Spre ruşinea mea, e un album de care am aflat recent, citind mai multe despre Duke Ellington.
E un album apărut în 1968, când Sinatra avea 53 de ani şi Ellington 69. La momentul respectiv Sinatra era în anii de final ai rezidenţei la Caesars Palace din Vegas, iar Ellington avea turnee des prin Europa. Începuse deja turneele prin Asia, America de Sud şi Africa, turnee care se spune că i-au adus noi perspective asupra muzicii, care au fost transpuse în albumele The Far East Suite (1966), New Orleans Suite (1970), The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse (1971) şi Latin American Suite (1972).
E un album apărut la Reprise, casa de discuri a lui Sinatra, cu care Ellington a şi semnat pentru o scurtă perioadă.
Foarte bun instrumentalul, în special la Follow me.
Nu e un album care să rupă, însă mi se pare un album foarte bun, cu siguranţă o joacă a doi artişti care erau încă pe val la momentul respectiv.
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Frank adored the music of Duke Ellington, so much so that he signed his big band, on his Reprise label, when he was Chairman Of The Board. Frank couldn’t wait to make an LP with Duke, but strangely, the sparks did not fly, the way it did with Count Basie. Despite this, the LP has moments of exquisite beauty, if you listen carefully, especially during Frank’s breathing breaks, the little instrumental fills, between the lines. However, I’m sorry to say, this is just not enough to hold up a record, especially with musicians of this caliber. Billy May, the arranger, tried to salvage something, but even he later admitted that it has a lot of dross, but also some good moments, for attentive listeners. Unlike Basie, Mr. Sinatra and the Duke never made another record together. The picture of them, looking away from each other, on the back cover, seemingly miles apart, and looking positively dour, says so much about the actual music, a bit flat and uninspiring. It’s curious that Watertown has been called dour, but Watertown is filled with life, hope and humanity, and is an under-appreciated masterpiece that deserves reappraisal. Francis and Edward is not essential for Duke Ellington or Sinatra fans, however, it holds a certain interest, a summit of two of the best, most influential musicians of all time.