Duke Ellington's 'Such Sweet Thunder'

Duke Ellington‘s ‘Such Sweet Thunder’ is an album based on the work of William Shakespeare and recorded on August 7, 1956 and May 3, 1957.

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1 . Such Sweet Thunder (Switzerland ’59 2/7 [)

2 . Hank Sank (1959)

3 . Up And Down (w/ Amii Stewart)

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Track listing : 1.Such Sweet Thunder (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 03:22 . 2.Sonnet for Caesar (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 03:00 . 3.Sonnet to Hank Cinq (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 01:24 . 4.Lady Mac (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 03:41 . 5.Sonnet in Search of a Moor (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 02:22 . 6.The Telecasters (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 03:05 . 7.Up and Down, Up and Down (I Will Lead Them Up and Down) (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 03:09 . 8.Sonnet for Sister Kate (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 02:24 . 9.The Star-Crossed Lovers (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 04:00 . 10.Madness in Great Ones (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 03:26 . 11.Half the Fun (Also known as Lately) (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 04:19 . 12.Circle of Fourths (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) – 01:45 .

Don Hunstein

Musicians : Duke Ellington – Piano . Jimmy Hamilton – Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone . Johnny Hodges – Alto Saxophone . Russell Procope – Clarinet, Alto Saxophone . Paul Gonsalves – Tenor Saxophone . Harry Carney – Bass Clarinet, Baritone Saxophone . Cat Anderson – Trumpet . Clark Terry – Trumpet . Ray Nance – Trumpet . Willie Cook – Trumpet . Quentin Jackson – Trombone . John Sanders – Trombone . Britt Woodman – Trombone . Sam Woodyard – Drums . Billy Strayhorn – Orchestration .

Production Produced by Irving Townsend .

Packaging : Irving Townsend – Liner Notes . Howard Fritzson – Art Direction . Don Hunstein – Photography . Randall Martin – Design .

Recorded on August 7, 1956 and May 3, 1957 .

Released in April 1957 or May 1957 by Columbia.

(Source Duke Ellington – Such Sweet Thunder | The Official Website of Jazz Legend Duke Ellington)

Duke Ellington‘s ‘Such Sweet Thunder’ | RVM RadioVideo.Music’ />

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npr
For example, he thought that Lady Macbeth may have had a little ragtime in her. And for the Macbeth piece, he wrote some ragtime music. He places her in the turn of the century sound. […]

RateYourMusic
There’s something playful, even experimental about Such Sweet Thunder and for the most part this is delightful music, Strayhorn co-composes with no clear indication of who wrote what. The music rarely displays the rhythmic drive or the full big-band power of his 30’s or 40’s recordings but the band, never-the less, sounds exquisite and, to the initiated, beautifully intimate. […]

JazzTimes
All of these, with the exception of one track of out-takes, are in stereo. Phil Schaap explains all of the technicalities of production in his thoroughly detailed notes. […]

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