The Ellington Suites is an album by the American pianist, composer, and bandleader Duke Ellington. It collects three suites recorded in 1959, 1971, and 1972, and was released on the Pablo label in 1976.[1] The album won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band in 1976.[2] Ellington and Billy Strayhorn wrote "The Queen's Suite" for Queen Elizabeth II who was presented with a single pressing of the recording, which was not commercially issued during Ellington's lifetime.

The Ellington Suites
Studio album by
Released1976
RecordedFebruary 25, 1959, April 1, 1959, April 14, 1959, April 27, 1971 & October 5, 1972
GenreJazz
LabelPablo
ProducerNorman Granz
Duke Ellington chronology
Live at the Whitney
(1972)
The Ellington Suites
(1976)
This One's for Blanton!
(1972)

Reception

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The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states: "Although there are some good moments from Ellington's orchestras of 1959 and 1971–72, few of the themes (outside of 'The Single Petal of a Rose' from 'The Queen's Suite') are all that memorable. But even lesser Ellington is of great interest and veteran collectors may want to pick this up".[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings    [5]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide     [4]

Track listing

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All compositions by Duke Ellington except where noted.

  1. "The Queen's Suite: Sunset and the Mocking Bird" (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) - 3:50
  2. "The Queen's Suite: Lightning Bugs and Frogs" (Strayhorn)[6] - 2:52
  3. "The Queen's Suite: Le Sucrier Velours" (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) - 2:46
  4. "The Queen's Suite: Northern Lights" (Strayhorn) - 3:37
  5. "The Queen's Suite: The Single Petal of a Rose" (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) - 4:08
  6. "The Queen's Suite: Apes and Peacocks" (Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn) - 3:05
  7. "The Goutelas Suite: Fanfare" - 0:31
  8. "The Goutelas Suite: Goutelas" - 1:12
  9. "The Goutelas Suite: Get-With-Itness" - 1:55
  10. "The Goutelas Suite: Something" - 5:22
  11. "The Goutelas Suite: Having at It" - 3:35
  12. "The Goutelas Suite: Fanfare" - 0:34
  13. "The Uwis Suite: Uwis" - 7:51
  14. "The Uwis Suite: Klop" - 2:00
  15. "The Uwis Suite: Loco Madi" - 5:52
  • Recorded February 25, 1959 (#2-4), April 1, 1959 (#1 and 6), April 14, 1959 (#5), April 27, 1971 (#7-12) & October 5, 1972 (#13-15)

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ A Duke Ellington Panorama, accessed April 12, 2010
  2. ^ Grammy Awards Database
  3. ^ a b Yanow, S. AllMusic Review accessed April 12, 2010
  4. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 69. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  5. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 440. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  6. ^ "When Duke Flirted With The Queen," NPR, "Fresh Air," September 9, 2013 https://www.npr.org/2013/09/09/220672107/when-the-duke-flirted-with-the-queen