Duke Ellington Discography - 1950s

1950s

Ellington began the 1950s losing Johnny Hodges, Sonny Greer and Lawrence Brown. The second half of the 1950s, however, feature his famous "comeback" appearance at the 1956 Newport Jazz Festival, with Paul Gonsalves running through 27 choruses of "Diminuendo and Crescendo in Blue."

1950

• The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 1949-50 (Classics)
• The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 1950 (Classics)
• Live In Zurich, Switzerland 2.5.1950 (TCB Music)
• Great Times! (Riverside)

1951

• Johnny Hodges, Duke Ellington, and Billy Strayhorn All Stars (Prestige)
• The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 1950-51 (Classics)
• The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 1951 (Classics)
• Masterpieces by Ellington (Columbia)

1952

• Ellington Uptown
• Duke on the Air
• The Seattle Concert
• Live at the Blue Note (Bandstand)
• Duke Ellington at Birdland (Jazz Unlimited)
• The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 1952 (Classics)

1953

• The Pasadena Concert (GNP)
• Duke Ellington Plays the Blues
• The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 1952-53 (Classics)
• The Chronological Duke Ellington & His Orchestra 1953 (2 volumes) (Classics)
• Premiered by Ellington (Capitol)
• The Duke Plays Ellington (Capitol) released on CD as Piano Reflections

1954

• Ellington ‘55 (Capitol)
• Dance to the Duke! (Capitol)
• Duke Ellington Plays
• Happy Birthday Duke! April 29 Birthday Sessions (Laserlight)
• 1954 Los Angeles Concert (GNP)

1955

• Ellington Showcase (Capitol)
• Duke's Mixture (Columbia)
• Here's the Duke (Columbia)
• The Duke and His Men
• Jazz Masters: 1953-1955 (EMI)
• The Washington, D.C. Armory Concert (Jazz Guild)
• The Complete Capitol Recordings of Duke Ellington
• The Carnegie Hall Concerts: March 1955

1956

• Blue Rose (Columbia, with Rosemary Clooney)
• Historically Speaking (Bethlehem)
• Duke Ellington Presents... (Bethlehem)
• Ellington at Newport (Columbia) rereleased with restoration of the complete 1956 Newport Jazz Festival performance in 1999 as Ellington at Newport Complete
• Duke Ellington and the Buck Clayton All Stars at Newport
• Al Hibbler Sings with the Duke (Columbia)
• The Complete Porgy and Bess
• Ellington '56 (Charly)
• Live From The 1956 Stratford Festival (Music and Arts)
• A Drum Is a Woman (Columbia)

1957

• Studio Sessions, Chicago 1956 (LMR) - released as The Private Sessions Volume One in 1987
• Such Sweet Thunder (Columbia)
• Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Songbook (Verve, with Ella Fitzgerald)
• Live at the 1957 Stratford Music Festival (Music & Arts)
• All-Star Road Band - Volume 2 (CBS)
• In a Mellotone (RCA-Victor)

1958

• Black, Brown and Beige (Columbia)
• Dance Concerts, California 1958 (LMR) - released as The Private Sessions Volume Two in 1987
• Dance Dates, California 1958 (LMR) - released as The Private Sessions Volume Six in 1987
• Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque (Columbia)
• The Cosmic Scene (Columbia)
• Happy Reunion (Sony)
• Ellington Indigos (Columbia)
• Newport 1958 (Columbia) Later re-released on an extended double CD as Live at Newport 1958.
• Jazz at the Plaza Vol. II (Columbia)
• Duke Ellington at the Alhambra (Pablo, live)

1959

• Jazz Party (Columbia)
• Back to Back: Duke Ellington and Johnny Hodges Play the Blues (Verve)
• Side by Side (Verve)
• Anatomy of a Murder (Columbia – soundtrack album)
• Live at the Blue Note (Roulette)
• Festival Session (Columbia)
• Blues in Orbit (Columbia)