Sacred Concert byDuke Ellington is one of the following realizations:
Ellington called these concerts "the most important thing I have ever done". He said many times that he was not trying to compose aMass. The criticGary Giddins has characterized these concerts as Ellington bringing the Cotton Club revue to the church.[1]
| Concert of Sacred Music | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 1966 | |||
| Recorded | December 26, 1965 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Duke Ellington chronology | ||||
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Grace Cathedral in San Francisco planned a "Festival of Grace", with a variety of cultural works and speakers, to occur during the first year the cathedral was open, and Ellington's concert was to be a part of it.[2] (The "festival" also included a performance byVince Guaraldi.[3])
The concert premiered on September 16, 1965, and was recorded byKQED, a local public television station.[2] The performance was released on CD asA Concert of Sacred Music Live from Grace Cathedral and on DVD asLove You Madly/A Concert of Sacred Music at Grace Cathedral. The official album onRCA,A Concert of Sacred Music, was recorded at two concerts atFifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York on December 26, 1965. Additional material from these concerts, not found on the original album, can be found on the 24-CDbox setThe Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1927–1973). The concert mixed existing and new material, with "New World A-Comin'" and "Come Sunday" from the 1943 jazz suiteBlack, Brown and Beige and "Heritage (My Mother, My Father)" from the 1963 stage showMy People (released in 1965 on the albumMy People). A new piece, the song "In the Beginning God", was awarded aGrammy Award in 1967.[4] It was performed again at Grace Cathedral on its 25th and 50th anniversaries, in 1990 and 2015.[2]
TheAllMusic review by Richard S. Ginell stated: "The concert taps into Ellington's roots in showbiz and African-American culture as well as his evidently deep religious faith, throwing it all together in the spirit of universality and sealing everything with the stamps of his musical signatures".[5]
Ebony called the piece "historic", situating it as part of a larger movement in the mid-'60s that brought togetherjazz and religion.[3]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [5] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz |  [6] |
| Second Sacred Concert | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1968 | |||
| Recorded | January 22 & February 19, 1968 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | Prestige | |||
| Duke Ellington chronology | ||||
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Ellington'sSecond Sacred Concert premiered at theCathedral of St. John the Divine in New York on January 19, 1968, but no recording of this performance has surfaced. TheSecond Sacred Concert was then recorded on January 22 and February 19, 1968, at Fine Studio in New York and originally issued as a double LP onPrestige Records and reissued on one CD minus the tracks "Don't Get Down On Your Knees To Pray Until You Have Forgiven Everyone" and "Father Forgive".[8] All the tracks can be found in the 24-CD box setThe Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1927-1973).
This concert is the first time Swedish singerAlice Babs recorded with the Ellington Orchestra. In the concert she sang "Heaven", "Almighty God", the wordless vocal "T.G.T.T. (Too Good to Title)", and "Praise God and Dance".Cootie Williams has a "growl" trumpet feature on "The Shepherd (Who Watches Over the Night Flock)". This piece is dedicated to Rev.John Garcia Gensel, Lutheran pastor to the jazz community. The climactic ending is "Praise God and Dance", which comes fromPsalm 150.
At the invitation of the Harvard Episcopal Chaplaincy, Ellington gave the concert again atEmmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston, on April 20, 1969.
TheAllMusic review by Richard S. Ginell stated that "the material is fresh, not a patchwork of old and new like the first concert — and in an attempt to be as ecumenical as possible, Ellington reaches for novel techniques and sounds beyond his usual big band spectrum".[9]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [9] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz | [6] |
| Third Sacred Concert | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 1975 | |||
| Recorded | 24 October 1973 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Duke Ellington chronology | ||||
| ||||
TheThird Sacred Concert was built around the skills ofAlice Babs,Harry Carney, and Ellington himself on the piano. It was premiered atWestminster Abbey inLondon,United Kingdom on October 24, 1973, and released on LP in 1975 but has only been issued on CD as part of the 24-discThe Duke Ellington Centennial Edition: The Complete RCA Victor Recordings (1927-1973) collection.[10]
At this point in his life, Ellington knew he was dying. Author Janna Tull Steed has written that of all the concerts that Ellington is addressing God facing his mortality.[11] Alice Babs sings "Is God a Three Letter Word for Love?" and "My Love". Tenor saxophonistHarold Ashby is featured on "The Brotherhood", which is a tribute toThe United Nations.
TheAllMusic review by Richard S. Ginell stated that "the weakest of the sacred concerts. It lacks the showbiz kick and exuberance of the first concert and even more eclectic impulses of the second, now burdened with a subdued solemnity and the sense that the ailing Ellington knew his time was drawing to a close (he would be dead exactly six months later)".[12]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [12] |