RECORD MAKING WITH DUKE ELLINGTON

I'm sure I've posted the above before but who cares? It's a beautiful five minute instructional film on the wildly complicated process of recording and pressing records in the 78RPM era. Produced in 1937 by Irving Mills, Duke's publisher/manager, "Record Making With Duke Ellington" will answer any questions you may have ever had (and some you couldn't dream of ever having) on how those beautiful glass platters (shellac, to be exact) containing a whopping six minutes of music were created. Seeing Duke's band in the recording studio is a real treat and watching him dress down his orchestra--though clearly staged--shows what good sports he and the orchestra were, in the name of creating a little drama. Covfefe!

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