Ellington at Newport

No one will ever be as cool

Disc 1:
The 1st track isn't bad, but it isn't special, 3/5.
The 2nd track is just people getting introduced, important, but not music, 1/5.
The 3rd track is a 3/5, it's just a soundtrack, not bad, but not something I would go out of my way to listen to, like John Williams.
The 4th track 1/5, not music just Ellington welcoming someone (it was so short it didn't meet the minimum time for last.fm to scrobble it).
The 5th soundtrack is also a 3/5 not bad, but not something I would go out of my way to listen.
The 6th track is a 1/5, no music, just talking, I feel like I'm going to end up giving this album at the end a 2/5 because it has some nice soundtracks, but a lot of it is just people talking and not in the way Daft Punk does it.
The 7th track is a 3/5, nice soundtrack.
The 8th track is a 1/5 just introducing the next part.
The 9th track is a 3/5 like the rest it's a nice jazz soundtrack.
The 10th track is a 1/5 just people getting introduced.
The 11th track is a 3/5, not bad music.
The 12th track is a 1/5, no music, just being introduced to the next song.
The 13th track is a 3/5 track for reasons seen above.
The 14th track is a 1/5 just people being introduced.
The 15th track is a 3/5 track for reasons seen above.
The 16th track is a 1/5 just people being introduced.
The 17th track is interesting because instead of just music instrumentals, there's actual vocals, still a 3/5.
The 18th track is a 1/5, it's just people talking.
The 19th track is a 3/5 instrumental.
The 20th track is a 1/5 just being announcements.
Disc 2:
The 1st track is a 1/5, continuing from disc 1, track 20.
The 2nd track is a 3/5 instrumental.
The 3rd track is a 3/5 instrumental.
The 4th track is a 1/5, just calming crowds, and introducing new people.
The 5th track is a 3/5 tack, it has vocals, but I'm not the interested in what was being sang.
The 6th track is a 1/5, not a song, just stuff happening at the live performance.
The 7th track is a 3/5 for reasons seen above.
The 8th track is a 2/5, there's some music, but mostly just talking.
The 9th track is a 2/5, mostly music, but there's some talking in the background at the start.
The 10th track is a 1/5 because it's a reintroduction to Ellington.
The 11th track is a 3/5 good instrumentals.
The 12th track is a 1/5 just Ellington talking + crowd.
The 13th track is a 3/5 good instrumentals.
The 14th track is a 1/5 just Ellington talking to the crowd.
The 15th track is a 3/5 good instrumentals.
The 16th track is a 1/5 the track is called Ellington talking, but didn't hear much of that or any music.
The 17th track is a 3/5 good instrumentals.
The 18th track is a 3/5, good instrumentals, and not that different from the other tracks in the album.
I would give this album a 2/5, it's not a bad album, but I didn't like the talking in between the songs, the happened way too often in my opinion.

I'm not a jazz expert. This may be great, but I've enjoyed more some other jazz albums in this project.

The extended version is simply too long. And I understand the interest to bring the vibes of the event, but I found the presentations and interruptions a bit annoying.

Overall, I think this is ok as background (especially in its original version with no speeches).

I'd say this is in the range of 3 stars for me.

Side 1 was upbeat and almost made me come around on ass smacking jazz, but side 2 smacked my ass back into not really liking it. I'm sure people in the moment loved it, I'm not at that moment. Two stars

Music to groove to. The link sends you to the wrong album it seems, it's actually like 50 mins long. Tis a good 50 mins

The music is great and captivating. This is the kind of jazz I like. That said, I always have a bit of a hard time with live recordings. But on this album, it works really well with the music. What I don’t like at all, though, are the spoken interludes that are also included on the album. Although the album is titled “Complete,” less really would have been more here. Despite the great music, I probably won’t listen to this album in its entirety again. 3/5

Swanky.

4.5/5.0

great listen

Little backstory: I wanted to listen to this album while on a plane in the air. So that got postponed by over 4 hours due to a delay in my flight... Worst airport experience ever.

Anyway so I finally got on the plane and put this on. Wow listening to this while flying might have been my best idea ever. Especially at night. Looking down at cities' lights while the band is playing is one helluva experience, (then seeing distant lightning storms, crazy.)

So overall... Pretty good! Pretty damn good!

I'm not the biggest jazz listener but I gladly give this a solid 4/5.

I don’t like all the extra stuff on this Live version (intros, etc), but when Duke is actually doing his thing? It’s magnificent. I love it so much. I’m saving a 5 stars for a non-live album of his so I can enjoy his amazing music nonstop without interruptions.

If you think there's too many skits and talking, then it's clear you listened to the wrong version of the album.

Liked the music, but too long of an album.

Duke Ellington might be the god of jazz, but this live album doesn't do him justice. He tried his best to mix the recording with a studio one, to better reflect the scope of the music, but the result is a hot mess of poor quality audio with ersatz of a screaming public that was tapered down but is still audible throughout in a ghost-like fashion. The last song is the biggest victim of all of that. A shame, really, because this is otherwise a stellar performance, and for once with 50s albums, those are Ellington's own magnificent compositions.

Good shit right here, and proof that live albums can be spectacular.

i dont know, big band isnt my personal favorite but it's still good yk

Hi. Uhhh. It's cool I guess. I like the audience interaction towards the end. But it's not my style of jazz. Sorry, Duke.

No denying this gentleman is a phenomenal pianist and composer. Sadly, when there are no lyrics, I feel the tracks pass over me, pleasantly of course, but just over me without reaching me. I don’t have a Jazz gene to do this album a creditable review.

And this is the kind of jazz I don’t like.

Wow this isn’t really my usual kind of jazz at all but it was a lot of fun and caught me in just the right mood to enjoy it

This is definitely the way more accessible type of jazz. I'm much more into the big band stuff, and for the most part this is a thoroughly nice listen. I like the really, really strange sound they get out of the trumpet at times. Like the musician is being strangled, hah.

3.5 rounded up.