This listing is for Duke Ellington 3xCD Lot #1.  

This lot includes the following Duke Ellington CDs:

* Duke Ellington - Ellington At Newport 1956 (Complete 2 CD)

* Duke Ellington - Ken Burns JAZZ

* Duke Ellington - Duke Ellington & His Famous Orchestra Complete Standard Transcriptions (2 CD)

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra, which he led from 1923 until his death over a career spanning more than six decades.

Born in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based in New York City from the mid-1920s onward and gained a national profile through his orchestra's appearances at the Cotton Club in Harlem. In the 1930s, his orchestra toured in Europe. Although widely considered a pivotal figure in the history of jazz, Ellington embraced the phrase "beyond category" as a liberating principle and referred to his music as part of the more general category of American Music.

Some of the jazz musicians who were members of Ellington's orchestra, such as saxophonist Johnny Hodges, are considered among the best players in the idiom. Ellington melded them into the best-known orchestral unit in the history of jazz. Some members stayed with the orchestra for several decades. A master at writing miniatures for the three-minute 78 rpm recording format, Ellington wrote more than one thousand compositions; his extensive body of work is the largest recorded personal jazz legacy, and many of his pieces have become standards. He also recorded songs written by his bandsmen, for example Juan Tizol's "Caravan", and "Perdido", which brought a Spanish tinge to big band jazz. In the early 1940s, Ellington began a nearly thirty-year collaboration with composer-arranger-pianist Billy Strayhorn, whom he called his writing and arranging companion. With Strayhorn, he composed many extended compositions, or suites, as well as additional short pieces. Following an appearance at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1956, Ellington and his orchestra enjoyed a major revival and embarked on world tours. Ellington recorded for most American record companies of his era, performed in and scored several films, and composed a handful of stage musicals.

Ellington was noted for his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and for his eloquence and charisma. His reputation continued to rise after he died, and he was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize Special Award for music in 1999.

Please read detailed description!  All CDs are USED unless otherwise noted (as NEW Sealed). Some cases or booklets may be damaged/cracked, I will try to insure you have good working condition cases with each order, but I buy all of these used and try to replace bad cases/covers when possible. If there are any questions, please ask in advance.  Thanks for checking out this item!  We have many related items listed, so be sure to check our other listings for similar items!  We DO combine orders for savings on shipping so add multiples to your cart.  Reasonable offers are highly considered, unreasonable ones are not... :-)!  Still have a ton of "not listed" inventory, so if you looking for something specific, please inquire as we may just be able to find it for you.  We ship 6 days a week, so the faster you pay, the faster we ship!  Thanks again for your visit and even more so if you purchase something!  Im sure you will be as happy as we are!