Great Times! is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington's featuring duet performances with his arranger and musical partner Billy Strayhorn originally recorded for the Mercer Records label in 1950, and later released on a 10" LP called Piano Duets. The sessions were re-released on Riverside as Great Times! in 1984 with tracks from an additional session with Oscar Pettiford.

Great Times!
Compilation album by Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn
Released	1964
Recorded	September 13, October 3 & November, 1950
Genre	Jazz
Length	35:40
Label	Riverside
Duke Ellington chronology
The Carnegie Hall Concerts: December 1947 (1947) Great Times! (1964) Masterpieces by Ellington (1951)
Billy Strayhorn chronology
Great Times! (1950) Cue for Saxophone (1959)

Reception

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars, calling it "quite fascinating... most memorable. Intriguing music".[1]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	[2]

Track listing

:All compositions by Duke Ellington except as indicated

1. "Cotton Tail" - 2:55
2. "C Jam Blues" (Barney Bigard, Ellington) - 2:58
3. "Flamingo" (Edmund Anderson, Ted Grouya) - 3:00
4. "Bang-Up Blues" - 3:08
5. "Tonk" (Ellington, Strayhorn) - 2:59
6. "Johnny Come Lately" (Strayhorn) - 3:01
7. "In a Blue Summer Garden" (Ellington, Strayhorn) - 4:06
8. "Great Times" - 2:56
9. "Perdido" (Juan Tizol) -2:57
10. "Take the "A" Train" (Strayhorn) - 2:20
11. "Oscalypso" (Oscar Pettiford) - 2:44
12. "Blues for Blanton" - 2:36

• Recorded in New York on September 13 (tracks 9-12), October 3 (tracks 5-8) & November (tracks 1-4), 1950

Personnel

• Duke Ellington – piano
• Billy Strayhorn - piano (tracks 1-8), celeste (tracks 10 & 11)
• Oscar Pettiford - cello (tracks 9-12)
• Wendell Marshall (tracks 1-4), Joe Schulman (tracks 5-8), Lloyd Trotman (tracks 9-12) - bass
• Jo Jones (tracks 9-12), Unknown (tracks 1-4) - drums

References