Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins - Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins

 

Acoustic Sounds Series reissues from Verve/Universal Music Enterprises!

Monthly releases highlighting the world's most historic and best jazz records!

Mastered by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound from the original analog tapes

180-gram LPs pressed at Quality Record Pressings!

Stoughton Printing gatefold old-style tip-on jackets

Series supervised by Chad Kassem CEO of Acoustic Sounds

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"One of the great Ellington albums, one of the great Hawkins albums and one of the great albums of the 1960s." — The New York Times

Even though Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins had both been well-known jazzmen since the early 1920s and continued to be successful until their deaths, their only recorded encounter was the LP Duke Ellington Meets Coleman Hawkins (Impulse AS-26), taped in 1962 and presented here in its entirety.

Hawkins had been an admirer of Duke Ellington's music for at least 35 years at this point and Ellington had suggested they record together at least 20 years prior to their actual meeting in 1962. Although it would have been preferable to hear the tenor sax great performing with the full orchestra, his meeting with Ellington and an all-star group taken out of the big band does feature such greats as Ray Nance on cornet and violin, trombonist Lawrence Brown, altoist Johnny Hodges, and baritonist Harry Carney. High points include an exuberant "The Jeep Is Jumpin'," an interesting remake of "Mood Indigo," and a few new Ellington pieces. This delightful music is recommended in one form or another.

Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, on August 18, 1962 and released in February 1963 by Impulse! Records.

Musicians:
Coleman Hawkins, tenor sax
Duke Ellington, piano
Ray Nance, cornet and violin
Johnny Hodges, alto sax
Harry Carney, baritone sax and bass clarinet
Aaron Bell, bass
Sam Woodyard, drums

Side A

1. Limbo Jazz

2. Mood Indigo

3. Ray Charles' Place

4. Wanderlust

Side B

1. You Dirty Dog

2. Self Portrait

3. The Jeep Is Jumpin'

4. The Ricitic

Customer Reviews (5.00 Stars) 5 person(s) rated this product.

Really crisp and clear sounding posted on 01/29/2024 5 Stars First of all, the record sounds awesome. Quiet and crisp. I'd recommend it. This is top notch quality! Not Acoustic Sounds fault, but I only wish the records when ordered would arrive sooner. FedEx is slow. I have ordered two records now and the first took 11 days and the latest in on 9 days. Seems like FedEx has fallen off a bit.

As perfect as an LP can be! posted on 10/25/2023 5 Stars Reviewer: sp Very quiet LP, with great dynamic range!

Essentially Perfect posted on 06/25/2022 5 Stars Reviewer: Brian VanPelt The pressing is extraordinary, dead quiet. It is moderate loud, so you won't have to turn it up. Any surface noise is so miniscule as to be negligible. The recording/sound quality of this album is awesome. I don't believe I heard any distortions at all. There are not a lot of musicians on this one, so it's easy to locate the musicians around the soundstage. The cymbals were not splashy - I could hear full decays and such. Hawkins sounds just right, with that wonderful burnished sound. Ellington's piano is generally in the middle while Hawkins is on the left and the drums are on the right. There are some other accompaniments blended in as well. The packaging is really nice as well. It's a solid cardboard gatefold cover with an archival sleeve inside. The cover has a beautiful gloss. This is a high quality product that I am happy to own.

Must have! Musical texture like a topographical map! posted on 05/21/2022 5 Stars Reviewer: Bubba Buoy Amazing! This is a GREAT reissue in terms of sonics. Silent vinyl, detailed and airy, and the headline grabber is the texture of the instruments, particularly Hawkins' sax, they're all shockingly good. Can't beat it. The songs are real toe-tappers too! An instant favorite which I definitely didn't know before, but has become an instant classic for me in just 2 listens. I love The Duke, and the medium sized band sounds incredible! If you're inclined to like the bigger band sound and/or Hawkins' soloing you're in for a huge treat!

Wow! Kicks butt! posted on 05/17/2022 5 Stars Reviewer: Michael Renwick Awesome record, great sound quality. The content here has me smiling ear to ear. Music feels fresh and exciting. Top tier rotation for sure.

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