Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:
This 75-track, three-CD set from Duke Ellington's RCA dates from 1940 to 1942, was culled from the massive, 1999 Bluebird mega-set. It's named for bassist Jimmy Blanton and tenor saxophonist Ben Webster. Blanton's astonishing technique made him one of the greatest bass players of all time, and Webster's warm, raw-boned tenor tones inspired future saxophonists. Along with the famous Ellingtonians, alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges, trumpeter Cootie Williams, violinist Ray Nance, and trombonist Tricky Sam Nanton, the addition of Blanton and Webster, along with the arrival of composer/arranger/pianist Billy Strayhorn, make this aggregation Ellington's first "superband."

All the vivid and varied dimensions of Ellingtonia are included in this digitally remastered set, with songs written by his son, Mercer. There's Ellington's silky blues numbers such as "Jack the Bear" and "C-Jam Blues." The Puerto Rican valve trombonist Juan Tizol's "Conga Brava," "Moon Over Cuba," and "Bakiff" contribute Latin and Middle Eastern colors. "Harlem Airshaft" and "Sepia Panorama" are but two examples of Ellington's tonal portraits. The legendary Ellington/Blanton duets, with the bouncy "Pitter Panther Patter" and the emotive "Sophisticated Lady" still sound modern. Webster's surging, pre-bop solos drive the George Gershwin-based "Cottontail," and soulfully signature Strayhorn's ballad "Chelsea Bridge." This set also marks the introduction of other Strayhorn's classics, including "Take the 'A' Train" and "Johnny Come Lately." All told, these World War II-era sides are essential for the Ellington canon. Eugene Holley, Jr.

Rating: - Shameful packaging! Great music.
This should have been a five-out-of-five star review, but the packaging is so crummy that it is generous to only grade it as a three star.

There is no tracks listing. You have to take out the booklet and hunt for the tracks titles in the margins of 18 pages of liner notes. This alone is terrible. But what is worst of all is the all-paper packaging which is very lightweight and cheaply done. It's very hard to extricate the discs from the cardboard sleeves, if you like to handle your ... Read More

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Rating: - The sound...
First, thanks to those who have shared their thoughts on the sound quality of this set in reviews and/or review comments. I've had the set for about 5 days now and would like to add what I can. Disclaimer: I'm no audio engineer and a couple others here seem far more knowledgable in all this than I am.

1. The distortion many are complaining about, especially on Jack the Bear, was present on the early Blanton-Webster set as well. I've had the privilege of direct comparisons between a few ... Read More

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Rating: - An almost perfect re-issue
Like so many others have complained about I have to agree the packaging is perfectly horrible. I finally gave up the ghost, even after having attempted to use packing tape to hold the flimsy cardboard box together, and put them into plastic jewel boxes. The sound restoration however makes it worth purchasing. As others have said disk one is very uneven. Fortunately it is only a few of the tracks, sadly one of them is Jack the Bear, truly what were they thinking, did anyone ever listen to it before they ... Read More

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Rating: - Great mastering...a tad shrill, but necessary
I find some of the negative reviews a bit unfair. If you don't like the mastering job, that's one thing. You are absolutely entitled to not enjoying the way it sounds. But many reviewers are writing things they have no knowledge about. I've read several reviews where they insist that the mastering engineers "screwed up" or "could have done a better job." How do you know? Unless you're an audio engineer, sitting with the original masters in your high-tech studio (good luck on getting those originals), ... Read More

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Rating: - 'aint no lementing Never No Lament
Some reviewers have stressed bad sound quality on the first CD. That's certainly not the case with my copy. Indeed, all three CD are crisp. I even tried turning up the volume very high (I have massive speakers) and there was no distortion, fuzz or any other problems. So it may be that some CDs of this collection were defective, mine certainly wasn't.

The music is well orchestrated. The Blanton-Webster combo is a very good good, and this coming from someone who isn't a major enthusiast of Ellington ... Read More