Duke Ellington - Volume 1: 1926-1929 flac album

The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 1929 (Classics). The OKeh Ellington (Columbia) (1927–1930) (released 1991). The Works of Duke: Vol. 1 – Vol. 5 (RCA) (1927–1930). Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956 (LMR) – released as The Private Sessions Volume One in 1987. Such Sweet Thunder (Columbia). All Star Road Band (Doctor Jazz) released 1983. Anatomy of a Murder (Columbia – soundtrack album). Live at the Blue Note (Roulette). Festival Session (Columbia). Masterpieces, 1926–1949 (Proper, 4 discs). The Beginning Vol. 1 (1926–1928, Decca Jazz Heritage Series, 1 disc, DL 9224). Hot in Harlem Vol. 2 (1928–1929, Decca Jazz Heritage Series) (1 disc). Rockin' in Rhythm Vol. 3 (1929–1931, Decca Jazz Heritage Series) (1 disc, DL 79247). The Duke Box (Storyville, 8 discs, released 2007).

This Ellington set is another attempt to meet that objective. While it appears at first glance from the title of this 4-CD package that Duke's earliest recordings occurred in 1926, they didn't. There are 4 titles here by the Washingtonians (the name of Duke's first band) from 1924 and 1925 which were issued on Blu-Disc (Choo Choo, Rainy Nights) and Pathe (I'm Gonna Hang Around, Trombone Blues). It seems that JSP has committed a serious faux-pas by labelling the title of this CD as Volume 1 (1926-1929) instead of as 1924-1929. With an artist of Ellington's stature and fame, this type of error is not excusable. Additionally, the tracks are not compiled chronologically by recording date which would have made a lot more sense with this type of issue, listenability notwithstanding. The purchaser may also be given the impression from the title of this set that it covers all of Ellington's recordings through 1929.

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