Duke Ellington, “Golden Greats” (Disky, 2002; tracks recorded 1927-48)

Review:
All together these three CDs contain sixty six vintage recordings of Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, from The Jungle Band days up until a mid forties recording of "Brown Betty," recorded in Carnegie Hall.

I believe that all of these 66 numbers were recorded for Victor Records,
the first batch from the late 1920s until the early 1930s and the rest were
disked from 1939 until the mid-'40s I believe.

There are many of Duke's masterworks included such as "East St. Louis Toodle-oo"
and "Black and Tan Fantasy" from among the early works right up to 'Take the "A" Train," "Caravan" and the incomparable "Koko" among many others.

This set plays and sounds all right to my ears and considering the super
low price is quite a bargain. This is a collection of big band masterpieces
by one of America's greatest composers whose music, in my opinion, is really beyond category. A tremendous bargain.

Tracklist:
Disc: 1
1. Slippery Horn
2. Blues I Love to Sing
3. Hot and Bothered
4. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
5. Black and Tan Fantasy
6. Creole Love Call
7. Diga Diga Doo
8. Mooche
9. Take It Easy
10. Move Over
11. Jubilee Stomp
12. Black Beauty
13. Cotton Club Stomp
14. Misty Mornin'
15. Ring Dem Bells
16. Mood Indigo
17. Rockin' in Rhythm
18. Creole Rhapsody, Pts. 1 & 2
19. It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)
20. Blue Ramble
21. Drop Me off in Harlem
22. Sophisticated Lady

Disc: 2
1. Stormy Weather - Duke Ellington Orchestra
2. In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree
3. Stompy Jones
4. Solitude
5. Merry-Go-Round
6. In a Sentimental Mood
7. Showboat Shuffle
8. Clarinet Lament (Barney's Concerto)
9. Echoes of Harlem (Cootie's Concerto)
10. Kissin' My Baby Goodnight
11. Caravan
12. Azure
13. Harmony in Harlem
14. I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart
15. Gal from Joe's
16. Prelude to a Kiss
17. Riding on a Blue Note
18. I'm Slappin' Seventh Avenue (With the Sole of My Shoe)
19. Gypsy Without a Song
20. Boy Meets Horn
21. Country Gal
22. Jack the Bear

Disc: 3
1. Ko Ko
2. At a Dixie Roadside Diner
3. Sepia Panorama
4. Morning Glory
5. Conga Brava
6. Me and You
7. Cotton Tail
8. Dusk
9. In a Mellow Tone
10. Take the "A" Train
11. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good)
12. Chelsea Bridge
13. C Jam Blues
14. Blue Serge
15. Never No Lament (Don't Get Around Much Anymore)
16. Perdido
17. Bojangles
18. Concerto for Cootie
19. Main Stem
20. I'm Beginning to See the Light
21. Transblucency (A Blue Fog That You Can Almost See Through)
22. Brown Betty