The Ellington Suites


The Ellington Suites is an album by the American pianist, composer, and bandleader Duke Ellington. It collects three suites recorded in 1959, 1971, and 1972, and was released on the Pablo label in 1976. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band in 1976. Ellington and Billy Strayhorn wrote "The Queen's Suite" for Queen Elizabeth II who was presented with a single pressing of the recording, which was not commercially issued during Ellington's lifetime.

Reception

The AllMusic review by Scott Yanow states: "Although there are some good moments from Ellington's orchestras of 1959 and 1971–72, few of the themes are all that memorable. But even lesser Ellington is of great interest and veteran collectors may want to pick this up".

Track listing

All compositions by Duke Ellington except where noted.
  1. "The Queen's Suite: Sunset and the Mocking Bird" – 3:50
  2. "The Queen's Suite: Lightning Bugs and Frogs" – 2:52
  3. "The Queen's Suite: Le Sucrier Velours" – 2:46
  4. "The Queen's Suite: Northern Lights" – 3:37
  5. "The Queen's Suite: The Single Petal of a Rose" – 4:08
  6. "The Queen's Suite: Apes and Peacocks" – 3:05
  7. "The Goutelas Suite: Fanfare" – 0:31
  8. "The Goutelas Suite: Goutelas" – 1:12
  9. "The Goutelas Suite: Get-With-Itness" – 1:55
  10. "The Goutelas Suite: Something" – 5:22
  11. "The Goutelas Suite: Having at It" – 3:35
  12. "The Goutelas Suite: Fanfare" – 0:34
  13. "The Uwis Suite: Uwis" – 7:51
  14. "The Uwis Suite: Klop" – 2:00
  15. "The Uwis Suite: Loco Madi" – 5:52

Personnel