ProJazz.net

Duke Ellington at Fargo, 1940 Live is a live album by the Duke Ellington Orchestra that won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 1980. The album was recorded at a dance in Fargo, North Dakota.

Reception

Allmusic.com reviewer Scott Yanow posits that “there was no better orchestra at the time, and rarely since”. JazzTimes writer Harvey Siders says, “the real star, of course, is the band, with its organized chaos, its sophistication, its jungle heat, its ability to respond to the improvisational genius of Duke”. A Storyville Records reviewer argues “the Fargo performance still resonates as one of the greatest concert recordings in all of jazz, on a par with Benny Goodman at Carnegie, Coltrane at the Vanguard, or Ellington at Newport in 1956”. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings awarded the album four stars, its maximum rating, plus a special “crown” rating.

Track listing

Disc 1

A1 The Mooche 0:00
A2 Ko Ko 5:12
A3 Pussy Willow 7:27
A4 Chatterbox 11:51
A5 Mood Indigo 15:01
A6 Harlem Airshaft 19:15
A7 Warm Valley 22:44
B1 Stompy Jones 26:11
B2 Bojangles 28:47
B3 You Took Advantage Of Me 32:43
B4 Rumpus In Richmond 37:16
B5 The Flaming Sword 39:53
B6 Never No Lament 44:17
B7 Clarinet Lament 48:31

Disc 2

C1 Sophisticated Lady 51:54
C2 Whispering Grass 56:56
C3 Conga Brava 59:13
C4 Stardust 1:02:39
C5 Rose Of The Rio Grande 1:06:42
C6 St. Louis Blues 1:10:06
D1 Slap Happy 1:15:24
D2 Sepia Panorama 1:18:45
D3 Boy Meets Horn 1:23:54
D4 Way Down Yonder In New Orleans 1:29:09
D5 Oh, Babe! Maybe Someday 1:30:32
D6 Five O’Clock Whistle 1:32:46
D7 Rockin’ In Rhythm 1:34:42

Personnel

Alto Saxophone – Johnny Hodges Arranged By (Additional Arrangements) – Billy Strayhorn Baritone Saxophone, Reeds – Harry Carney Bass – Jimmy Blanton Clarinet – Barney Bigard Clarinet, Alto Saxophone – Otto “Toby” Hardwick Cornet – Rex Stewart Drums – Sonny Greer Guitar – Freddie Guy Piano, Arranged By, Directed By – Duke Ellington Tenor Saxophone – Ben Webster Trombone – Joe “Tricky Sam” Nanton, Juan Tizol, Lawrence Brown Trumpet – Ray Nance, Wallace Jones

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Released: 1978
Recorded: 7 November 1940
Venue: Fargo, North Dakota
Label: Book-of-the-Month