Forty-five years ago, in January 1966, Duke Ellington, in tournée in Europe, had some concerts in Italy with his orchestra, including some of the most famous "ellingtonians", as you can see in the line-up below.
These very rare recordings were taken during the afternoon concert at Teatro Lirico in Milan January 30, 1966.
The performance of the orchestra was followed by a set of Ella Fitzgerald and her trio and was closed by a meeting of Ella and the orchestra in Cotton Tail with a very exciting duet between the "scat" of Ella and the sax of Paul Gonsalves.
Duke Ellington and His Orchestra
Cootie Williams, Cat Anderson, Herbie Jones, Mercer Ellington (tp)
Lawrence Brown, Chuck Connors, Buster Cooper (tbn)
Paul Gonsalves, Johnny Hodges, Harry Carney, Jimmy Hamilton, Russell Procope (saxes)
Duke Ellington (pn)
John Lamb (bs)
Skeets Marsh, Elvin Jones (drm)
01. Theme: Take the "A" Train (B. Strayhorn) 0'43
02. Medley:
a) Black and Tan Fantasy (Ellington - Miley) 2'15
b) Creole Love Call (Ellington - Miley - Jackson) 2'02
c) The Mouche (Ellington - Mills) 5'36
03. Soul Call (L. Bellson) 2'27
04. Chelsea Bridge (B. Strayhorn) 3'44
05. El Viti (D. Ellington) 3'42
06. The Opener (C. Williams) 2'35
07. Sophisticated Lady (Ellington - Parish - Mills) 3'39
08. Take the "A" Train (B. Strayhorn) 6'04
09. Passion Flower (B. Strayhorn) 4'27
10. Things Ain't What They Used to Be (M. Ellington)
11. Wings and things (J. Hodges) 2'31
12. Jam with Sam (D. Ellington) 3'20
Ella Fitzgerald and her trio
Jimmy Jones (pn), John Confort (bs), Gus Johnson (drm)
13. Norman Granz's Introduction 0'46
14. How High the Moon (Lewis - Hamilton) 6'36
15. Lover Man (Davis - Ramirez - Sherman) 4'48
16. Mack the Knife (Weill - Blizstein) 2'55
Ella Fitzgerald and orchestra
17. Cotton Tail (D. Ellington) 4'47
