On April 3, 1961, producer Bob Thiele achieved what should be regarded as one of his greatest accomplishments; he organized and supervised a seven-and-a-half-hour session at RCA Victor's Studio One on East 24th Street in Manhattan, using a sextet combining Duke Ellington with Louis Armstrong & His All-Stars. This group included ex-Ellington clarinetist Barney Bigard, ex-Jimmie Lunceford swing-to-bop trombonist Trummy Young, bassist Mort Herbert, and drummer Danny Barcelona. A second session took place during the afternoon of the following day.
The music resulting from Thiele's inspired experiment is outstanding and utterly essential. That means everybody ought to hear this album at least once, and many will want to hear it again and again all the way through, for this is one of the most intriguing confluences in all of recorded jazz.


Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington

The Great Summit:

The Master Takes

1961
CD / 2000 / 320Kbps

Tracklist:
1. Duke's Place (05:03)
2. I'm Just A Lucky So And So (03:09)
3. Cottontail (03:42)
4. Mood Indigo (03:57)
5. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me (02:38)
6. The Beautiful American (03:08)
7. Black And Tan Fantasy (03:59)
8. Drop Me Off In Harlem (03:49)
9. The Mooche (03:38)
10. In A Mellow Tone (03:48)
11. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) (03:58)
12. Solitude (04:55)
13. Don't Get Around Much Anymore (03:31)
14. I'm Beginning To See The Light (03:37)
15. Just Squeeze Me (03:58)
16. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) (05:31)
17. Azalea (05:02)

The Great Summit is a reissue of the two Roulette albums:
Together For The First Time (track 1–10) and The Great Reunion (track 11–17) from 1961.

Personnel:
Duke Ellington (piano)
Louis Armstrong (trumpet, vocals)
Barney Bigard (clarinet)
Danny Barcelona (drums)
Mort Herbert (bass)
Trummy Young (trombone)


Straight, no chaser.


More by the “Duke” if you like:






. . . and some "New York - Swing":