1946 in Bloomington, MN

For the casual listener, "best of" collections are a good way to explore
Duke Ellington
's legacy. But if you're a serious collector or a completist, it's important to be aware of
Classics
, a French label that put out more than 30 CDs of
the Duke
's work in the 1990s. Regrettably,
generally skipped alternate takes; but even so, it was nice to see a label reissuing
Ellington
's master takes chronologically. This rewarding CD focuses on
's recordings of 1946, when his orchestra boasted such heavyweights as trumpeter
Cat Anderson
, alto saxophonist
Johnny Hodges
, tenor saxman
Al Sears
, baritone saxman
Harry Carney
, trombonist
Lawrence Brown
, and drummer
Sonny Greer
. It was in 1946 that
recorded his last two sessions for
RCA Victor
, and this CD spotlights those two sessions before offering two pieces from an October 23 session for
Musicraft
(
"Magenta Haze"
and
"Diminuendo in Blue"
) and several V-disc recordings from a November 23 concert at
Carnegie Hall
in New York, where
's orchestra performed
"The Golden Cress"
"Sultry Sunset"
as well as the interesting, four-part
"Deep South Suite."
The suite's fourth part is the well-known
"Happy Go Lucky Local,"
an infectious blues track that became the basis for
Jimmy Forrest
's 1951 smash
"Night Train"
(which was speeded up and covered by the Godfather of Soul
James Brown
in the early 1960s). Most of the material on
1946
is instrumental, although
features singer
Marion Cox
on pleasing arrangements of
"St. Louis Blues"
"Lover Man,"
and fares equally well with singer
Kay Davis
on
"I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You."
While
falls short of essential, the selections are definitely rewarding and prove that the late 1940s was a creatively successful, if underrated, period for
. ~ Alex Henderson