Mercer Ellington
Albums
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Appearances
This late-period Duke Ellington album is perhaps most notable for including altoist Johnny Hodges' final recordings. In fact, Hodges was supposed to record his first soprano solo [more]
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By the late '80s, Mercer Ellington was leading a part-time Duke Ellington Orchestra (he should have used his own name to avoid confusion with [more]
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When 1965-1972 was first released a decade ago, all of the music was being put out for the first time. The 15 selections are from 10 different [more]
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This previously issued material (released on a single CD by Music Masters) features the Duke Ellington Orchestra during a very busy era. The veteran musicians were getting [more]
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Duke Ellington was so brilliant as a bandleader, arranger and composer that sometimes his piano playing was taken for granted. He gave few [more]
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![Far East Suite [Special Mix]](/cache/JHS/d1/130x130_on-sale_d1474297835.png)
This CD differs from the previous release of "The Far East Suite" by the inclusion of four "new" alternate takes. This particular nine-part suite was arguably Duke [more]
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The second volume in RCA's Jazz at Midnight series continues in the mood of its predecessor, compiling 14 smooth, sultry tracks designed for romantic, after-hours [more]
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In conjunction with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns' ten-part 2000 PBS special, Columbia/Legacy and Verve teamed up to issue a special series of [more]
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Duke Ellington could have been forgiven if, by the time he was 67, he had gradually lost his creative desire not to mention his writing skills. But his genius [more]
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Biography
- Born Mar 11th 1919 in Washington, D.C.
- Died Feb 8th 1996 in Copenhagen, Denmark
Mercer Ellington had the impossible task of trying to escape from his father Duke Ellington's shadow and he never really succeeded, perhaps not trying hard enough. He studied music early on and made several attempts to lead his own band (1939, 1946-1949, and 1959) that were all ultimately unsuccessful. During the ASCAP strike of the early '40s when Duke was desperate for new material, Mercer wrote several notable songs, including "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," "Jumpin' Punkins," "Moon Mist," and "Blue Serge," but nothing he composed since then approached their stature. Among his many other jobs was working as road manager for Cootie Williams' Orchestra, musical director for Della Reese, a salesman, a record company executive, and a disc jockey. Finally in 1965, he gave up trying to be independent and became Duke Ellington's road manager and a non-soloing section trumpeter. After Duke's death in 1974, Mercer took over the band but within a couple years it had greatly declined. Mercer wrote a biography in 1978 (-Duke Ellington in Person), directed the so-so musical {+Sophisticated Ladies} (1981-1983), supervised the release of many previously unavailable Ellington recordings and led the inaccurately titled Duke Ellington Orchestra on an occasional basis, recording a few dates that often had all-stars as ringers. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
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