Duke Ellington, 1927-'29 (What Are My Chances?)

[Cody K]

I've had a few phonographs over the years, started buying them when I was twelve, two score and seven years ago, but the records I've played on them have been almost entirely ones I've picked up along the way.

I sold the last of my machines about 20 years ago, during some big life-change or another, and that, I thought, was that.

Lately I've got a new phonograph (the Actuelle I may have mentioned) in the house, by a weird happenstance, and I've had to disable it for a new cone to be made, so I can't play anything on it for the moment. But I looked at it tonight, and I thought: What do you want to hear it play?

Well, it occurred to me that for the past FIFTY YEARS (!) I've loved pretty much anything Duke Ellington recorded with any of his combinations in 1927, '28, or '29 I've loved a lotta very different musics from all over the world. But these years, this artist, are, to me, pretty darn close to my lifetime favorites.

It also occurred to me that I've never heard any of these sides "live", i.e., on the original disc. Always on LP or CD, never on "shellac".

As I said, I haven't kept up, so I don't know at all what it'll take to get these, these days. Are they considered rare, hard to get (really costly)? Where should I look for them?

I know these aren't the best records to play on an Actuelle, but I'll tell ya, VEs I put on it before I had to slice the cone sounded really, really good. And anyway, one day I'm gonna get an Orthophonic. And if I've got a buncha Dukes, that'll be the dictionary definition of heaven.

[Wolfe]

If your intent is to simply have them "on shellac" I think you could obtain WWII era re-pressings of some of those fairly easily and cheaply.

[Cody K]

Thanks for the suggestion, Wolfe. I was talking recently with someone who's sorting out a really large collection about 20s recordings I want, and he suggested that too.

My question is, are such later pressings made directly from the original masters, or are they beefed up in any way that would make them inappropriate for playing with an acoustical reproducer? I'm thinking for example of Bessie Smith records that were re-mastered with echo, but that sort of thing may have happened only in the era of LPs, I don't know.

Also, the composition of the actual discs would be the softer materials of the 40s, I presume? Would that in itself be enough to make them less suitable for use with a (most likely relatively heavy) 1920s reproducer?

[Wolfe]

You've got a point about pressings. Laminated Columbia's of the 40's may not be best with your acoustic reproducer (an oft debated topic here.) Brunswick's should be okay.

I only mention because I find early Ellington far more on such pressings than original. Of course, with the right amount of money, anything can be had at auction or e-bay.

And yes, we're talking about direst pressings from original metal parts, no echo. Although there might be a few dubs out there.

[Cody K]

Thanks for the further thoughts. I really wouldn't have any aesthetic problem with using reissues as opposed to original pressings. Pressed from the original masters, I'd guess they could sound quite good.

I've read some of the debates you mention, including at least one regarding the Actuelle and its use for playing laterals. I'm not qualified to comment on that, since I only had the Actuelle about a week before I needed to remove the central cup washers to send to Mr. Chidester, who's making a new cone. Part of that week involved learning to make some adjustments before the machine could play with any fidelity at all. I did get a sense in that time that, when adjusted with the right balance between the stylus and the cone frame (as a counter-balance), the needle can actually ride the groove fairly lightly. A few VEs that I sampled seemed to show good potential (albeit without the full oomph they'd have on an Orthophonic) even with the torn original cone. The VE signal seems to present well on it, even though the Actuelle is essentially an acoustic-era player. The Actuelle's likely to be my only machine until I find an Orthophonic I can both afford and get to, so I think the thing to do will be to just track down some reissues and see how it goes. Possibly the Actuelle needle won't track any more heavily than a 40s electric pickup, which were themselves fairly heavy of course. It'll be worthwhile to experiment.

Ellington was all over the map at that hot moment, recording for Victor, Brunswick, Pathé, Cameo, Harmony, Vocalion, Hardwick, and I think maybe Grey Gull in 1928 alone, so I imagine I'll run across some original pressings at some point -- but looking specifically for reissues might be a really good idea, so thanks again for the suggestion.

[Wolfe]

I spied another copy of the Brunswick Ellingtonia album set while on my rounds. Seems like there is a good number of those floating around.

It's all re-pressings of Vocalion and Brunswick sides from '27 to '29.