Sound Recordings

Contains cassette copies of Ellington and non-Ellington studio recordings, concert recordings, radio and television interviews, Voice of America radio broadcasts, guest appearances on radio and television shows (e.g., Arthur Godfrey, Ed Sullivan, The Today Show), and audition tapes. The material documents Ellington's recording career between 1927 and 1974. But most of the recordings are from the period, 1955-1973. Included are tapes of major Ellington works, such as BLACK, BROWN AND BEIGE, HARLEM, and the SECOND SACRED CONCERT, as well as tapes of material not widely available commercially, such as THREE BLACK KINGS. In addition to the Ellington recordings, there are recordings by groups led by musicians associated with Ellington, but recorded under their own names, including Johnny Hodges, Ray Nance, Mercer Ellington, Oscar Pettiford, and Herb Jeffries. These original disc recordings and audiotapes (reel-to-reel and cassette) have been duplicated for preservation, and researcher copies have been created. Less than one quarter of the items in this series are commercially released recordings. The material is arranged sequentially by cassette RTC (Researcher Tape Collection) number.