Duke Ellington - Duke Ellington Presents (Mono, DMM)
The Duke Ellington Orchestra:
- Piano – Duke Ellington [click here to see more vinyl featuring Duke Ellington]
- Vocals - Ray Nance (A3), Jimmy Grissom (A5)
- Alto Saxophone – Johnny Hodges (Soloist B2)
- Alto Saxophone, Clarinet – Russell Procope (Soloist B4)
- Baritone Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Harry Carney (Soloist A6)
- Tenor Saxophone – Paul Gonsalves (Soloist A2 & B1)
- Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet – Jimmy Hamilton (Soloist B3)
- Bass – Jimmy Woode
- Drums – Sam Woodyard
- Trombone - Britt Woodman, John Sanders, Quentin Jackson (A4)
- Trumpet – "Cat" Anderson (Soloist A1), Clark Terry, Ray Nance (Soloist A3-4), Willie Cook
Written by Duke Ellington (A5-6, B1-2, B5), DuBose Heyward (A1), George Gershwin (A1, A3), David Raksin (A2), Johnny Mercer (A2), Vernon Duke (A3), Rodgers & Hart (A4), Don George (A5), Harry James (A5), Billy Strayhorn (B2), John Latouche (B2), Mitchell Parish (B3), Peter DeRose (B3), Al Dubin (B4), Victor Herbert (B4)
1 LP, standard sleeve printed by GZ Media in Czechia
Original analog Master tape: YES
Heavy Press : 180g
Record color : black
Speed : 33 RPM
Size : 12'’
Mono
Studio
Record Press : Precision Record Pressing (Canada)
Label: Bethlelem
Original Label : Bethlelem
Recorded in February 7th & 8th, 1956 at Universal Recording Studio in Chicago, Illinois
New 2022 Direct Metal Mastering
Liner Notes by Joseph P. Muranyi
Originally released in 1956
Reissued in January 2023
Tracks :
Side A:
- Summertime
- Laura
- I Can't Get Started
- My Funny Valentine
- Everything but You
- Frustration
Side B:
- Cotton Tail
- Day Dream
- Deep Purple
- Indian Summer
- Blues
Reviews :
“This unusual set only has four Duke Ellington compositions among the 11 songs. He features a different soloist on most of the songs (which include seven standards not associated with Ellington's music). There are showcases for trumpeter Cat Anderson, Ray Nance (who sings and plays violin on "I Can't Get Started"), singer Jimmy Grissom, baritonist Harry Carney, and the altos of Johnny Hodges and Russell Procope, as well as two apiece for clarinetist Jimmy Hamilton and tenor saxophonist Paul Gonsalves. The closing "Blues" gives many of the players an additional opportunity to be heard. Although this set is not essential, the music is quite enjoyable and it is interesting to hear Duke Ellington playing such tunes as "Laura," "My Funny Valentine," and "Indian Summer."” AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow
Direct Metal Mastering
In Direct Metal Mastering, the cutting lathe engraves the audio signal directly onto a copper-plated master disc, instead of engraving the groove into a lacquer-coated aluminum disc.
The direct metal mastering technology addresses the lacquer mastering technology's issue of pre-echoes during record play, caused by the cutting stylus unintentionally transferring some of the subsequent groove wall's impulse signal into the previous groove wall. In particular, a quiet passage followed by a loud sound often clearly revealed a faint pre-echo of the loud sound occurring 1.8 seconds ahead of time (the duration of one revolution at 33 rpm). This problem could also appear as post-echo, 1.8 seconds after a peak in volume.
Another improvement is noise reduction. The lacquer mastering method bears a higher risk of adding unwanted random noise to the recording, caused by the enclosure of small dust particles when spraying the silvering on the lacquer master, which is the necessary first step of the electroplating process for reproduction of the master disc. As the DMM master disc is already made of metal (copper), this step is not required, and its faults are avoided.
With the groove being cut straight into a metal foil, this removed a number of plating stages in the manufacturing process. This gave rise to more upper frequency levels and less surface noise. Additionally, groove pre-echo problems are significantly diminished. Bass is typically tight and well defined, even described as more accurate than the fat, mushy sound of lacquered vinyl pressings.
Ratings :
AllMusic: 2.5 / 5 , Discogs : 4.2 / 5