'Music Analysis: Duke Ellington At Newport'

Born in Washington D.C in 1899, Duke Ellington was an American composer, pianist and bandleader of a jazz orchestra. He settled in New York City from the mid-1920s and earned a national profile for his Cotton Club performances in Harlem. In 1930’s, Ellington toured in Europe and became a pivotal figure in the history of Jazz. One of the many albums he has recorded is Ellington at Newport which was a live jazz album from 1956 and it was performed by his band at the Newport Jazz Festival. It’s producers were George Avakian and Phil Schaap.The original track had five songs, Festival Junction, Blues To Be There, Newport Up, Jeep’s Blues and Diminuendo and Crescendo In Blue. Ellington and his bands created many more albums which include Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington: The Great Summit/Complete Session, A Drum Is a Woman, and much, much more. Festival Junction had Alto, Baritone, Tenor saxophone, but also Clarinet, Trombone and Trumpet. The song starts a solo from a tenor saxophone and turns an upbeat swing and each instrument fits

Trumpets were energetic and filled with life while the bass was reserved and quiet, adding subtle hints, and the drums kept the beat but still managed to stand out. The audience enjoyed the performance so greatly that the last fifteen minutes were added. Festival Junction, Blues to Be There and Newport Up really stood out. In Festival Junction, the jazz instrumentation was so well put that a first time listener could have easily gotten lost in the music. Newport Up was energizing the audience even more. Diminuendo in Blue is the longest track in the album at fourteen minutes, it has one of the best saxophone solos ever put to record. Skin Deep brought the frenzied passion of the crowd to the end with its outstanding drum solo; ending the show and leaving the audience with uncontainable energy. It’s the best forty minutes someone could spend listening to