THE INTERNATIONAL DEMS BULLETIN DUKE ELLINGTON MUSIC SOCIETY 10/3 December 2010 - March 2011 Our 32nd Year of Publication FOUNDER: BENNY AASLAND HONORARY MEMBER: FATHER JOHN GARCIA GENSEL EDITOR: SJEF HOEFSMIT ASSISTED BY: ROGER BOYES

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Email: dems1@telenet.be

DISCUSSIONS - ADDITIONS - CORRECTIONS

I Don't Mind and All Too Soon

DEMS 10/3-8

In DEMS 10/2-12 you wrote:

"About the titles I Don't Mind and All Too Soon. What you hear is All Too Soon, but according to The New DESOR, this selection was erroneously titled I Don't Mind in the broadcast. Since that title was already "occupied" by a totally different composition, it is included in the list of alternates, indicated with the mark: # to indicate that this is not a "proper" alternate, but that there is another, genuine composition with this title. (See also DEMS 04/1-30.)"

Firstly, I don't understand when you say, "Since that title was already occupied by a totally different composition". Using the word "was" is confusing, because surely we don't have any knowledge of I Don't Mind (as we know it) until two years later, 1942? In 1940, Ellington was perfectly entitled to call the piece I Don't Mind.
My reason for writing is to point out that the confusion over the titles of these two pieces actually stems from the manuscripts, never mind what was said in any broadcast!
I Don't Mind was an original Ellington composition that was reworked by Strayhorn. There are some easily recognizable pages of a score by Ellington as well as those by Strayhorn, but only the Strayhorn pages made it into the recordings we are familiar with.
Some of the original parts for I Don't Mind and All Too Soon (of which I have copies) have either or both titles on them. They are all thoroughly inconsistent and confusing.
For example, there are parts for I Don't Mind in both pencil and ink. The penciled parts are earlier (1942, I assume), the ink parts having the look of 1945, and this tallies with the dates of the recordings. Presumably the parts were copied again to make a fresh set - there is not a complete set of the pencil parts in the Smithsonian.
One part (1945, in ink) for Hardwick has "All Too Soon" and "I Don't Mind" hand-written at the top (two lines) whereas an identical part for Hodges only says "I Don't Mind".
There are some parts in pencil, in Strayhorn's hand, which are entitled "All Too Soon" imprinted by ink-stamp. I think those are the earlier 1942 parts.
Then, moving on to All Too Soon, for which I have an incomplete set of parts and no score. The parts are in pencil, in Tizol's hand (as was normal in 1940). Some of the parts have "I Don't Mind" written in pencil whilst others have "All Too Soon" ink-stamped on them. One part with the ink-stamp "All Too Soon" also has "I Don't Mind" in pencil above that! Another part for Joe Nanton has the ink-stamp "All Too Soon" and above that both "All Too Soon" and "I Don't Mind" in pencil.
What an absolute mess!
Of course, it's also interesting to note that the rhythmic patterns of the melodies to All Too Soon and I Don't Mind are identical in the first two bars, and that although different in rhythm, the third and fourth bars of each have the same number of notes in the melody.
So, to summarize: was it really an *error* for what we know as All Too Soon to be called I Don't Mind in that 1940 broadcast?
Michael Kilpatrick

Thank you very much for reading DEMS Bulletin with so much attention and even more for supplying us with so many facts concerning these two titles.
To start where you ended: Sure, it was not an *error* that what we now know as All Too Soon was called I Don't Mind in 1940. There is no question about the fact that these two titles belong together as a title with its subtitle. The problem started in 1942 when Duke recorded a slightly different tune under the title I Don't Mind. Not only is this version different because it has the vocal by Ivie Anderson; the tune itself in my opinion differs too much for it to make sense to say that it should have the same title as the earlier (1940) recordings. The New DESOR solved this matter (as they usually did when an error was made during a broadcast) by mentioning the broadcast title between parentheses behind the title that was chosen to be the main title for that particular tune. In order to make a proper index in a discography each different tune should carry its own individual title. When a genuine subtitle reads the same as the title of another tune, that subtitle has a mark # in The New DESOR, leaving the other tune free to occupy the title as its own main title in the index of the discography.
You are undoubtedly right that no error was made. What I tried to explain was the solution The New DESOR has chosen to solve this (rather frequent) problem.
Thanks for your comments. They are very much appreciated.
Sjef Hoefsmit


Who is the trumpet soloist?

DEMS 10/3-9

See DEMS 10/2-7

How High the Moon, 5221c, 14Nov52, Carnegie Hall.
Giovanni Volonté and Luciano Massagli confirm RN-CT-WC to be definitively the correct sequence. We however firmly believe that this is NOT correct. In our opinion Mr Colombé is right claiming that the sequence is RN-WC-CT.
Jean Portier - Claude Carrière - Klaus Götting


Special Editions

DEMS 10/3-10

I recently acquired a splendid copy of Special Editions 5007-S by Duke Ellington: Jubilesta/Moonlight Fiesta.
The following thoughts at once went through my mind and perhaps DEMS could be of some assistance.
1. As far as I can tell no other Special Editions issues were issued by ARC.
2. Were there any other issues at all by any group, bearing in mind that this 78rpm carries the number 5007-S?
3.Why did ARC decide that this particular label, with all the associated design/print issues, warrant this release?
4. Was it issued for some "Special" reason known only to the American Record Corporation, as the titles were never re-issued like many other Duke tracks cut for that Company?
Ken Harrison

Your Ellington disc was released in 1948, along with discs by Wingy Mannone (a previously unreleased coupling with Jelly Roll Morton from 1934), and, just off the top of my head, Art Tatum, Artie Shaw, Russ Columbo, Bunny Berigan and I'm no doubt forgetting some others. These discs were aimed at the collector's market, and were sold at a premium price. The series was produced by George Avakian, and somewhere I have the original press release that tells all about the series. If you like, I can make you a photocopy but don't hold your breath because I'm really busy with writing the notes for the Mosaic box. "American Record Corporation," which is printed on the labels, is a bit of an anachronism, as the name had more or less been phased out by "Columbia Recording Corporation" (from 1939) and then "Columbia Records" (from 1946).
Steven Lasker

DEMS found the following article in "The Billboard" of 8 May 1948.

Col'bia Aims For Collectors' Market Biz

Revives American Catalog

New York, May 1. Columbia Records is gunning for the collectors' market by exhuming the old American Record Corporation catalog, the original purchase of which in the mid-'30s launched the Columbia firm in the disk biz.
Pressings from American masters will be made for a new series to be tabbed Special Editions, consisting mainly of hot jazz and name personality items made in the '20s and early '30s. Waxing will retail at $1.- each, and will include samplings by Russ Columbo, Al Jolson, Helen Morgan, Johnny Mercer, Hoagy Carmichael, Louis Prima, the Mills Brothers, Teddy Wilson, Bunny Berigan, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Chick Webb and a number of others.

Orders of 4 a Month

Special Editions will be released at the rate of four platters a month. A special ordering system will be used. Retailers will be restricted to one order a month, and disks will be shipped fully insured, c.o.d. Minimum orders of 10 per record will be required, at a cost to the dealer of 60 cents each. Under this modus operandi the diskery will press only the number of records ordered, and will not foot the usual breakage and returns allowance of 5 per cent.
George Avakian, Columbia's collector specialist, is heading the Special Editions operation. Columbia has essayed similar ventures in the past, marketing collectors' disks under the heading of an archive series, and many of the American catalog's jazz items in its hot jazz classics album series.
First releases of the new series will be made in May, and will include a previously unissued Columbo record, Too Beautiful for Words and I See Two Lovers.


Blu-Disc T 1004

DEMS 10/3-11

I'm an avid (early) Duke Ellington fan, and am trying to assemble for myself, a complete collection of MP3's of all his recordings from 1924 up through 1941. I've purchased many CDs & box sets over the last 20 years, and I am looking to fill in holes of missing tracks.
My question is regarding this article [DEMS 04/3-57]: In it, Mr. Lasker asserted that Blu-Disc T1004, billed as by "Duke Ellington", is not by Ellington. He cited that this disc is actually by some other band. I wanted to know, what is his source on that, and how sure is he? Does he, or do you, know anywhere I can HEAR Blu-disc T1004 to determine myself if it Sounds like Ellington's very early band? (I saw that there is a copy held by the Library of Congress... maybe someday I'll get up to D.C. but right now I can't take vacation time for that...).
Or has anyone already listened to it, and VERIFIED that Blu-Disc T1004 Definitely Does Not sound like Ellington?
Bob Cousin

Jerry Valburn had a copy of Blu-Disc T1004 (now at the Library of Congress), which I inspected. The exact same masters (and takes) also appear coupled on Triangle 11423 of which a copy is in my collection. In fact I'm looking at it.
For further information, see DEMS 04/3-57, Part Four, to which I can only add that Triangle 11423 shows BD&M master number 11423, which may be a master actually recorded, but never issued, by Chic Winters's Orch. (Master 11423 has never been found pressed on any issue, and the version of Rose Marie found on Blu-Disc and on Triangle (and I suppose also on Pennington 1423, an issue of which I've never seen an actual copy) is actually Emerson mx. 42733-2 by the Bar Harbor Society Orchestra, a Ben Selvin unit. The performances are pretty pedestrian, and are certainly not by Duke.
Steven Lasker


Ellington collection 200/250 records

DEMS 10/3-12

I have for sale (from my dad) a collection of 200 + Duke Ellington records on vinyl (Bootlegs, Unofficial Box Sets, LP's etc). I want to sell the whole collection in one time. For info please e-mail me at this address nilsjansen@home.nl
It's a rare and obscure collection which my dad collected through the years!
Nils Jansen (Holland)


Ellington Film Soundtrack

DEMS 10/3-13

I am thrilled to announce the discovery of a previously unknown Duke Ellington film soundtrack from the 1950s, one that was not known when Klaus Stratemann put together his amazing Ellington filmography. Here are the details as known at the present time.
Sometime in the mid-to-late 1950s --- I am guessing ca. 1956-59, although further research is necessary here --- Duke Ellington composed a short piece to be used as the musical background for a Prudential Insurance television commercial. I have conferred with Steven Lasker and Claire Gordon, and they confirm my belief that it is certainly Ellington on soundtrack, along with (probably) a contingent from the band, with Jimmy Hamilton in a short solo statement, as well as a female vocalist who sings a wordless accompaniment in the style of Kay Davis. Steven is quite certain that the tune was neither broadcast nor recorded commercially.
At some time in the future I will figure out how to post this on YouTube and I will inform the Duke LYM list when I have completed the task!
Mark Cantor


The Duke Orchestra

DEMS 10/3-14

See DEMS 09/3-1 and 09/2-15.

We are about to transcribe Dukish tunes never released (issued from "Collection Clavié"). They will be presented in concert and recorded. The CD will be available in 2011.
We shall produce a Grand Concert in the Alhambra - Paris (26Mar11). Duke Ellington himself will be invited (by video) and will interact with the orchestra, talk to the audience, convey its values …
The Maison du Duke recently bought Dr Clavié’s collection (300 magnetic tapes containing 650 hours of concerts and radio recordings, from 1945 to 1970), and expect to create a record label to share Duke Ellington’s never released works.
The French translation of Duke Ellington’s autobiography (Da Capo Press). Available in 2012.
Laurent Mignard


October/November 1950 Ellington-Strayhorn piano duets

DEMS 10/3-15

I have these (from the 3oct50 and Nov50 sessions) from two different CDs. At the Piano Capu 2CD (covered by DEMS 2007/3-35) and Great Times! Riverside CD (LP predecessor covered by DEMS 1992-3/7).
The speed is different between the two sets of tracks (1-8 on the Riverside CD, 16-23 on CD2 of the Capu CP). In each case, the Capu CD version is about 2% slower than the Great Times! CD version. I believe that the Capu CD has the correct pitch, as well as the better sound quality.
Brian Koller


What are the correct dates of the 1950 European Tour?

DEMS 10/3-16

See DEMS 04/1-21

I think we can add to Duke's itinerary:
Wednesday 14 June 1950 in Heidelberg (Germany) at Stadthalle (6:30 + 9 pm)
The corresponding 'ad' is shown in the French release of a book by Richard Havers and Richard Evans: "L'Age D'Or Du Jazz"; original publication as "Jazz, The Golden Era", Compendium Publishing Ltd, 2009 with high-quality photographs of Duke, Billie, Bird a.o. by William Gottlieb.
Can someone fill the missing dates June 9, 15, 17, 18, 19 ?
Klaus Götting**


Echo Jazz EJCD04

DEMS 10/3-17

I have this CD with 15 selections from 1953 (according to the very scanty leaflet).
1-6 is DESOR DE 5323 and 7-12 DE 5319. 13-15: Caravan, Sophisticated Lady and Stompin' at the Savoy I cannot find. Is Eidammer overtaking me now, can't I see the wood for the trees - or is there a DEMSical explanation :-) ? Hope you can enlighten me - as always before.
Frits Schjøtt

According to DEMS 90/1-2 and 8, there are 6 tracks from 27Jun53 (DE 5324) and 6 tracks from 12Jun53 (DE 5319). Caravan, Sophisticated Lady and Stompin' at the Savoy on this CD are not identified in DEMS. They are from 14Apr56 (DE 5609). The CD has been documented in The New DESOR on page 1353.
DEMS