We decided to play some Ellington together at the first opportunity. This was late 2012. We got the chance to play in Zaandam, just north of Amsterdam and invited friends to make it a 'real' gig.
Taylor left for the States and the friends suggested continuing this pleasant enterprise. We were offered a monthly concert in a small venue in Amsterdam to present our growing book of wonderful Ellington repertoire.
We don't want to copy the "Ellington sound", but we do want to be true to the spirit that the Ellington band expressed at such a high level. The arrangements are our own, keeping the personnel of our band in mind. The repertoire is built around lesser-known Ellington gems which we supplement with our own intro's and improvisational ideas. That’s our forte: improvising!
After two years of woodshedding and finding its own 'sound' All Ellington is nearing the point of recording some of that material. We have no definite plan as yet, but spring 2015 seems feasible.
All Ellington has developed a good following in Amsterdam. We sold out the Bimhuis to its full capacity the two times we played there in 2014. Later this month we will play there again! The small venue for our monthly gig is always packed.. Our only gig so far outside Amsterdam, at the popular ZomerJazzFietsTour in the north of The Netherlands, also sold out.