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Sacred Concert (Ellington)

January 01, 1970

Sacred Concert by Duke Ellington is one of the following realisations:

  • 1965 - Concert of Sacred Music
  • 1968 - Second Sacred Concert
  • 1973 - Third Sacred Concert

Ellington called these concerts "the most important thing I have ever done". He said many times that he was not trying to compose a Mass. The critic Gary Giddins has characterized these concerts as Ellington bringing the Cotton Club revue to the church.[1]

Concert of Sacred Music edit

Concert of Sacred Music
 
Live album by
Duke Ellington
Released1966
RecordedDecember 26, 1965
GenreJazz
LabelRCA
Duke Ellington chronology
Ella at Duke's Place
(1965) 		Concert of Sacred Music
(1966) 		The Stockholm Concert, 1966
(1966)

Grace Cathedral in San Francisco planned a "Festival of Grace", with a variety of cultural works and speakers, to occur during the first year the cathedral was open, and Ellington's concert was to be a part of it.[2] (The "festival" also included a performance by Vince Guaraldi.[3])

The concert premiered on September 16, 1965, and was recorded by KQED, a local public television station.[2] The performance was released on CD as A Concert of Sacred Music Live from Grace Cathedral and on DVD as Love You Madly/A Concert of Sacred Music at Grace Cathedral. The official album on RCA, A Concert of Sacred Music, was recorded at two concerts at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York on December 26, 1965. Additional material from these concerts, not found on the original album, can be found on the 24-CD box set The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1927-1973). The concert mixed existing and new material, with "New World A-Comin'" and "Come Sunday" from Black Brown and Beige and "Heritage (My Mother, My Father)" from the show My People. A new piece, the song "In the Beginning God", was awarded a Grammy Award in 1967.[4] It was performed again at Grace Cathedral on its 25th and 50th anniversaries, in 1990 and 2015.[2]

Reception edit

The Allmusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album five stars and stated "the concert taps into Ellington's roots in showbiz and African-American culture as well as his evidently deep religious faith, throwing it all together in the spirit of universality and sealing everything with the stamps of his musical signatures".[5]

Ebony magazine called the piece "historic", situating it as part of a larger movement in the mid-'60s that brought together jazz and religion.[3]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [5]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings    [6]

Track listing edit

All compositions by Duke Ellington[7]
  1. "In the Beginning God" - 19:36
  2. "Will You Be There?" - 1:23
  3. "Ninety Nine Percent" - 2:23
  4. "Ain't But the One" - 3:31
  5. "New World a'Coming" - 9:56
  6. "In the Beginning, God II" - 4:31
  7. "Heritage" - 3:42
  8. "The Lord's Prayer" - 3:16
  9. "Come Sunday" - 5:30
  10. "David Danced Before the Lord With All His Might" - 9:00
  11. "The Lord's Prayer II" - 4:56

The album was recorded at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church on December 26, 1965.

Personnel edit

Second Sacred Concert edit

Second Sacred Concert
 
Studio album by
Duke Ellington
Released1968
RecordedJanuary 22 & February 19, 1968
GenreJazz
LabelPrestige
Duke Ellington chronology
Yale Concert
(1968) 		Second Sacred Concert
(1968) 		Studio Sessions New York, 1968
(1968)

Ellington's Second Sacred Concert premiered at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York on January 19, 1968, but no recording of this performance has surfaced. The Second Sacred Concert was then recorded on January 22 and February 19, 1968, at Fine Studio in New York and originally issued as a double LP on Prestige Records and reissued on one CD minus the tracks "Don't Get Down On Your Knees To Pray Until You Have Forgiven Everyone" and "Father Forgive".[8] All the tracks can be found in the 24-CD box set The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1927-1973).

This concert is the first time Swedish singer Alice Babs recorded with the Ellington Orchestra. In the concert she sang "Heaven" and the wordless vocal "T.G.T.T. (Too Good to Title)". Cootie Williams has a "growl" trumpet feature on "The Shepherd (Who Watches Over the Night Flock)". This piece is dedicated to Rev. John Garcia Gensel, Lutheran pastor to the jazz community. The climactic ending is "Praise God and Dance", which comes from Psalm 150.

At the invitation of the Harvard Episcopal Chaplaincy, Ellington gave the concert again at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston on April 20, 1969.

Reception edit

The Allmusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 4 stars and stated "the material is fresh, not a patchwork of old and new like the first concert — and in an attempt to be as ecumenical as possible, Ellington reaches for novel techniques and sounds beyond his usual big band spectrum".[9]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [9]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings    [6]: 438 

Track listing edit

All compositions by Duke Ellington
  1. "Praise God" - 3:09
  2. "Supreme Being" - 11:45
  3. "Heaven" - 4:55
  4. "Something About Believing" - 8:12
  5. "Almighty God" - 6:32
  6. "The Shepherd (Who Watches over the Flock)" - 7:10
  7. "It's Freedom" - 13:00
  8. "Meditation" - 3:10
  9. "The Biggest and Busiest Intersection" - 3:57
  10. "T.G.T.T. (Too Good to Title)" - 2:25
  11. "Don't Get Down On Your Knees To Pray Until You Have Forgiven Everyone" - 5:13 Omitted from CD reissue
  12. "Father Forgive" - 2:49 Omitted from CD reissue
  13. "Praise God And Dance" - 10:49
    • Recorded at Fine Studio in New York on January 22 (tracks 3, 5, 7, 10 & 13) and February 19 (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 & 12), 1968.

Personnel edit

Third Sacred Concert edit

Third Sacred Concert
 
Live album by
Duke Ellington
Released1975
Recorded24 October 1973
GenreJazz
LabelRCA
Duke Ellington chronology

The Third Sacred Concert was built around the skills of Alice Babs, Harry Carney, and Ellington himself on the piano. It was premiered at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom on October 24, 1973, and released on LP in 1975 but has only been issued on CD as part of the 24-disc The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1927-1973) collection.[10]

At this point in his life, Ellington knew he was dying. Author Janna Tull Steed has written that of all the concerts that Ellington is addressing God facing his mortality.[11] Alice Babs sings "Is God a Three Letter Word for Love?" and "My Love". Tenor saxophonist Harold Ashby is featured on "The Brotherhood", which is a tribute to The United Nations.

Reception edit

The Allmusic review by Richard S. Ginell awarded the album 3 stars and stated "the weakest of the sacred concerts. It lacks the showbiz kick and exuberance of the first concert and even more eclectic impulses of the second, now burdened with a subdued solemnity and the sense that the ailing Ellington knew his time was drawing to a close (he would be dead exactly six months later)".[12]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [12]

Track listing edit

All compositions by Duke Ellington
  1. Introduction By Sir Colin Crowe - 1:28
  2. Duke Ellington's Introduction - 1:26
  3. "The Lord's Prayer: My Love" - 7:49
  4. "Is God A Three-Letter Word For Love? (Part I)" - 4:27
  5. "Is God A Three-Letter Word For Love? (Part II)" - 3:46
  6. "The Brotherhood" - 5:46
  7. "Hallelujah" - 3:32
  8. "Every Man Prays In His Own Language" - 11:10
  9. "Ain't Nobody Nowhere Nothin' Without God" - 4:20
  10. "The Majesty Of God" - 7:27
    • Recorded at Westminster Abbey, London on October 24, 1973.

Personnel edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Giddins, Gary Visions of Jazz: The First Century (ISBN 0195076753) p. 491.
  2. ^ a b c "From the Club to the Cathedral: Revisiting Duke Ellington's Controversial 'Sacred Concert'". KQED. 2015-09-14. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  3. ^ a b Johnson, David Brent (2011-05-19). "Sacred Blue: Jazz Goes To Church In the 1960s". Night Lights Classic Jazz - Indiana Public Media. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  4. ^ "Duke Ellington". The GRAMMYs. Retrieved 2015-09-18.
  5. ^ a b Ginell, R. S. Allmusic Review accessed June 8, 2010
  6. ^ a b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 437. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  7. ^ Moore, Richard; Ellington, Duke (1966), A Concert of Sacred Music by Duke Ellington. USA – via Library of Congress
  8. ^ A Duke Ellington Panorama accessed May 17, 2010
  9. ^ a b Ginell, R. S. Allmusic Review accessed June 8, 2010
  10. ^ . Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  11. ^ Steed page 148
  12. ^ a b Ginell, R. S. Allmusic Review accessed June 8, 2010

References edit

January 01, 1970
sacred, concert, ellington, sacred, concert, duke, ellington, following, realisations, 1965, concert, sacred, music, 1968, second, sacred, concert, 1973, third, sacred, concert, ellington, called, these, concerts, most, important, thing, have, ever, done, said. Sacred Concert by Duke Ellington is one of the following realisations 1965 Concert of Sacred Music 1968 Second Sacred Concert 1973 Third Sacred Concert Ellington called these concerts the most important thing I have ever done He said many times that he was not trying to compose a Mass The critic Gary Giddins has characterized these concerts as Ellington bringing the Cotton Club revue to the church 1 Contents 1 Concert of Sacred Music 1 1 Reception 1 2 Track listing 1 3 Personnel 2 Second Sacred Concert 2 1 Reception 2 2 Track listing 2 3 Personnel 3 Third Sacred Concert 3 1 Reception 3 2 Track listing 3 3 Personnel 4 Notes 5 ReferencesConcert of Sacred Music editConcert of Sacred Music nbsp Live album by Duke EllingtonReleased1966RecordedDecember 26 1965GenreJazzLabelRCADuke Ellington chronologyElla at Duke s Place 1965 Concert of Sacred Music 1966 The Stockholm Concert 1966 1966 Grace Cathedral in San Francisco planned a Festival of Grace with a variety of cultural works and speakers to occur during the first year the cathedral was open and Ellington s concert was to be a part of it 2 The festival also included a performance by Vince Guaraldi 3 The concert premiered on September 16 1965 and was recorded by KQED a local public television station 2 The performance was released on CD as A Concert of Sacred Music Live from Grace Cathedral and on DVD as Love You Madly A Concert of Sacred Music at Grace Cathedral The official album on RCA A Concert of Sacred Music was recorded at two concerts at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York on December 26 1965 Additional material from these concerts not found on the original album can be found on the 24 CD box set The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition The Complete RCA Victor Recordings 1927 1973 The concert mixed existing and new material with New World A Comin and Come Sunday from Black Brown and Beige and Heritage My Mother My Father from the show My People A new piece the song In the Beginning God was awarded a Grammy Award in 1967 4 It was performed again at Grace Cathedral on its 25th and 50th anniversaries in 1990 and 2015 2 Reception edit The Allmusic review by Richard S Ginell awarded the album five stars and stated the concert taps into Ellington s roots in showbiz and African American culture as well as his evidently deep religious faith throwing it all together in the spirit of universality and sealing everything with the stamps of his musical signatures 5 Ebony magazine called the piece historic situating it as part of a larger movement in the mid 60s that brought together jazz and religion 3 Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllmusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 5 The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 6 Track listing edit All compositions by Duke Ellington 7 In the Beginning God 19 36 Will You Be There 1 23 Ninety Nine Percent 2 23 Ain t But the One 3 31 New World a Coming 9 56 In the Beginning God II 4 31 Heritage 3 42 The Lord s Prayer 3 16 Come Sunday 5 30 David Danced Before the Lord With All His Might 9 00 The Lord s Prayer II 4 56 The album was recorded at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church on December 26 1965 Personnel edit Duke Ellington piano Cat Anderson Mercer Ellington Herb Jones Cootie Williams trumpet Lawrence Brown Buster Cooper Quentin Jackson trombone Chuck Connors bass trombone Russell Procope Jimmy Hamilton alto saxophone clarinet Johnny Hodges alto saxophone Paul Gonsalves tenor saxophone Harry Carney baritone saxophone John Lamb bass Louie Bellson drums Brock Peters Queen Esther Marrow Jimmy McPhail vocals The Herman McCoy Choir choir Bunny Briggs tap dancing track 10 Second Sacred Concert editSecond Sacred Concert nbsp Studio album by Duke EllingtonReleased1968RecordedJanuary 22 amp February 19 1968GenreJazzLabelPrestigeDuke Ellington chronologyYale Concert 1968 Second Sacred Concert 1968 Studio Sessions New York 1968 1968 Ellington s Second Sacred Concert premiered at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York on January 19 1968 but no recording of this performance has surfaced The Second Sacred Concert was then recorded on January 22 and February 19 1968 at Fine Studio in New York and originally issued as a double LP on Prestige Records and reissued on one CD minus the tracks Don t Get Down On Your Knees To Pray Until You Have Forgiven Everyone and Father Forgive 8 All the tracks can be found in the 24 CD box set The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition The Complete RCA Victor Recordings 1927 1973 This concert is the first time Swedish singer Alice Babs recorded with the Ellington Orchestra In the concert she sang Heaven and the wordless vocal T G T T Too Good to Title Cootie Williams has a growl trumpet feature on The Shepherd Who Watches Over the Night Flock This piece is dedicated to Rev John Garcia Gensel Lutheran pastor to the jazz community The climactic ending is Praise God and Dance which comes from Psalm 150 At the invitation of the Harvard Episcopal Chaplaincy Ellington gave the concert again at Emmanuel Episcopal Church Boston on April 20 1969 Reception edit The Allmusic review by Richard S Ginell awarded the album 4 stars and stated the material is fresh not a patchwork of old and new like the first concert and in an attempt to be as ecumenical as possible Ellington reaches for novel techniques and sounds beyond his usual big band spectrum 9 Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllmusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 9 The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 6 438 Track listing edit All compositions by Duke Ellington Praise God 3 09 Supreme Being 11 45 Heaven 4 55 Something About Believing 8 12 Almighty God 6 32 The Shepherd Who Watches over the Flock 7 10 It s Freedom 13 00 Meditation 3 10 The Biggest and Busiest Intersection 3 57 T G T T Too Good to Title 2 25 Don t Get Down On Your Knees To Pray Until You Have Forgiven Everyone 5 13 Omitted from CD reissue Father Forgive 2 49 Omitted from CD reissue Praise God And Dance 10 49 Recorded at Fine Studio in New York on January 22 tracks 3 5 7 10 amp 13 and February 19 tracks 1 2 4 6 8 9 11 amp 12 1968 Personnel edit Duke Ellington piano narration Cat Anderson Mercer Ellington Money Johnson Herb Jones Cootie Williams trumpet Lawrence Brown Buster Cooper Bennie Green trombone Chuck Connors bass trombone Russell Procope alto saxophone clarinet Johnny Hodges alto saxophone Jimmy Hamilton clarinet tenor saxophone Paul Gonsalves tenor saxophone Harry Carney baritone saxophone Jeff Castleman bass Sam Woodyard Steve Little drums Alice Babs Devonne Gardner Trish Turner Roscoe Gill vocals The AME Mother Zion Church Choir Choirs Of St Hilda s and St Hugh s School Central Connecticut State College Singers The Frank Parker Singers choirsThird Sacred Concert editThird Sacred Concert nbsp Live album by Duke EllingtonReleased1975Recorded24 October 1973GenreJazzLabelRCADuke Ellington chronologyIt Don t Mean a Thing If It Ain t Got That Swing 1973 Third Sacred Concert 1975 Eastbourne Performance 1973 The Third Sacred Concert was built around the skills of Alice Babs Harry Carney and Ellington himself on the piano It was premiered at Westminster Abbey in London United Kingdom on October 24 1973 and released on LP in 1975 but has only been issued on CD as part of the 24 disc The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition The Complete RCA Victor Recordings 1927 1973 collection 10 At this point in his life Ellington knew he was dying Author Janna Tull Steed has written that of all the concerts that Ellington is addressing God facing his mortality 11 Alice Babs sings Is God a Three Letter Word for Love and My Love Tenor saxophonist Harold Ashby is featured on The Brotherhood which is a tribute to The United Nations Reception edit The Allmusic review by Richard S Ginell awarded the album 3 stars and stated the weakest of the sacred concerts It lacks the showbiz kick and exuberance of the first concert and even more eclectic impulses of the second now burdened with a subdued solemnity and the sense that the ailing Ellington knew his time was drawing to a close he would be dead exactly six months later 12 Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllmusic nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 12 Track listing edit All compositions by Duke Ellington Introduction By Sir Colin Crowe 1 28 Duke Ellington s Introduction 1 26 The Lord s Prayer My Love 7 49 Is God A Three Letter Word For Love Part I 4 27 Is God A Three Letter Word For Love Part II 3 46 The Brotherhood 5 46 Hallelujah 3 32 Every Man Prays In His Own Language 11 10 Ain t Nobody Nowhere Nothin Without God 4 20 The Majesty Of God 7 27 Recorded at Westminster Abbey London on October 24 1973 Personnel edit Duke Ellington piano narration Johnny Coles Mercer Ellington Barrie Lee Hall Money Johnson trumpet Art Baron Vince Prudente trombone Chuck Connors bass trombone Harold Minerve alto saxophone flute Russell Procope alto saxophone Harold Ashby clarinet tenor saxophone Percy Marion tenor saxophone Harry Carney baritone saxophone clarinet bass clarinet Joe Benjamin bass Quentin Whit drums Alice Babs Tony Watkins vocals John Alldis Choir choirNotes edit Giddins Gary Visions of Jazz The First Century ISBN 0195076753 p 491 a b c From the Club to the Cathedral Revisiting Duke Ellington s Controversial Sacred Concert KQED 2015 09 14 Retrieved 2015 09 18 a b Johnson David Brent 2011 05 19 Sacred Blue Jazz Goes To Church In the 1960s Night Lights Classic Jazz Indiana Public Media Retrieved 2015 09 18 Duke Ellington The GRAMMYs Retrieved 2015 09 18 a b Ginell R S Allmusic Review accessed June 8 2010 a b Cook Richard Morton Brian 2008 The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings 9th ed Penguin p 437 ISBN 978 0 141 03401 0 Moore Richard Ellington Duke 1966 A Concert of Sacred Music by Duke Ellington USA via Library of Congress A Duke Ellington Panorama accessed May 17 2010 a b Ginell R S Allmusic Review accessed June 8 2010 Earshot Jazz Ellingtons Sacred Music Concert Archived from the original on 2008 12 02 Retrieved 2008 12 28 Steed page 148 a b Ginell R S Allmusic Review accessed June 8 2010References editSteed Janna Tull Duke Ellington A Spiritual Biography Lives amp Legacies ISBN 978 0 8245 2351 0 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sacred Concert Ellington amp oldid 1208228913, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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