The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970

Untitled

The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970 is the fifth volume of The Private Collection, a series documenting recordings made by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington for his personal collection which was first released on the LMR label in 1987 and later on the Saja label. The album includes "The Degas Suite" which was commissioned for an uncompleted film and inspired by Edgar Degas' paintings of racetrack scenes. Also featured is "The River" which was composed to accompany a ballet by Alvin Ailey which premiered on June 25, 1970 at Lincoln Center's New York State Theater.

Reception

The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow awarded the album 4 stars and stated "Ellington is mostly the lead voice but his star sidemen are heard from on these formerly very rare and somewhat unusual performances. Clearly his genius was strong enough to fill three lifetimes full of new music and this CD contains some melodies that might have been more significant if he had lived long enough to find a place for them".

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic

Track listing

:All compositions by Duke Ellington

1. "The Degas Suite: Introduction-Opening Titles/Race/Racing/Piano Pastel/Improvisation - Marcia Regina/Piano Pastel/Daily Double/Drawings/Promenade/Sonnet/Race" - 27:24
2. "The River: The Spring/The Run/The Meander/The Giggling Rapids/The Lake/The Falls/The Whirlpool/The River/The Neo-Hip-Hot Kiddies Communities/The Village Of The Virgins/Her Majesty The Sea/The Spring" - 47:40

• Recorded at National Recording Studio, New York on November 6, 1968 (tracks 1.1-1.11), November 23, 1968 (track 1.1), December 3, 1968 (track 1.7), at Universal Studios, Chicago on May 25, 1970 (tracks 2.1-2.5 & 2.12), at National Recording Studio, New York on June 3, 1970 (tracks 2.7-2.10), June 8, 1970 (track 2.6) and June 15, 1970 (track 2.11).

Personnel

• Duke Ellington – piano
• Cat Anderson (tracks 1.1, 1.7 & track 2), Dave Burns (track 2) Willie Cook, Mercer Ellington (track 2.6 & 2.11), Money Johnson (tracks 1.1, 1.7 & track 2), Frank Stone (track 2.6 & 2.11), Cootie Williams (tracks 1.1, 1.7 & track 2) - trumpet
• Lawrence Brown(tracks 1.1, 1.7 & track 2), Buster Cooper (tracks 1.1, 1.7 & track 2), Cliff Heathers (track 2.6 & 2.11) - trombone
• Chuck Connors - bass trombone
• Johnny Hodges - alto saxophone (track 1)
• Russell Procope - alto saxophone, clarinet
• Norris Turney - alto saxophone, flute (tracks 1.7, 2.6 & 2.11)
• Harold Ashby (track 1, 2.6 & 2.11), Paul Gonsalves - tenor saxophone
• Harry Carney - baritone saxophone
• Jeff Castleman - bass
• Rufus Jones, Joe Benjamin (tracks 2.6 & 2.11) - drums
• Elayne Jones - tympani (track 1.7)
• Walter Rosenberg - glockenspiel (track 1.7)
• Dave Fitz - xylophone, marimba (track 1.7)