a site by John Cobley

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Jazz

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Duke Ellington Lets Down Ella Fitzgerald

Evaluation of the jazz albums Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook, vols. 1 and 2

Jazz Covered in the 1938 Oxford Companion to Music

The four-page entry on jazz in the 1938 Oxford Companion to Music is discussed.

Creed Taylor: Jazz Record Producer (Part One)

His early career as record-company employee

Frank O'Hara: The Day Lady Died

Poem "The Day Lady Died" by Frank O'Hara is analysed

Norma Winstone’s Somewhere Like Home: Must-Have Album #4

Part of a series recommending jazz albums

Django and His American Friends: Must-Have Album #3

Survey of the two Django and His American Friends albums

The Birth of "Take the A Train"

Strayhorn's "Take the A Train," which became a huge hit, was nearly lost before it was ever recorded. Ellington's recording is analysed.

Miles Davis: Recruiting the Sixties Quintet

An account of the fours years Miles Davis took to recruit for his sixties quintet

Ellingtonians Play While Duke's in Bed

Description and evaluation of Johnny Hodges' "Duke's in Bed" album

Oliver Nelson Suites 1: Afro/American Sketches

Description and evaluation of Afro/American Sketches

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