 2010). "Black, Brown, And Beige". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
It is difficult not to wonder if Ellington's work was damaged by his holding back so much of what he wanted to say—if his unyielding self-control was not sometimes less than ideal for his art.
- Whitburn, Joel (2002). Pop Hits Singles and Albums, 1940–1954. Record Research. ISBN 978-0-89820-198-7.
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Discography |
Studio albums |
- Harlem Jazz, 1930
- Ellingtonia, Vol. One
- Ellingtonia, Vol. Two
- Braggin' in Brass: The Immortal 1938 Year
- The Blanton–Webster Band
- Never No Lament: The Blanton-Webster Band
- Smoke Rings
- Liberian Suite
- Great Times!
- Masterpieces by Ellington
- Ellington Uptown
- The Duke Plays Ellington
- Ellington '55
- Dance to the Duke!
- Ellington Showcase
- Historically Speaking
- Duke Ellington Presents...
- The Complete Porgy and Bess
- A Drum Is a Woman
- Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956
- Such Sweet Thunder
- Studio Sessions 1957 & 1962
- Ellington Indigos
- Black, Brown and Beige
- Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque
- The Cosmic Scene
- Happy Reunion
- Jazz Party
- Back to Back
- Side by Side
- Anatomy of a Murder
- Festival Session
- Blues in Orbit
- The Nutcracker Suite
- Piano in the Background
- Swinging Suites by Edward E. and Edward G.
- Unknown Session
- Piano in the Foreground
- The Great Summit: The Master Takes
- Paris Blues
- Featuring Paul Gonsalves
- Midnight in Paris
- Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins
- Studio Sessions, New York 1962
- Money Jungle
- Afro-Bossa
- The Symphonic Ellington
- Duke Ellington's Jazz Violin Session
- Studio Sessions New York 1963
- My People
- Ellington '65
- Duke Ellington Plays Mary Poppins
- Ellington '66
- Concert in the Virgin Islands
- The Popular Duke Ellington
- Far East Suite
- The Jaywalker
- Studio Sessions, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967, San Francisco, Chicago, New York
- ...And His Mother Called Him Bill
- Second Sacred Concert
- Studio Sessions New York, 1968
- Latin American Suite
- The Pianist
- New Orleans Suite
- Orchestral Works
- The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970
- The Intimacy of the Blues
- The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse
- Studio Sessions New York & Chicago, 1965, 1966 & 1971
- The Intimate Ellington
- The Ellington Suites
- This One's for Blanton!
- Up in Duke's Workshop
- Duke's Big 4
- Mood Ellington
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Live albums | |
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Collaborations | |
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Compositions | by Billy Strayhorn |
- "Take the "A" Train"
- "Lush Life"
- "Chelsea Bridge"
- "Something to Live For"
- "Satin Doll"
- "Blood Count"
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by Juan Tizol | |
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Orchestra members |
- Hayes Alvis
- Cat Anderson
- Ivie Anderson
- Harold Ashby
- Alice Babs
- Shorty Baker
- Butch Ballard
- Art Baron
- Aaron Bell
- Louie Bellson
- Joe Benjamin
- Barney Bigard
- Lou Blackburn
- Jimmy Blanton
- Wellman Braud
- Lawrence Brown
- Harry Carney
- Johnny Coles
- Willie Cook
- Buster Cooper
- Kay Davis
- Wild Bill Davis
- Wilbur de Paris
- Bobby Durham
- Mercer Ellington
- Rolf Ericson
- Jimmy Forrest
- Victor Gaskin
- Peter Giger
- Tyree Glenn
- Paul Gonsalves
- Sonny Greer
- Fred Guy
- Jimmy Hamilton
- Otto Hardwick
- Shelton Hemphill
- Rick Henderson
- Al Hibbler
- Johnny Hodges
- Major Holley
- Charlie Irvis
- Quentin Jackson
- Hilton Jefferson
- Herb Jeffries
- Freddie Jenkins
- Money Johnson
- Herbie Jones
- Wallace Jones
- Taft Jordan
- Al Killian
- Queen Esther Marrow
- Wendell Marshall
- Murray McEachern
- Louis Metcalf
- James "Bubber" Miley
- Harold "Geezil" Minerve
- Ray Nance
- Tricky Sam Nanton
- Oscar Pettiford
- Eddie Preston
- Russell Procope
- Junior Raglin
- Betty Roché
- Ernie Royal
- Al Sears
- Joya Sherrill
- Willie Smith
- Elmer Snowden
- Rex Stewart
- Billy Strayhorn
- Billy Taylor
- Clark Terry
- Juan Tizol
- Norris Turney
- Ben Webster
- Arthur Whetsel
- Cootie Williams
- Nelson Williams
- Skippy Williams
- Booty Wood
- Jimmy Woode
- Britt Woodman
- Sam Woodyard
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Related | |
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