Ellington at Newport

Once you cut it all the introductions the album is about half in length. Very talented musicians, classic jazz repertoire. In would give it four stars, which is a great score considering I’m not a jazz fan, but I have to deduct one because of all the talking. You can’t just put this on at a dinner party and enjoy the music due to all the interruptions.

Sounded really good live but unfortunately I couldn't vibe with it. Was still ok though

3 ⭐️

Robert Fripp said (approximately): “A studio recording is a love letter, a live performance is a hot date." So then what do we call it when they take a frenetic, mind-blowing live performance and replace some of it with a studio version, complete with canned applause? I'll leave that to others to define, but I'm glad I listened to the 90's rerelease with the actual live recording. It includes the studio excerpts at the end of the album and the energy level between studio versus live is night and day. Half of what made the actual live show great was the craziness of the audience and the band. Case in point: yeah, Paul Gonsalves' sax solo in Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue is pretty great, but what makes it amazing is listening to the band egg him on. It's also crazy how wild the audience got. You crazy 50's hipsters you! Overall, it's a great historical time capsule. Favorite tracks: Blues to be There, Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue, Skin Deep (great drum solo).

Solid, pure Jazz.

A good record, not a great one. It's a fun live album and I would play it every now and then in the background. Not the best jazz record out there and I am little surprised to see it on this list - I feel like there were better choices for Duke Ellington. It's not one that I would play for someone to try and sway them to become a jazz appreciator. 3/5

QUEBRA TUDO NESSE SOLO DE SAX

pedradaça. bonito demais a plateia ENDOIDECENDO no solaço do mano.

Really good jazz, Ellington is a legend for good reason

This was great! high energy jazz. I chose to listen to the original 1956 track listing instead of the 2+ hour rerelease. There’s a Spotify playlist someone made with that track listing.

Phenomenal! The Duke was my entry point into jazz as a teenager and I still have a great deal of love and respect for his music. Willingly (and happily) listened to the 2+ hour complete version of this album.

Good, but long, but good.

Well this was a super enjoyable listen while making coffee and breakfast on a Sunday morning.

Jazz isn’t really my go to genre, but I’m much more familiar with more avant-garde jazz artists, so it was nice to dip my toes into some big band stuff.

jako dobro! obožavam kako publika popizdi na zadnjoj pjesmi. nastavim li ovako, do 1001. albuma bit ću najveći fan džeza hahaha

This concert sounds so legendary. The way the crowd keeps going wilder and wilder is awesome.

I enjoyed it quite a bit - even in mono 😄

Magnificent.

Before starting this I would’ve never listened to a Jazz album and, despite it being listed as one of my worst genres on the site, I have found a few that I have really liked and given 5 stars to. This however is not one of them. I got bored of this pretty quickly which is not good for a 2+ hour album. I never got to the point where I would say I hated it but by the end I was barely paying attention to it. I don’t doubt that if you are into Jazz this is probably brilliant but it just wasn’t one for me.

As a Canadian in the current socio-political climate, hearing an album start with the Star Spangled Banner, despite how well played, is not a way to win my heart. THAT and my generally not being much of a jazz guy aside, this recording really transported me back to an era before my time and made me feel fully immersed in its atmosphere. Not sure it's something I'll come back to, but I'm glad I visited.
3

Not my favourite style of jazz but Duke is the Duke

This album didn’t resonate with me, as I’ve always found jazz a challenging genre to connect with. Ellington at Newport is clearly a landmark recording for jazz fans, but personally, I found it difficult to engage with the style and energy of the performance.

Favourite Track: I couldn’t identify a standout track, as the overall sound didn’t quite click with me.

Least Favourite: The whole album blended into what felt like an overwhelming wall of jazzy improvisation — not something I found easy to follow or enjoy.

Album Artwork: The cover is fine — nothing remarkable, but it suits the era and genre

It’s a strange thing listening to this album on streamers in 2025 because you’re conscious that you’re not hearing the original 1956 LP. The original album is a swift 46 minutes with studio overdubs liberally applied (60% of the “live album”. On the “complete” version, you’re firstly delivered the full 75 minute show, which is captivating, then studio excerpts from those curious overdubs. You are then presented with what is sort of the original album, with one track subbed in and one track subbed out.

The two albums sound nothing like each other! Nothing at all! I wonder if anyone at the original performance who picked up the LP months later could tell that fake audience clapping was being faded in and out!

The original unaltered recordings are sensational, really showing what Duke Ellington can do with a piano. Despite being recorded in an open air environment it’s full of warmth. I’m not hearing the original record through a gramophone set up, but listening side by side with the truly live recording it quite obviously lacks that same level of warmt. But then it sold an absolute tonne in the 50s - so what do I know about anything?

Both records are great and give you a proper rush. But the original is a stealth studio album.

This one is hurt by the recording itself. The band is great, the solo is amazing. I’m not normally a jazz guy, but I can get behind this one, but I think that’s because I do enjoy Big Band type jazz.

But the recording is so subpar. The crowd noise is too high (but man is the crowd enjoying themselves!) and overall the mix is just bad. Would’ve loved to hear this with modern recording tech.