My People (Duke Ellington album)
Encyclopedia
My People is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington
written and recorded in 1963 for a stage show
and originally released on Bob Thiele
's Flying Dutchman
label and later released on CD on the Red Baron
label. The album features recordings of compositions by Ellington for a stage show presented in Chicago as part of the Century of Negro Progress Exposition in 1963.
awarded the album 3 stars and stated "Ellington created music whose message of racial harmony remains timeless. Due to the high quality of the "Black, Brown and Beige" suite and the shorter originals, this interesting set is more enloyable than one might expect".
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
written and recorded in 1963 for a stage show
Stage Show
Stage Show was a popular music variety series on American television originally hosted on alternate weeks by big band leaders and brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. Produced by Jackie Gleason, the CBS-TV show included the first national television appearances by Elvis Presley.The series began as a...
and originally released on Bob Thiele
Bob Thiele
Bob Thiele was an American record producer who worked on countless classic jazz albums and record labels.-Biography:...
's Flying Dutchman
Flying Dutchman Records
Flying Dutchman Records was a jazz record label which was owned by veteran music industry executive, producer and songwriter Bob Thiele. Initially distributed by Atlantic Records, it was later distributed by RCA Records which took over the label in 1976...
label and later released on CD on the Red Baron
Red Baron Records
-Artists:*David Murray*Bob Thiele*Teresa Brewer*Steve Marcus*Ali Ryerson*Duke Ellington*John Hicks*Earl Hines*Al Cohn*Billy Strayhorn*Billy Swan*Clark Terry*Jackie Cain*McCoy Tyner*Ruby Braff*Mel Lewis...
label. The album features recordings of compositions by Ellington for a stage show presented in Chicago as part of the Century of Negro Progress Exposition in 1963.
Reception
The Allmusic review by Scott YanowScott Yanow
Scott Yanow is an American jazz commentator, known for many contributions to the Allmusic website, for writing ten books on jazz and for reviewing jazz recordings for over 30 years.-Biography:...
awarded the album 3 stars and stated "Ellington created music whose message of racial harmony remains timeless. Due to the high quality of the "Black, Brown and Beige" suite and the shorter originals, this interesting set is more enloyable than one might expect".
Track listing
- All compositions by Duke Ellington
- "Ain't But the One/Will You Be There?/99%" - 5:16
- "Come Sunday/David Danced Before the Lord" - 6:09
- "My Mother, My Father (Heritage)" - 2:50
- "Montage" - 6:54
- "My People/The Blues" - 8:56
- "Workin' Blues/My Man Sends Me/Jail Blues/Lovin' Lover" - 5:57
- "King Fit the Battle of Alabam'" - 3:25
- "What Color Is Virtue?" - 2:49
- Recorded at Universal Studios, Chicago on August 20 (tracks 1a, 2, 4, 5b, 6a, 6c & 7), August 21 (tracks 1b, 1c, 3, 5a & 8) and August 27 (tracks 6b & 6d), 1963.
Personnel
- Duke EllingtonDuke EllingtonEdward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
– director, narration - Ray NanceRay NanceRay Willis Nance was a jazz trumpeter, violinist and singer.Nance is best known for his long association with Duke Ellington through most of the 1940s and 1950s, after he was hired to replace Cootie Williams in 1940...
- cornetCornetThe cornet is a brass instrument very similar to the trumpet, distinguished by its conical bore, compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. It is not related to the renaissance and early baroque cornett or cornetto.-History:The cornet was... - Bill Berry, Ziggy Harrell, Nat Woodard - trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Booty WoodBooty WoodMitchell W. Wood, better known as Booty Wood was an American jazz trombonist.Wood played professionally on trombone from the late 1930s. He worked with Tiny Bradshaw and Lionel Hampton in the 1940s before joining the Navy during World War II. While there he played in a band with Clark Terry,...
, Britt WoodmanBritt WoodmanBritt Woodman was a jazz trombonist. He is perhaps best known for his work with Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus....
- tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate... - Chuck Connors - bass trombone
- John Sanders - valve trombone
- Rudy PowellRudy PowellRudy Powell was an American jazz reed player.Powell learned piano and violin while young, and then switched to clarinet and saxophone. In the late 1920s he played with June Clark, Gene Rodgers's Revellers, and Cliff Jackson's Krazy Kats...
- alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions... - Pete Clark, Russell ProcopeRussell ProcopeRussell Procope , an American clarinettist and alto saxophonist, was known best for his long tenure in the reed section of Duke Ellington's orchestra, where he was one of its two signature clarinet soloists....
- alto saxophone, clarinet - Harold AshbyHarold AshbyHarold Ashby was a jazz tenor saxophonist. He is perhaps known for his work with Duke Ellington's band and stylistic similarities with Ben Webster.He worked as a freelance musician after leaving the Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1975, and took part in various reunions of...
- tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
, clarinet - Bob Freedman - tenor saxophone
- Billy StrayhornBilly StrayhornWilliam Thomas "Billy" Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist and arranger, best known for his successful collaboration with bandleader and composer Duke Ellington lasting nearly three decades. His compositions include "Chelsea Bridge", "Take the "A" Train" and "Lush Life".-Early...
- pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal... - Joe BenjaminJoe BenjaminJoseph Rupert "Joe" Benjamin was an American jazz bassist.Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Benjamin played with numerous high-profile jazz musicians in a variety of idioms...
- bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2... - Louis Bellson - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Juan Amalbert - congaCongaThe conga, or more properly the tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed Cuban drum with African antecedents. It is thought to be derived from the Makuta drums or similar drums associated with Afro-Cubans of Central African descent. A person who plays conga is called a conguero...
- Joya SherrillJoya SherrillJoya Sherrill was an American jazz vocalist and children's television show host....
, Lil GreenwoodLil GreenwoodLil Greenwood , was an American Jazz and R&B vocalist.Greenwood was born in Prichard, Alabama and attended Alabama State College. In 1949 she moved to San Francisco to pursue a singing career. She worked as a vocalist for Roy Milton & His Solid Senders for 3 years, beginning in 1950...
, Jimmy McPhail, Irving Bunton Singers - vocals