'Together for the First Time / The Great Reunion''

‘Together for the First Time / The Great Reunion” is the combination of two recordings done on April 3–4, 1961 by a sextet combining Duke Ellington with Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars, and both released the same year by Roulette.

WATCH

RVM prescreen

1 . In A Mellow Tone (On “The Ed Sullivan Show”)

2 . Duke’s Place (On “The Ed Sullivan Show”)

Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington – Together for the First Time / The Great Reunion

LISTEN

Track Listing : 1.Duke’S Place (Duke Ellington, Bob Katz, Bob Thiele) – 05:08 . 2.I’M Just A Lucky So And So (Mack David, Duke Ellington) – 03:11 . 3.Cotton Tail (Duke Ellington) – 03:47 . 4.Mood Indigo (Barney Bigard, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) – 04:00 . 5.Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me (Duke Ellington, Bob Russell) – 02:39 . 6.The Beautiful American (Duke Ellington) – 03:11 . 7.Black And Tan Fantasy (Duke Ellington, Bubber Miley) – 04:03 . 8.Drop Me Off In Harlem (Duke Ellington, Nick A. Kenny) – 03:52 . 9.The Mooche (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) – 03:46 . 10.In A Mellow Tone (Duke Ellington, Milt Gabler) – 03:53 . 11.It Don’T Mean A Thing (If It Ain’T Got That Swing) (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) – 04:00 . 12.Solitude (Eddie Delange, Duke Ellington, Irving Mills) – 04:57 . 13.Don’T Get Around Much Anymore (Duke Ellington, Bob Russell) – 03:35 . 14.I’M Beginning To See The Light (Duke Ellington, Don George, Johnny Hodges, Harry James) – 03:39 . 15.Just Squeeze Me (But Don’T Tease Me) (Duke Ellington, Lee Gaines) – 04:00 . 16.I Got It Bad (And That Ain’T Good) (Duke Ellington, Paul Francis Webster) – 05:34 . 17.Azalea (Duke Ellington) – 05:36

Musicians : Duke Ellington – Piano . Louis Armstrong – Trumpet, Vocals . Barney Bigard – Clarinet . Trummy Young – Trombone . Mort Herbert – Double Bass . Danny Barcelona – Drums

Production : Produced By Bob Thiele . Ray Hall – Engineer

Package : Stanley Dance – Liner Notes . Arnold Meyers – Photography

Recorded On April 3–4, 1961 At Rca Victor’S Studio One, New York City..

Released In 1961 By Roulette.

(Source Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington – Together for the First Time / The Great Reunion | Louis Armstrong House Museum)

READ

All About Jazz
While is might have been appealing to have put Armstrong in front of the full Ellington assemblage, it was decided to go with a small “swingtet”, as it were, with trombonist Trummy Young and clarinet Barney Bigard added to Ellington’s piano trio. […]

Allmusic
The music resulting from Thiele’s inspired experiment is outstanding and utterly essential. That means everybody ought to hear this album at least onceand many will want to hear it again and again all the way through, for this is one of the most intriguing confluences in all of recorded jazz. […]

Amazon
When I close my eyes and listen to Louis sing this little-known Ellington gem, I can feel the muggy Louisiana heat, feel the breeze from slowly turning ceiling fanand taste the bourbon on the rocks. (As another reviewer said, Louis Armstrong‘s worst recording is better than 98% of the music currently available on record. The same, I’d say, is true of Duke.) […]

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