Duke Ellington and John Coltrane

Updated on Nov 14, 2023

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Released February 1963 Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (1963) Afro-Bossa (1963) Release date February 1963 Label Impulse! Records		Length 35:05 Duke Ellington & John Coltrane (1963) Ballads (1963) Producer Bob Thiele Genre Jazz

Recorded September 26, 1962 Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs Artists John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Duke Ellington & John Coltrane Similar John Coltrane albums, Jazz albums

Duke Ellington & John Coltrane is a jazz album by Duke Ellington and John Coltrane recorded on September 26, 1962, and released in February 1963 on Impulse! Records.

It was one of Ellington's many collaborations in the early 1960s with musicians such as Count Basie, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Max Roach, and Charles Mingus, and placed him with a quartet (in this case, saxophone, piano, bass, and drums), rather than a big band.

Coltrane played in a more accessible style during this time, on albums such as John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman and Ballads. Despite their differences in background, style, and age – Ellington was 63 and Coltrane 36 when the tracks were recorded – it has been said that the two interacted seamlessly.

The quartet was filled out by the bassist and drummer from either of their bands. The album featured Ellington standards (e.g., "In a Sentimental Mood"), new Ellington compositions, and a new Coltrane composition ("Big Nick").

Coltrane said:

I was really honoured to have the opportunity of working with Duke. It was a wonderful experience. He has set standards I haven't caught up with yet. I would have liked to have worked over all those numbers again, but then I guess the performances wouldn't have had the same spontaneity. And they mightn't have been any better!