Duke Ellington at his Best

Getting into Duke Ellington can be daunting with so many recordings and such a long career. I'm a massive Ellington fan and thought I'd put together recordings to get started but there is so much more. This list goes chronologically, and while I chose a bunch of box sets, all of this music is available elsewhere if you can't justify buying the box.

-The Complete 1932-1940 Brunswick/Columbia/ Master Recordings of Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra: Ok, so this fabulous Mosaic box is out-of-print but these have been reissued elsewhere. Duke entered the 30s with a bigger band and incredible creativity. The band including heavyweights like Barney Bigard, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Cootie Williams among others. If this 11-CD is too much (with all the alternate takes) you should try to acquire some of this music elsewhere like the Chronological Classic series.

-Duke at his Very Best - Legendary Works 1940-1942, the Jimmy Blanton, Billy Strayhorn & Ben Webster Sessions: This material has been issued in countless formats. This is a recent 4-CD on a French label with great sound. Many consider this Ellington's greatest period - I probably would agree. Spans the years 1940 to 1942, when the band included bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. Jammed packed with classics like "Jack the Bear", "Ko Ko", "Jumpin' Punkins", "Never No Lament (Don't Get Around Much Anymore)." Some of the greatest big band jazz ever.

-The Duke Box: Another big box (8 CDs) but an incredible collection of live Duke spanning the years 1940-1949. We are lucky to have so many surviving broadcasts from the major networks like NBC, CBS, to broadcasts from clubs like Crystal Ballroom Fargo (one of Duke's most famous live dates), Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Empire among others.

-The Treasury Shows: 25 2-CD sets from Ellington's Treasury Department shows which were a series of radio programs that aired on ABC's Blue Network in 1945 and 1946. No you don't need all of these, but this is wonderful music with excellent sound quality.

-Ellington At Newport 1956: A concert which revitalized Ellington's flagging career. Jazz promoter George Wein describes the 1956 concert as "the greatest performance of [Ellington's] career... It stood for everything that jazz had been and could be."

-Collaborations: Duke never really rested on his laurels and in the 60s did excellent collaborations with John Coltrane (Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, 1962), Coleman Hawkins (Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins, 1963), Money Jungle, 1963 with Charles Mingus and Max Roach.

-...And His Mother Called Him Bill: Ellington recorded this album as a tribute to Billy Strayhorn, who died of cancer in May 1967. A deeply felt and beautiful tribute to Duke's long time partner.

-Far East Suite (1967): Late period Ellington and one of his greatest suites.

-New Orleans Suite (1970): Another wonderful late period suite featuring the final recordings of longtime Ellington saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who died between the album's two recording sessions.