Over to the Ravinia Festival in Chicago this week for a concert broadcast from August 1st 1957 featuring Duke Ellington and his Orchestra playing the world premier of his suite, "Such Sweet Thunder".
Unfortunately it's only a half hour's worth, because that was all the time allotted by the network (CBS Radio) and this was the occasional problem with broadcasting at the time. Strict schedules and abrupt cut-offs created a lot of frustration for listeners. But there is enough in this half hour to give you a feel that this was a special occasion and frankly, Duke Ellington would hold interest even if he was opening a door.
Sometimes you just have to take history however you can get it.
