Duke Ellington And His Orchestra – Ellington At Newport

Of course, this was one of the most important performances in the history of jazz, reviving Duke's career and so making possible such great recordings as Duke Ellington • Charles Mingus • Max Roach - Money Jungle. It isn't a great recording. As is well known, a lot of it was re-recorded in the studio shortly afterwards, and the incredible solo by Paul Gonsalves is buried in the mix. But what a solo it is!

I have two originals (both Duke Ellington And His Orchestra - Ellington At Newport) but bought this pressing out of curiosity (and because it was reasonably cheap). This one is a solid pressing, but, as so often with later reissues, it doesn't really compare to an original. The difference is maybe most noticeable on Duke's voice, for example, when he is introducing "Diminuendo". His voice just sounds much more real on the original. That carries over, of course, to the music, which just has a great deal more timbral richness on the original than on this pressing. Given that VG+ originals can be had for less money, I'd suggest going that way. These mono records often can sound quite good, even when they look quite bad (especially with a mono cartridge).

Mono sound on this 2nd press 6 eye is superb (if lacking a bit in bass), with a flat and quiet press by Hollywood. The "D&C" finale is legendary...and spans nearly the entirety of Avakian's grandiose prose on the back cover.

Wow! I ordered this directly from MoFi and had to wait for a year for it because they were cutting a new lacquer of it. My copy is numbered 010504 which I assume means that the original lacquer ultimately produced 10,000 copies, and that this is number 504 from the second lacquer. The recording is truly pristine. The vinyl is the most silent that I have ever heard (or, should I say, "not heard"). After careful listening with headphones, I could find no "events" of any kind.

The performance itself is, of course, spectacular. This is a legendary recording--not only for the music, but also because it captures the almost unbelievable crowd response to it! Even though this is a monaural release, one still can feel that they are there, experiencing this in person.

Nice pressing of clearly an important performance. MoFi did a nice job of bringing the performance forward to vinyl. , it's Mono. Also, nowhere on or in the packaging, other than the vinyl label side splits, is any tracklisting or song order shown. You're on your own in that regard.
Be warned, the clarinet is a bit "toppy".

I am a jazz fan and collector, Duke Ellington is my all-time favorite, I have hundreds of his LPs and CDs, But, this one is definitely a bad sound recording! OK, it was Duke's all-time greatest hit, I thank the Gods of Music that contributed to the success of this album (that catapulted the Duke's career). And for me, the mainly reason for that frenzy success was the blonde woman that danced in front of the stage. She was been news all over the USA (radios, newspapers and TV), and her photo is the first one at the LP rear cover.
The rest is history.

Any comments on recording and vinyl quality? Inquiring minds want to know...

Must own live recording - 5 Stars
This is my fourth copy, the previous three are og, and it sounds terrific IMO. This copy was recently restocked at Acoustic Sounds. It comes # btw. Highly recommended! <$30 plus shipping. I ordered a second album and got free shipping.

I have a couple pops on the B side but, no other issues. Great show.

Exactly this one version was used in the stellar movie American Hustle (2013) and introduced me to the great art and craftmanship of mister Duke Ellington. And now I own a copy of this too.