Zack: Apparently, the original version of this iconic live jazz album was only about 40 percent derived from the live performance it supposedly documents. Duke Ellington, worried that the band was too rushed in preparation for the show, dragged everyone to the studio immediately afterwards to rerecord parts, which were then dubbed over with prerecorded applause to cover it up. It wasn’t until 1996 that an additional tape was discovered and the real, original show could be pieced together. For us, this raises a dilemma. Do we listen to the original version, the one that built up such a tremendous audience over more than 40 years while it existed as the “true” version, or do we listen to the reissue that captures the actual Duke Ellington live atmosphere? Oh, and as a further complication, the reissue is about three times longer. Normally in reissue situations, we just listen to the original version or the CD version when there are differences in track listings between formats or the version released in the native country of the band (UK recordings for the Beatles, for example). But this one is just more complicated. Anyway, we ultimately decided to listen to the reissue, but eschew the last 10 tracks on disc 2 since they weren’t part of the original performance anyway. Essentially, we decided to try and listen to the album as if we were actually there seeing this performance and chose the path that ran closest to that. I like our decision, but I have to say that the reissue basically has an intro track before every single song and it is really frustrating. There’s like no momentum since every song is followed by a minute of Duke Ellington or Father Norman O’Connor introducing someone or something. But then again, my favorite track on the entire album, by far, was Skin Deep and that didn’t even appear on the original release. That, by itself, justifies the call.
Favorite Tracks: Skin Deep; Newport Up; Diminuendo In Blue and Crescendo In Blue
Emily: As a genre, I strongly believe that jazz is meant to be heard live. Sure, a song is meticulously thought out in the studio, with take after take recorded until it sounds exactly how the artist envisions perfection. However, jazz thrives on improvisation. A perfect studio track is one thing, but an imperfect yet completely improvised 5-minute solo riff on the saxophone is jazz incarnate. Duke Ellington and his band are meant to be heard in this live format. Although Zack rightly points out that the intros for each musician on each track get tiresome and distracting after the first few, it's worth it to sit through them to get to the music. You can feel the energy of the crowd and the band on each live track, as if you're back in 1956 Newport with a beer in hand watching and listening to a legend at work.
Favorite Tracks: Skin Deep; Diminuendo In Blue and Crescendo In Blue; Tea for Two
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