[78-L] Ellington at Newport [was Happy Birthday, Satch!]

[Michael Shoshani]

On Thu, 2010-08-05 at 18:12 +0100, Julian Vein wrote:

> I believe I was one of the first to note the difference between the live 
> and studio performances, when "Ellington at Newport" was issued in the 
> UK. I wasn't aware of the issued one being the studio version--I assumed 
> that there may have been a second "house". I remember hearing 
> "Diminuendo & Crescendo" over the VOA's Music USA around July/August 
> 1956, probably before most Americans! This would have been the version 
> with Gonsalves's contribution more prominently recorded.

Right, and I should have specified that I was talking about USA record
buyers, who had no access to VOA programming and thus never heard the
original concert unless they actually traveled to Newport. :) 

D&C was rerecorded because Gonsalves played into the VOA mic rather than
the Columbia Records mic. The Newport Suite was also rerecorded, because
parts of it (I'm wanting to say 'Festival Junction' but I don't actually
recall) were still a work in progress at the time of the concert.
Concerts are fleeting and ephemeral; records last for decades, and
Ellington wanted the definitive record version to reflect the finished
piece...so he remade it in the studio, with audience applause and noises
dubbed in.