Poster for Duke Ellington – Uppsala 1971 · CD released from Storyville Records in 2021.
Ellington was on a European tour from the beginning of October to mid-November, taking the band through The Soviet Union, England, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Spain before leaving Europe for Argentina. It seems that Sweden has always meant something special to Ellington from the first visit in 1939 to his last concert in Sweden Oct. 28th 1973, only 7 months before his death in May 1974. During his visit to Sweden in 1939 he wrote Serenade to Sweden, as well as an arrangement of a Swedish hit song I en röd liten stuga (In A Red Little Cottage). Through the years several Swedish musicians played in the band, notably trombonist Åke Persson and trumpet player Rolf Ericson, and not the least must be mentioned his long co-operation with the extraordinary Swedish singer Alice Babs, who became a close friend of Duke’s. (from Storyville Records)
CD and poster design · Finn Nygaard
Storyville Records is Europe’s oldest independent jazz label. It releases a rich variety of jazz, blues and related musical genres, often accompanied by authoritative notes and rare extras. This iconic label was founded in 1952 in Denmark and today continues to augment its unique historic catalogue of recordings made by visiting American jazz and blues legends with new releases from contemporary jazz artists. Storyville Records
