Duke Ellington Ellington At Newport: Historic 1956 Live Set Triggered Spontaneous Audience Outburst That Fed Directly into the Feel and Outcome of the Performance.

It spurred Duke Ellington's comeback into the mainstream. It captures a performance so energetic, wild, unexpected, and unprecedented that the music literally caused thousands of people to jump up and stand on their chairs, worrying officials that a riot might ensue. It is jazz of the highest order, played at an almost rock n' roll pace, and with an enthusiastic pep that confirms Ellington and his ensemble fed off the crowd's reaction as the collective lit into each new stanza. It is Ellington's best-selling album. It is Ellington at Newport.

Like few records before or since, the 1956 set owes as much to context and circumstance as it does instrumental execution. Years prior to his appearance in Rhode Island, Ellington had suffered lackadaisical record sales and a falling out of the public eye, as bop and hard bop supplanted tradition big bands. Yet in preparation for the event, Ellington worked on experimental ideas and a reshaping of some of his standards.